In the Midst of It
Let me tell you a true story.
Hopefully to show God’s power and His glory.
Two army buddies, friends that went A.W.O.L.
Absent without leave a military crime, a foul.
Two young men scared in Saigon, not more than eighteen.
Came over together from Oakland meeting, both young and green.
Naïve they were and pretty scared too.
Made a deal on the plane, “You cover me, I’ll cover you.”
Madness, chaos, helicopters flying around in the air.
Daytime, night time, the rumbling and thumps where constantly there.
The outside perimeter, with Saigon close by they kept vigil, they protected.
Turns out the two soldiers, disillusioned with the killings became dejected.
So tired of the killings, bombings they met a bar owner and stayed with him.
Each night you had to be in at 7:00 the curfew set in.
MP’s Vietnamese and Americans patrolled the streets for movement, watching within.
So the bar locked up good and tight you were their for night, till the dawns light set in.
Two soldiers In a Hotel-Bar- Brothel, and a vicious civil war.
Knowing when returning to base they would have some emotional scars.
One night late two weeks from camp the soldiers awoke to a flash shattered glass a rocket had hit the hutch next door.
Two soldiers hearing the cries and screams of woman and children, the innocents the poor.
Screams, cries desperate and whimpering could be heard inside the hut.
Let’s face it they were in the worse way bleeding and cut.
The five trapped had a soldier that didn’t care if he was AWOL; all he cared about was getting them out of the fire.
The soldier went in an out three times and he didn’t tire.
Looking back at the incident the other soldier aided the burnt and suffering as help arrived.
Without them these people never had a chance, they were caught off base, yes. But they were blessed and these people survived.
They for sure have the love and appreciation of the people they saved that day.
So in that moment that time they didn’t care of the race of these people they were humans and it didn’t matter to the two soldiers no way.
What happened to them? They were given a court martial an undesirable discharge, sent home.
What would you have done if you were the one?
Not even twenty finished with the war, the greatest lesson here is if they weren’t at that hotel, they wouldn’t have ever discovered that all are human.
In the midst of all the chaos, killing, mayhem, gave these two soldiers the love knowing that innocents needed help and they did for their fellow man
Copyright © Robert Ball | Year Posted 2012
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