Marines Stick Together

As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open.

The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five feet away.

I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm, walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too and took a few steps towards him. I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something.

The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade and then turn back to the old man and I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying, "You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age." And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot.

I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief and mop his brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine. He then went to his wife and spoke with her and appeared to tell her it would be okay. I had seen enough and I approached the old man. He saw me coming and stood straight and as I got near him I said, "Looks like you're having a problem."

He smiled sheepishly and quietly nodded his head. I looked under the hood myself and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me. Looking around I saw a gas station up the road and told the old man that I would be right back. I drove to the station and went inside and saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them and related the problem the old man had with his car and offered to pay them if they could follow me back down and help him.

The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us he straightened up and thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated engine) I spoke with the old gentleman.

When I shook hands with him earlier he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I nodded and asked the usual question, "What outfit did you serve with?"

He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal . He had hit all the big ones and retired from the Corps after the war was over. As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me and I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card.

He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket. We all shook hands all round again and I said my goodbye's to his wife.

I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the station. Once at the station I told them that they had interrupted their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man.
I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me. One of them pulled out a card from his pocket looking exactly like the card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then, that they were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around and as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me. I said I would and drove off.

For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over and took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name........ "Congressional Medal of Honor Society."

I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading it over and over. I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together, because one of us needed help. He was an old man all right, but it felt good to have stood next to greatness and courage and an honor to have been in his presence.

" Remember, old men like him gave you FREEDOM for America "
America is not at war.
The U.S. Military is at war.
America is at the Mall.
If you don't stand behind our troops,
PLEASE feel free to stand in front of them!

God Bless America , our Veterans and Troops.

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The Marine stood and faced God,

Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.
'Step forward now, Marine,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?'
The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
'No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.
I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears
If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.
There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the Marine waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
'Step forward now, you Marine,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell.'

~Author Unknown~

How Did Veterans In Christ Get Started?

by John Sykes

It was sometime in 2003. I had a relatively successful business, a loving and lovely wife, Linda, and a wonderful daughter, Alice. I was also often angry and had very few real friends. There was very little joy or serenity or peace. Nothing satisfied me. Nothing seemed meaningful. It didn't occur to me why one of my favorite songs was Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody". I hated "religion", arguing that too much wrong had been done down through the ages in religion's name. I was an agnostic, big on the truth, who prided myself on living the Christian ethic. But I truly had the wrong idol(s) - self, pride, mammon, and on and on.

Linda asked me to attend First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale on a regular basis for a while. Fearing that our marriage was going to blow apart, I agreed. Little did I know that Linda had had what seemed like the whole church praying for me for years. Pastor Larry Thompson kept repeating, from the pulpit, "It's not about religion but about a relationship". I saw how the church's small groups loved one another and Linda and Alice. There actually seemed to be somebody, actually lots of somebodies, who cared. I kept wondering where the passion in the biblical actor, Mac McConnell, and the cast of the FBCFL Christmas Pageant, came from. Along came the Forty Days of Purpose program and the book "The Purpose Driven Life".

I finally knew the truth and that it would set me free (John 8:32). A lunch with Pastor Thompson followed to discuss whether any of my remaining issues were important, and they weren't. I accepted Christ and went forward at First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale on May 16, 2004. I was baptized on May 30, 2004, Memorial Day. I had my new heart!

For the next several months I looked for where I might obey the Lord's commands to serve Him and His church. Then, in one of my regular quiet times, God reminded me of something I had sworn thirty years earlier.

From 1968 through 1974, I served in the USMC and CIA. When I came home from Vietnam, I got spit on. It seemed like every social gathering was just an occasion for someone to call me a "baby burner". I swore then that I would, some day, help veterans, hoping that they would come home from other wars to a different reception.

So, thirty years later, with a new heart, I went immediately to Pastor Thompson and found that the church had nothing organized for and to veterans. Pastor suggested that I submit a proposal. He got it about 3 days later. Veterans In Christ was born.

Now I needed the time and treasure that I had said I would spend on this proposed mission. Only three days later my leading business competitor and good friend called me to have lunch, something we did often. I went to yet another lunch but little did I know. He had been trying to buy me out for years but I didn't like the offers. This day he doubled his last offer! It took me about 5 minutes to make up my mind to finally sell. The Lord didn't have to slap me upside my head. Any fool would have recognized that He had provided.

The sale of the business was finalized in October of 2004. Veterans In Christ at First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale has over 60 people dedicated to its vision "to honor veterans for their patriotic service and enlist them as soldiers for Christ".

Praise the Lord!