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WWII STATEMENT AND CONVERSION
In September of 1942 WWII was already underway. Some of my friends had already enlisted to serve. I dropped out of school when I was a junior in high school. Not long afterward I tried to enlist in the Navy. After taking my physical and completing all of my registration, I was told, along with several of my friends that enlistments were temporarily suspended. We were told to take all of our enlistment paper work back to our homes and give it to our local draft board. We were also told that at the time we were drafted, it would be very probable that we would be drafted into the service of our preference. This didn't turn out to be the case. On the 1st of March, 1943 I was drafted into the army. I was sent to Fort McClellan, Alabama for my infantry basic training and then overseas to North Africa. I was eventually assigned to the 34th Infantry Division in Algiers, North Africa.
After taking some invasion training, my division was shipped to Salerno, Italy. A beachhead had already been established there before we arrived. Our immediate job was to relieve another infantry division that had been badly wounded. We were sent into to relieve them so they could be pulled off of the front lines to replace their dead and wounded. It was early September 1943. We were placed right in the middle of the war zone. For fresh recruits it was overwhelming to be thrust into one battle skirmish after another. We didn't
have time to think.
As the winter settled in, rain and cold became a serious problem. It was cold and constantly raining. We were continually soaked. We didn't have change of clothes or socks for weeks on end. Being a "foot soldier," you moved from battle to battle by walking. We were in mountainous country most of the time. In mid November 1943 we were in a very steep canyon and were pinned down and couldn't move for 4 days and 4 nights. My buddy and I laid in about 6 to 8 inches of water for all of that time. We finally had to make a withdrawal from the mountain and pull back to get some much needed rest and food rations.
When we arrived in the staging area, our kitchen crew brought our bedrolls to be able to pitch pup tents for shelter. My buddy and I worked at great length to get our two shelter halves together in very heavy mud. After getting our tent up, we went to nearby haystack and brought hay to put on the mud floor of our tent. That was the best nights rest we both had had for days. The next morning we were awakened by our kitchen crew that had prepared a hot meal and guys were out of their tents to go through mud to get to where it was being served. To my amazement, I couldn't get my shoes on because my feet were swollen so much. I had to crawl on my hands and knees to get to the food truck. It turned out there were many other soldiers who also had the same problem.
This was on the morning of November 18th and had to be hospitalized for what the Battalion doctor said was "trench foot." It was due to the cold and rainy conditions endured by the infantry during the winter of 43 that all infantry combatant troops were awarded the "Bronze Star" and because of the seriousness of it, I, as well as others with the same thing, was flown to a hospital in Tunisia, North Africa for special treatment. I finally returned to the front lines in January 1944. It was still winter and very cold and raining much of the time. It took sometime for me to get back into the swing of things because the infantryman's only transportation is their feet and mine were still quite painful.
Two months later my division was taken by Landing Craft Infantry to "Anzio Beachhead", not far from Rome. About 5:00 am on the morning of June 1st we were waiting to be relieved by another Division. The number of dead and wounded in our division was quite high. Before our replacements were able to relieve us however, a barrage of artillery began landing on our company and seriously wounded my buddy and me. We were a 30 caliber light Machine gun crew and my buddy eventually died from his wounds. It wasn't until years later I learned that there were several others who had also lost their lives that morning.
I was taken to an evacuation hospital and immediately operated on to remove large amounts of shrapnel from my body. I was hit in eleven different places. At about 3:00 am the next morning I was awakened and a nurse asked me to try not to fall back to sleep, as there were some doctors who wanted to talk to me. As the doctors arrived and began to describe the extent of my injuries to me, it was apparent to them as well as to me that it was a miracle that I was still alive. One of the doctors kept pointing towards heaven and stated, "Somebody up there must like you." All the doctors agreed there was no way I could have survived my injuries without some kind of divine intervention.
When I returned home from the war I began to drink quite heavily. I convinced myself I needed to enjoy myself and have a good time. Everything in my life went downhill. I was constantly reminded of my mother's words when I was young. But I didn't seem to care.
I was numb and completely free of any guilt. Nothing seemed to matter. As a result I began to feel hopelessly lost. I really didn't seem to have anything to live for. I was filled with extreme depression. I was ready to give up completely.
At the time I was driving a gasoline tanker. I had just returned to the home terminal to unload and park for the day. I was sitting in the office filling out my time card. As I sat there I began playing back my whole life. I asked myself, "Why had I failed so miserably?" I really didn't intend for it to turn out as it did. I had wanted to be a good person but missed the mark, so to speak. While sitting there I was thinking to myself that I would like to have one more chance to be good and do it right. Right in the middle of my deepest thoughts, a friend of mine came in and asked me a question that I would have never expected him to ask. His question was, "would you go to church with me on Sunday?" I can't say why, but it was almost like God was right there responding to my request for another chance. My answer was a resounding, yes. In an instant, I experienced the most gratifying feeling I had ever had in all my life. I felt forgiven and so clean. It was indescribable. The warmth flowed down over my body like hot butter. One of the most incredible changes in my life that was very noticeable, I no longer used the very foul language I had used for so long. I had made many attempts to not use such words, but failed miserably and now it was gone and I was so thankful to God for making me into a new person. He gave me a new personality, new priorities, abilities I never knew I had. He created in me a sense of confidence in myself that made me feel I could do anything. God's word says, "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me."
The purpose of this testimony is that it might help someone else who may be searching for the answers to life, and to their life in particular. God loves all people and wants everyone to be saved. We are all sinners and lost. Read Romans 3: 23, as well as Romans 6: 23. Read Gospel of John 10: 10 and then Romans 10: 9 & 10
Revelation 3: 20, Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me." John 10: 10 says, "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy. I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." John 1: 12 says, "To as many as received Him (Jesus Christ) gave He them the power to become the sons of God." He loves us and wants to come into our lives and bring joy, peace and the experience of an exciting, adventurous life. Invite Him in today.
If you are interested in becoming a Christian please visit this web page. You must first be connected to the Internet before doing so. Right mouse click on the web page URL and select "Open Hyperlink". If this doesn't work, copy and paste the address in your web browser.
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