Miracles: Protect Our Soldiers

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Thursday is Veterans Day, when we honor those men and women who have fought and died for our freedom. Some people consider the act of a soldier to be violent and against the cause of love. We recognize that the soldier stands to protect the innocent, to stand up for those who cannot protect themselves. The soldier lays down his life out of love for his family and friends and neighbors. As we celebrate Veteran's Day, let us take a moment to reflect on our nation's rich history and the principles on which it was founded, principles that each soldier stands to protect so that we all can be safe.  The following story was provided to us by two soldiers, and we thank God for His constant protection for our men and women serving both home and overseas.  At their request, we have not included the last names of the two soldiers interviewed for this article.

Our military personnel in the Middle East face daily dangers from roadside bombs and enemy fire. Not only do we support our soldiers to do their jobs, but we also recognize the absolute importance of praying for these courageous people who are placing their lives on the line to serve America. Many people in the military can testify about God's faithfulness to answer those prayers with great protection in the midst of serious jeopardy. This is just one story that two Green Berets had to share.

On January 28, 2007, a group of US Special Forces soldiers, along with the Iraqi Special Forces they had trained, were getting ready to leave the Iraqi city of Najaf. Sergeant First Class Donny told us, "We were just about to head out when we got a call asking if we could help the mayor get out of this little firefight he was in."

Ready to help, they drove down to the troubled spot and spent the next three to four hours fighting until they had successfully rescued the mayor of Najaf. When that mission had been accomplished, they returned to their Najaf operating base "and got plussed up with ammo and food and gas."

Staff Sergeant Tyler told us, "We're thinking, 'That was bad.' Dude. That wasn't even the beginning of it. It just got worse and worse and worse."

The second time they tried to get ready to leave, they got a second call, "Hey, we got an Army bird down," and they went back out to rescue a downed US helicopter, hoping the personnel on board were still alive. "It was kind of weird, with fires coming from all over the place, people taking pot shots from alleys or berms. The desert's kind of crazy," Donny told us.

Tyler said, "Then we picked a route, and it just happened that that route went through the center of the Heaven's Army. And right there is the 12th Imam surrounded by all his people."

They had decided they'd drive around a big berm and out to the helicopter crash site. "We had to drive between two berms," Donny said, "That's not good – it's a perfect place for an ambush." There didn't appear to be any other route to the helicopter, so the train of trucks carrying fewer than 100 US and Iraqi soldiers began to drive right between the two berms. As soon as they did, men later identified as the Army of Heaven Muslim cult poured up to the top of the berms and began shooting down at them from only 15-20 feet away.

"They used the berm as cover and started shooting at us, basically at point blank range," Donny said. "I was inside the Humvee behind bullet-proof glass, but the guys like Tyler in the back of the truck, they were only protected on the sides - the back was open and totally exposed."

Tyler later found out that his sister and father and brother all had sudden urges to pray for him that day. "I was walking through the front door," his sister told us, "and I thought, 'Wow, Tyler really could die.' So I stopped and prayed for him and his team members right then. Then I went on with my day."

The ambush was serious. "We were fish in a barrel," Donny said. "They had a little mini-city they were building there, and we drove right into the middle of that hornet's nest."

"But you guys didn't get shot?" we asked.

"It's so weird, I didn't get a scratch," Tyler said. "Not a single scratch. And this is like, you put your finger up in the air, and it gets shot off. It was unbelievable fury! Unbelievable fury! The Imam's guys were so close we could reach out and touch them. I was definitely red most of the time on my ammo."

"Can you believe that?" Donny said, "That's God."

Fewer than 100 US and Iraqi soldiers were attacked by an army of 600-1000 fighters who believed their leader was the Muslim Messiah.

"These guys were high," Donny said. "I'm looking directly into these guys' eyes through my bullet-proof window, and they were high."

One by one the US trucks drove through that ambush, and Donny was afraid the enemy would shoot out their tires and overrun them. Instead, one by one the trucks all made it through and they were able to drive far enough to turn around and get into a good position to battle back. They battled until nightfall, waiting until it was dark enough to check out the burning, charred helicopter.

Donny said, "We're not the ones who did the battle damage assessment, but there were over 300 we killed, you know, between us and calling in fire, and 300-400 more were arrested."

In contrast, the US side lost two Iraqis during the fight. Tyler grieved over the two Iraqis, men that he had trained. Not a single American was seriously injured.

"Generally, if you set up an ambush," Donny pointed out, "you should kill somebody. I'm not saying they were bad, because it was a pretty good ambush, but we had God."

Tyler said, "After a battle like that, you don't know what to say to your guys - to the Iraqis we had trained - to motivate them to continue fighting. After a fight like that, even though we won, it was a hard, hard win. You don't know what to say to them. But, every single one of them, down to the new 18-year-olds, they all came back the next day. Because they can quit if they want - it would be hard to keep them from running off. But, they didn't. It really speaks volumes of them. I'll never again doubt the abilities of the Iraqis to fight.

The Army later learned that the Soldiers of Heaven had been intending to attack Najaf the next day on the climax of the annual Shiite celebration of Ashura.  They intended to massacre the clerical leadership, take charge of Najaf, and declare their leader the 12th Imam.   The US soldiers' route between the wrong two berms ended all of that.

Tyler said, "Afterward, when it was all done, Donny looked at me and said, 'We need to pray,' and I said, 'Roger that.' We got down on our knees and thanked God."

[This article was originally published in the April 13, 2010 eNews.]

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