Almost a year after his feet touched Korean soil at the port of Inchon, my dad boarded a ship for America. He was returning home a different man, a man whose emotions and body had been scarred by the horrors of war. He had seen too much blood, too much death, and too many atrocities. He had lived in a land so cold water froze in canteens, oil congealed in soldiers’ weapons, and the frozen bodies of comrades were used to barricade positions.
Despite everything, my dad’s single most earnest prayer had been answered. God had brought him safely back from the mountainous killing fields of Korea to the flat, open farm fields of southwestern Minnesota. For that he was thankful.
Forty-seven years later the United States government thanked my dad for serving his country in a war that many forgot. On May 21, 2000, he received a Purple Heart for the wounds he suffered at Heartbreak Ridge on February 26, 1953. For reasons unknown, my dad never got his medal as a young soldier.
That Sunday afternoon in May 2000 was a memorable day for my dad and his family. Emotions overflowed as the Purple Heart was pinned on his chest. I choked back tears as I focused my camera, intent on capturing this intensely personal, yet public, moment. Tears slipped down my dad’s face as he recounted war stories to a local television reporter covering the event. The pain in his eyes was obvious as he spoke. He was proud of his service to his country, yet the horrific battlefield memories were still almost too unbearable to share.
But it was his faith that sustained him through the years — first as a young soldier fighting in the mountains of Korea, and in the years thereafter as a veteran battling vivid memories of death and war. He believed the Lord had brought him home for a reason.
Nearly three years later, on April 3, 2003, the Lord took my dad home to heaven. Today he lies buried in a hillside grave overlooking miles of farm fields. He is, at last, no longer tormented by the horrors of war, but forever at peace with the Father who brought him safely home.
For ideas on how to honor veterans in your family or community: Veteran's Day: Sharing the Past with Our Children.
Audrey Kletscher Helbling lives in Faribault, Minnesota, with her husband, Randy, and children Amber, Miranda, and Caleb. Her work has appeared in The Lutheran Digest, Minnesota Moments magazine, poetry anthologies, greeting cards, and elsewhere. Faith, family, and her childhood home in southwestern Minnesota influence Audrey’s writing.
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Taken from God Answers Prayers: Military Edition by Allison Bottke, with Cheryll Hutchings and Jennifer Devlin. Copyright © 2005 by Allison Bottke. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene OR. Used with permission.
Allison Bottke is an inspirational writer, speaker, and workshop leader. The founder of God Allows U-Turns, she has written or compiled several books, including God Answers Prayers, God Answers Mom's Prayers (Harvest House); and Journeys of Friendship, Journeys of Love, Journeys of Hope, and Journey's of Joy (Barbour).
