For Christmas JonMark gave me a number of books that he thought that I would enjoy. One was a Star Wars book that I am looking forward to reading soon. The other three books were military books. They retold famous stories. I completed the first 2 books quickly. As with most books in this genre, the reading is easy and flows smoothly. I read about famous operations and the life of US Marine general as he served in Iraq.
The third book, the one that I am reading each evening now, is a bit different.
Frank Sission, the author, served in World War II in Patton’s Third Army. The book he writes is titled: I marched with Patton. He tells his story of moving from rural Oklahoma, to basic training, and then finally landing in the Army in Europe. While Frank was not present at the D-Day Invasion, his service carried him from the shores of France all the way to Munich, Germany. It is an interesting story to read.
The most challenging parts to read are when he and his men first walk into Buchenwald.
They don’t know what they are walking into, or what they will find there. It was shocking for them. I am sure that even as you read the word “Buchenwald” you took a deep breath. You know what happened there. The suffering and pain that lived in that place. But Frank didn’t. . . and neither did a number of people who he served alongside of that day. At that point in the book, Frank’s narration of the story loses a lot of details. It seems that he just cannot write about what we saw—which is understandable. I am not sure that I could either. But the story continues.
Some time later, while traveling toward Munich, after having crossed the Rhine ahead of schedule, these same men come across another set of chain link fences. . . . Fences with razor wire on top of them and large guard towers. There is an odor in the area that is unmistakable. Sadly, Frank and his men found Dachau. What a burden to bear—being present at 2 concentration camps.
The story in place is worse. It is far worse. What Frank sees he struggles to put into words, but tries.
At Dachau, Frank sits with survivors of the Nazis making sure that they do not eat too quickly. If they do eat too fast they could die because their bodies cannot handle the calories being rushed back into their systems at that pace. This is slow, gentle, work that he must do. And again, Frank does it well. It is after that experience that Frank’s faith is again expressed in a familiar way: in a Psalm.
Throughout the war, Frank’s primary job was to string wire so that the Allied heavy artillery has a solid, constant, line of communication with the frontlines. It is risky work for Frank and his men because they are routinely worried about snipers trying to cut the lines and being bombed them from the skies by passing aircraft. He is in a few ’near misses,’ but Frank survived every time. His men survived every time. In the moments after running the wire, and dodging bombs and bullets, Frank often returns to a tiny piece of paper that he tore out of a bible. It is stuffed in his shirt pocket over his heart. He rereads a portion of Psalm 91 each time. Besides his letters from home, this passage of God’s word, supports him.
That passage of Psalm 91 is held tightly after the events at Dachau. He weeps. He reads the words again and again. God’s word support Frank when he is alone and trying to rest.
I do not imagine that you or I will be placed in a situation with that much pain and suffering surrounding us. But we will, we absolutely will, find times when the word of God could help us in our daily moments of pain. We will experience times when the promises of scripture will be what we need to remember and hold onto. In that case, I wonder what passage your heart is drawn to?
For me it is also Psalm 91. I wonder what passage you read?
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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