Closer Than A Brother
Nick was used to being ridiculed for his faith.
After three years in the Marine Corps, it wasn't the first
time his principles had gotten in the way of his popularity
with the men of the unit. It would have been easy for him to
join them on a night of drunken bar-hopping, to just allow
himself to be "one of the guys." Nick wanted to be liked as
much as the next man, but his Marine Corps training had
echoed what the Bible had taught him -- that a man's
integrity is his most valuable possession.
This trip to the Middle East promised to be tedious.
Normally, the sailors enjoyed the ability to e-mail messages
from the ship to loved ones back home. On this outing,
however, e-mail privileges had been suspended so the troop
ship's movements wouldn't become known to the world at
large.
One day, however, the burden of loneliness lay especially
heavy on Nick's mind and heart, so he went below decks to a
quiet place where he liked to pray. "Father, he began, "I
feel like I'm fighting the battle alone. It sure would be
easier to stay faithful if I had someone to talk to, a
friend who could keep me accountable. I don't feel like
there's anyone on this boat who believes in You like I do."
He went on to ask God to send him someone who could keep his
faith sharp.
Back in his platoon's berth, not five minutes later, he ran
into Sam.
Sam Valasquez had been in the platoon for over a year, but
Nick still didn't know much about him. "So why do they call
you preacher man," asked Sam
Taken somewhat off guard, Nick haltingly told Sam about his
faith and watched as an astonished look crossed the younger
man's face.
"That's amazing" Sam said. "I've been looking for another
Christian to study the Bible with."
Nick was so shocked that he almost forgot to offer a prayer
of thanks.
Their unit arrived in Kuwait, and Nick and Sam became fast
friends as the weeks of waiting wore on. They started
studying the Bible together and enjoyed discussing their
faith whenever possible eventually other marines joined
their group, turning more easily toward spiritual things as
the war with Iraq loomed closer.
When the fighting finally started, it was almost a blessing.
The marines in Nick's unit knew that their only ticket home
lay ahead in the city of Baghdad.
Toward the end of March, the unit was given a mission near
the town of Nasiriya. They encountered no resistance at
first, but after crossing a bridge, the Marine column
suddenly came under sniper attack. When Nick stuck his head
out of the top of his armored carrier to check on the troops
outside, a mortar round hit near him, and a large piece of
shrapnel dug into his neck. He sat down heavily inside the
transport, stunned. "Lord please give me the faith to make
it through this."
After a few minutes, Nick was able to remove the shard and
stop the bleeding with a compress, not realizing then how
close the fragment had come to his carotid artery. A
lieutenant stumbled over to Nick's vehicle, bleeding
profusely from multiple wounds. Nick turned his attention
back to the men outside his vehicle, who were now bearing
the brunt of the heavy mortar attack. Forgetting his own
injuries, Nick began providing cover fire as the driver
started hauling their wounded comrades into the vehicle.
Then Nick noticed other vehicles pulling back. "We've got to
get out of here!" he yelled, suddenly realizing that their
communications must be down.
The enemy fire intensified as they made their way back
across the bridge, but then Nick's vehicle was hit again.
This time it felt like a mortar round had exploded in his
lap.
Everything turned white for Nick. "This is it, I'm not going
to make it," he thought.
Somehow, he managed to slide down the side of the
now-burning vehicle and run for the safety of a house by the
side of the road. Part of him knew that the others in the
vehicle hadn't gotten out.
Did Sam make it? Nick fell, and only then did he become
aware of the severity of his wounds. He looked down and saw
that one of his heels was gone. The bullets started kicking
up sand all around him. Adrenaline made him forget his
injuries and somehow he got up and ran to cover.
Some buddies patched him up as best they could, and when
reinforcements arrived, Nick was ferried on the back of a
tank to the casualty collection point. Corpsmen continued to
work over him when his gunny sergeant came by, also injured.
He looked at Nick lying on the stretcher and said, "You
okay, Elliot?"
"I'm alive," he answered weakly.
"Velasquez got hit too, but he's going to be all right."
An unexpected wave of emotion swept over Nick at the news
that his fiend was alive. Thank You God! He broke down and
started sobbing.
A week and several surgeries later, Nick was recovering in
the ICU of a military hospital in Germany. Depression
started to creep in, and he began to wish that he was back
on the lines with his unit. The medical team had been able
to repair the Achilles tendon that had been blown off, but
they had to take some skin from his back to close the wound.
The doctors told him that he couldn't possibly have run
without his Achilles tendon.
But the doctors had never been shot at.
He actually felt a bit guilty for having been injured. He
wanted to be there for his men. He was wrestling with those
feelings when the physical therapist walked in.
"Someone wants to see you," she said. "Do you feel up to
having a visitor?"
Nick wondered who it could be. "Sure."
A few moments later, Valesquez limped into the room,
lighting up the room with his smile.
"Sam!"
"Hey there Corporal. You ready to get back to work yet?"
"Absolutely!"
The nurse says that in a couple of days you'll be able to
move downstairs with the rest of us, unless you'd rather
stay here by yourself."
Nick laughed. "I can't wait!"
The two friends were reunited shortly thereafter and stayed
together on their return to the States and during their
recover in Bethesda Naval Hospital in Washington, D.C.
The scars they bear will remind everyone they meet of the
price of freedom. Nick and Sam, however, see those scars and
remember something else. A bond forged by shared wounds and
a shared faith -- brothers not only in the Marine Corps --
but also in God's service.
Even after Sam was discharged, he stayed with Nick's parents
to that he could be close enough to visit him until he was
also cleared to go home. Both men are expected to recover
fully.
Chuck Holton
soldier@mission4me.com
Chuck grew up in a Christian home and gave his life to the
Lord when he was 4. His grandfather and father were both
Baptist ministers. Ever since the 6th grade, Chuck wanted to
be in the military. When he was in 10th grade, an Army
Ranger taught his Sunday school class. "He exuded a quiet
confidence," says Chuck. "I wanted what he had. Nothing
short of the Ranger beret would do."
In 1987, after high school, Chuck joined the Army and later
joined 150 other men in the Ranger Indoctrination Program
(also known as RIP). The sole purpose of this three-week
course was to weed out those who wouldn’t be able to handle
the rigorous demands of life in a special operations unit.
Three days before graduation, Chuck was late for a
formation, and his sergeant told him to pack his things.
Chuck prayed that night that God would intervene. The next
morning, Chuck knocked on the sergeant’s door. He asked them
not to "recycle" him and told his superior that God didn’t
put him there to fail. Against all odds, the sergeant
decided that he could graduate.
After completing his tour of duty, Chuck met and married his
wife, Connie. Today they have five children.
Chuck is writing a series of articles on positive male role
models, stories of men who have exciting careers and carry
their faith to work with them. "Unfortunately, most teen
guys get nothing but negative male role models, in the men
that they are shown in the Media. There are lots of positive
male role models out there, they just don't get any press. I
aim to change that."
Chuck is also working on his next book, a non-fiction
project that takes a look at the Christian response to risk
and fear. "The whole concept of what's risky should be
different for a Christian," he says. "It should have more to
do with one's standing before God than with one's exterior
circumstances. This is a perfect time for Christians to
model the peace that comes with knowing everything works
together for Good."
Chuck speaks to churches and youth groups across the
country, and is available for speaking engagements. To
schedule one, please contact Chuck by clicking here: Visit
his website at
http://www.MissionForMe.com