This was sent

to me by a dear friend, Chaplain Jerry D. Reynolds. It is, in my opinion,

a "must read" for all Americans.

This by no

means is something I have penned. Yet it made a profound impact on me

today and I found myself saying, "I have been privileged for 26 years

on active duty to be a pastor and chaplain for soldiers like this."

I hope you enjoy this article and, while it is long, take about five minutes

to read it.

I don't know

anything about the National Review, but I do appreciate the kindness of

the writer in painting a neat picture for us. I am thrilled to see young

men and women like those described below carry out their missions, but

have a sense of care and concern. You can choose to agree with all, some,

or none of what the writer has to offer. I think it is like the article

written in Business Week on the Mortuary Affairs soldiers from Ft. Lee.

They are military and civilians who represent our nation and do so very

well.

National Review

May 19, 2003

(Issue date)

The Men Who

Won The War

An 'embed'

looks at our soldiers

"Since

returning from Iraq a short time ago I have been answering a lot of questions

about the war from friends, family, and strangers. When they ask me how

it was over there I find myself glossing over the fighting, the heat,

the sandstorms, and the flies (these last could have taught the Iraqi

army a thing or two about staying power. Instead, I talk about the soldiers

I met, and how they reflected the best of America.

"A lot

of people are going to tell the story of how this war was fought; I would

rather say something about the men who won the war. War came early for

the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne when an otherwise quiet night in

the Kuwaiti desert was shattered by thunderous close-quarters grenade

blasts. Sgt. Hasan Akbar, a U.S. soldier, had thrown grenades into an

officers' tent, killing two and wounding a dozen others. Adding to the

immediate confusion was the piercing scream of SCUD alarms, which kicked

in the second. Akbar's grenade exploded.

"For a

moment, it was a scene of near panic and total chaos. Just minutes after

the explosions, a perimeter was established around the area of the attack,

medics were treating the wounded, and calls for evacuation vehicles and

helicopters were already being sent out. Remarkably, the very people who

should have been organizing all of this were the ones lying on the stretchers,

seriously wounded. It fell to junior officers and untested sergeants to

take charge and lead. Without hesitation everyone stepped up and unfalteringly

did just that.

"I stood

in amazement as two captains (Townlee Hendrick and Tony Jones) directed

the evacuation of the wounded, established a hasty defense, and helped

to organize a search for the culprit. They did all this despite bleeding

heavily from their wounds. For over six hours, these two men ran things

while refusing to be evacuated until they were sure all of the men in

their command were safe.

"Two days

later Capt. Jones left the hospital and hitchhiked