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"Valor"
“The
medal itself bears only one word, and needs only one: VALOR.”
President
George W. Bush made this statement on July 16, 2001,
in a ceremony in which he presented the Congressional
Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor,
to Army Captain Ed Freeman.
President
Bush spoke of the reasons why Captain Freeman was
being awarded the honor: “That story began with the
battalion surrounded by the enemy, in one of
Vietnam’s fiercest battles.
The survivors remember the desperate fear of
almost certain death.
They remember gunfire that one witness
described as the most intense he had ever seen. And they remember the sight of an unarmed helicopter coming
to their aid.”
On
that day, November 14, 1965, the unarmed helicopter
was piloted by Captain Freeman.
Even after the infantry commander had closed
the helicopter landing zone in the Ia Drang Valley,
“Captain Freeman risked his own life by flying his
unarmed helicopter through a gauntlet of enemy fire,
time after time, delivering critically needed
ammunition, water and medical supplies to the
under-siege battalion,” according to the Citation
that accompanied the Medal of Honor.
Due
to intense enemy fire, medical evacuation helicopters
did not fly into the area.
But, as the Citation states: “Captain Freeman
flew 14 separate rescue missions, providing lifesaving
evacuation of an estimated 30 seriously wounded
soldiers, some of whom would not have survived, had he
not acted.”
On
August 20, 2008, Captain Ed Freeman died at the age of
80. He
will always be remembered for his “selfless acts of
great valor, extraordinary perseverance and
intrepidity [which] were far above and beyond the call
of duty or mission” (Medal of Honor Citation). *
Captain
Freeman’s valor exemplifies the courage with which
Jesus endured the cross (Hebrews 12:1-3).
With great valor, He suffered untold physical,
emotional, and spiritual anguish as He paid the price
for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).
The valor He displayed can only be fully
appreciated by understanding another word that
explains His motive: LOVE.
He died on the cross for you and for me because
he loves us (John 3:16).
"Greater
love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life
for his friends” (John 15:13).
Jesus demonstrated this great love for us by
dying for our sins.
Through
His heroic sacrifice, we can be rescued!
Jesus WILL rescue those who believe
and
trust Him (acts 16:30-31), turn from sin
in repentance
(Acts 17:30-31), confess
Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized
(immersed) into Him for the forgiveness of sins (Acts
2:38; Galatians 3:27). He will lead to safety those who continue to follow Him
faithfully (1 John 1:7).
Why
would Jesus display such extraordinary valor?
In one word, ” LOVE.”
Won’t
YOU respond to Him in
loving obedience so that you, too, may be rescued?
--
David
A. Sargent, Minister
Church
of Christ at Creekwood
1901
Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
*
Information gleaned from http://www.whitehouse.gov
and other related sources
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