Some Sweet Day

My Aunt Shirley never met Granddad, but she mailed me this poem with the words, "I don't know if your grandfather walked with the Lord. If he did, perhaps the words of this poem is what he'd want to say to you."

. . . Granddad gathers me into his arms and I wrap my arms around his middle looking up into his sparkling blue eyes. He lovingly looks down at my upturned face and whispers "I love you, Deborah." I smile, "I love you too Granddaddy." He leans down and kisses me on the forehead. My eyelids slide shut . . .

If you could see where I have gone,
The beauty of this place,
And how it feels to know you're home,
To see the Savior's face.
To wake in peace and know no fear,
Just joy beyond compare,
While still on earth you miss me yet,
You wouldn't want me there.

If you could see where I have gone,
Had made the trip with me,
You'd know I didn't go alone,
The Savior came with me.
At my last breath he was by my side,
And reaching down His hand, said,
"Hurry, you are going home
To a grand and glorious land.
Don't worry over those you love,
For I'm not just with you,
And don't you know with you at home,
They'll long to be here too?"

If you could see where I have gone,
And see what I've been shown,
You'd never know another fear
Or ever feel alone.
You'd marvel at the care of God,
His hand on every life,
And realize He really cares
And bears with us each strife.
And that He weeps when one is lost;
His heart is filled with pain,
But, oh, the joy when one comes home,
A child at home again.

If you could see where I have gone,
Could stay awhile with me,
Could share the things that God has made
To grace eternity.
But, no, you couldn't ever leave,
Once heaven's joy you'd known,
You couldn't bear to walk earth's paths
Once heaven was you home.

If you could see where I have gone,
You'd know we'll meet some day,
And though I'm parted from you now,
That I am just away.
So thank you, dear beloved,
For living for the Lord,
For encouraging me to love Him,
To trust Him and His word.
And now that I am home with Him,
Secure in every way,
I'm waiting here at heaven's door
To greet you some sweet day.

Pea-Soup Fog

Lieutenant Lee and Annette

Granddad married Grandma within a month after returning home from the war. Right now they are together in Heaven ... probably dancing with each other as they used to do in our living room.



I still remember sitting at my Grandfather's feet as he reclined in his overstuffed red chair. I'd gaze up into his excited blue eyes as he retold his WWII stories complete with expressive hand gestures and gun noises. He had many experiences during the war that left him with no doubt that God was watching over him. Here are three specific instances - in my Granddad's own words - which give God credit for his protection.

FINDING THE ENEMY

Imagine, if you can, a valley, a long valley totally snow covered. The snow is knee-deep. Everything is just like a great big long dish opening up for about a quarter to a half mile. I had orders from my battalion commander ... he called me back to headquarters ... why he picked me I don't know. Anyway, he said "Lee, I need to know where the Germans are, and I think they're up at the head of this valley somewhere. I want you to take a patrol of men up this valley and find out where the Germans are. " there wasn't a tree, there wasn't a shrub, it was naked. Just a naked valley covered with knee-deep snow. "Yes sir." My colonel speaketh and I doeth.

I got my men together, a dozen men or so. I told them at daylight we'll move out. So we spent a sleepless night. I prayed all night. I said, "Lord, this is a mess. This is suicide. And I don't know, but do something. I don't know what to do. It is suicide to go up that naked valley and get cut to pieces by the Germans." Do you know what He did? Do you have a solution for that if you were the Lord? What would you do to protect me? Do you know what He did?

When I got up the next morning before day to head out, there was a pea-soup fog. We slogged up that naked valley, and we got up close to those woods and I could see Germans everywhere. I could see them digging in here, I could see a machine gun nest yonder, I heard another machine gun nest over hear working the bolt on their gun to load it up. I saw Germans over there. And I plotted their positions on my map. Then I took my men and we eased back out of that valley and back into town and the fog lifted, just like pulling a curtain up. "Thank you, Lord, Thank you, Lord, Thank you, Lord!"

With that information, we worked over those woods real good with artillery, and then attacked the next day up the valley without a shot being fired at us. We took the positions that the Germans had used, and then moved on from there.

THE TANK AT OSWEILER

The Lord was looking out for me, and I spent the rest of the war listening out for that feeling. And I was led ... I really was. There are specific things ... the most remarkable was, I was riding a tank in Osweiler and had Sergeant Nagle with me. He and I were riding when all of a sudden I had a feeling we ought to get off that tank. I ignored it ... there was no reason for me to get off that tank. And then, it was as though the heavens were screaming at me, "GET OFF THAT TANK!" It was something ... it was a voice that I heard physically that could not be denied. and I told the sergeant "Let's go!" We jumped off that tank and into a culvert just as one of our own planes came over and dropped napalm right on the tank. And here we are cowering in this culvert with our tank blown up and everybody that was in and on it burned up right above us. It was split-second timing. We got safe and the tank was blown!

THE LORD KEPT ME ALIVE

There is no question that the good Lord intended me to come back home. I became convinced of that. I remember leading my company somewhere near the Siegfried Line up to a firebreak in the forest. And I didn't hear a voice, but instead a sudden feeling that "You stop ... don't go across there. " And I stopped and told my men to dig in right here. They complained about it bitterly ... "Aw, lieutenant ... Aw, lieutenant. " But , I said go ahead and dig in right here. So they started digging in to keep them out of mischief.

Then, about that time, all hell broke loose in the clearing and the far edge of where we would have been. We were under observation and didn't know it; so they had set that artillery for the firebreak and the woods beyond it. And here we were in the woods in front of it, and they just obliterated the landscape in front of us. My men quit complaining. Then I told them "OK, let's go!" and we went on across without any problem.


Soldiers hoped to be placed under my Grandfather's command because they considered him "lucky". Granddad, throughout his life, was firm in his conviction that there was no luck or coincidence involved. He always stated clearly that the Lord guided and protected him.

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up
for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge,
shall give me at that day: and not to
me only, but unto all them also that
love his appearing.

II Timothy 4: 7,8