Our Stories
Give Them The Praise
by William Yale
I met a man at church, at Bible study earlier this week; yes, I study the Bible (even though I have trouble making it work for me). I met an old man whom many had passed by, who thought nothing of him; he’s not a big man, and he doesn’t look like John Wayne, but he was a sailor on the USS Oriskany, when a rocket fired prematurely and set off the explosives on deck. This was during the Vietnam War and our navy was supporting the army with air strikes, the deck became a place where many a sailor lost his life fighting the fires and the exploding bombs.
His name is Ronnie, he’s in his seventies and he is a Navy Veteran of 30+ years, and this is a pretty salty guy to find in a church; but you ought to hear his testimony about Christ and about life and death. I had a terrible time trying to compose myself talking to him (as I am kind of an emotional guy), but I stayed and listened to his story. He talked about the smell of his shipmates burning on the deck and about his shame because he couldn’t get to them. I looked into his eyes and found myself in the presence of a first class warrior.
He said he and his shipmates physically rolled “hot” bombs off the deck into the sea. He said the ship was his home, that she was a lady (his girl who would never leave him), and they fought to save her life. You know, I was just an army doggie and what do I know about the ship and the sailor, but he gave me an education on it. So I just listened to his story... and discovered that Ronnie and I have something in common — we both believe that God is merciful and that the Lord spared our lives.
I am very happy that Ronnie came home alive, and I told him so. I gave him my VFW business card, hugged his neck, and told him to come to the meeting in Castro Valley. I told him we have guys that have survived all kinds of tragedies (i.e., Mickey and the Japanese torpedo) and we would be honored to hear his story. So I did something without talking to you guys about it, and I invited him to come to one of our meetings, so he can see that many of us are still alive... and that we love and respect him. I will be happy to surrender all of my airtime (for the next year) at the meetings for this guy. And, I would cover for this guy if it was my last act...
I feel the same way about all of you. It’s absolutely incredible we have men of this caliber walking among us. We don’t need any more heroes... we have them right here in front of us. Just stop someone and ask them, “Are you a Veteran?” Set a little time aside and listen to their story. It might be just a war story... but it might be the truth, (it’s a helluva lot better than Hollywood) and no one has ever heard it before; it has been my experience that people are a lot more than what they appear to be. And be grateful we live in a land with men who are worthy of praise. Don’t hold back... give them the praise!