In 1968, a wounded young Marine laid in the tall grass of Vietnam. The Special Forces camp at Khe Sanh, had been under attack for weeks in what would become the bloodiest battle of the Vietnam war. A team of 47 American Marines was sent on a reconnaissance mission to locate the enemy’s camp. What they found instead was a catastrophic ambush.
Survivors would describe the ambush in the most horrendous terms imaginable. The wounded Marine was severely injured. As another Marine attempted to address his multiple wounds he uttered “No, leave me. Take this.” He pushed his last magazine of ammo into the hand of his would-be rescuer. The young Marine knew his life was over. Wherever he was from. Wherever his journey had taken him, today, in this tall grass field his life was about to end. His final act was not for himself, but for others.
The Marine that had found that wounded young man eventually made it out of the tall grass and found his way back to camp. Their bunker however was mostly empty. “Where is everyone?”, he asked. The shocking answer: “This is it.” Only four of the forty-seven men made it back to the bunker.
I was in High School at the time and not in Vietnam. But after hearing this story, it will be forever a part of my life. The details were part of a documentary and interviews with the survivors. Coincidentally, three years ago yesterday, I too was very near death. Not in a tall grass field, but in the back of an ambulance with a major heart attack. In some small way I can relate to what thoughts come to mind at such a time. My thoughts turned toward God, and then my family.
But what if given the opportunity to accept death and give life to another, what would I had done? That is what the young Marine did. Being in that battle without ammo was certain death. But he chose to give his last magazine of ammo, his last hope, so that another would have a chance to survive. I think the Marines would say ooh rah! The Bible says: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Of course, the greatest example of such love is Jesus. For He laid his life down that all might be saved. From the cross, a death He freely accepted, He has handed us all the opportunity of eternal salvation. Most of us will never end up in the tall grass of some far-off battlefield. But someday, somewhere, we all will face our final day. That day in the ambulance, it was my relationship with Jesus that was most important. I can assure you, that whenever our last day comes along, salvation will absolutely be the highest priority. Because we don’t know when, the good book says: “Now is the day of salvation”. (2 Cor 6:2)
