Living_Proof_-_A_Marine
The following is an actual account, a true story of one Marine’sexperience in Vietnam. It has been published in a book called “LivingProof”, and made into a movie called, “Clebe McClary:Portrait of AnAmerican Hero”.
Perhaps you will enjoy, as many thousands of others have, readingthis true story of how a young Marine lieutenant with 12 others wereoverrun by over 150 North Vietnamese soldiers, ran out of ammo, foughthand to hand for their lives, and how the story ends. Here it is:
“If there was a perfect place for a boy to grow up, I guess mychildhood home would have been one. A 10, 000 acre plantation nearGeorgetown, SC, gave me plenty of opportunities to hunt and fish andjust enjoy nature.
My folks were strict, but loving. They made sure that I went toSunday school. My father, a 6-foot, 210 Scotch-Irishman, would say,”Clebe, go to church.” And that’s exactly what I did. Throughout myyouth I was faithful and active in my church. Yet, I never met Christor surrendered my life to Him.
After college I taught in high school for three years and coachedchampionship teams. During this time I met and married my wife Deanna.She was a beauty queen in South Carolina and her outward beauty wassurpassed by her inward grace and gentleness.
At the same time, Vietnam was putting our country in a great deal ofturmoil. I felt it was my responsibility to do what I could, so Ienlisted in the Marine Corps. Following training in Quantico, VA, Igot my orders to go to Vietnam.
As a lieutenant I often led reconnaissance, or “recon” patrols. Recon patrols were conducted deep in enemy territory to report on theiractivity. Each of these missions was a dangerous endeavor, but notuntil the 19th, and longest patrol, had I faced death so certainly.
Leading a patrol of 13 men, we went into a valley where very few ofour troops had been. We stopped for the night on the top of a hill.Three men dug a foxhole to my right; my doc and radio man were in afoxhole to my left. I got into a punji pit and eight men around theedges of a large bomb crater about 50 meters behind me. About midnightI thought I heard some enemy movement.
Climbing out of the punji pit to see if the men on my right hadheard the same noise, a grenade exploded hitting me in the neck andshoulder.
As I grabbed the radio and started calling for air support andartillery, a sapper unit, better known as a suicide squad, of about tenof the enemy started running up the hill. With grenades tied aroundtheir waists and grenades in each hand, they were literally coming upthe hill exploding, killing themselves trying to kill us.
One of them stood right above me. I shot him with my 12-gaugeshotgun and he fell into the pit with me. His satchel charge explodedblowing both of us out of the hole.
As I was going through the air all I could think of was, “Man,where’s my shotgun?” As I reached back for it, I realized my left armhad been blown off by the blast. I looked to my feet; my radio man andmy doc were dead or unconscious. Then I heard the three men on theright cry out and discovered that a grenade had gone into theirfoxhole.
A black Marine, PFC Ralph Johnson smothered it with his body andgave his life to save the other two Marines with him. He was laterposthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award forheroism. I started crawling toward them and before I got there anothergrenade came in. As I threw up my right hand, the explosion blew outmy left eye and many of my teeth on that side. A good bit of the use ofmy right hand was gone.
Things were looking tough and I thought my only chance was to getback to the bomb crater where the eight men were fighting. I triedrunning, but a couple of grenades knocked me down.
I lay there for what seemed like hours. I had never wanted to liveso badly in all of my life. If I could only see my wife one more time… she and I were supposed to have met in Hawaii next week. But lyingthere I doubted that I would ever see Deanna again.
Later I heard some movement in the bushes behind me. One of theenemy came up and shot me in the right arm. Another stuck a NorthVietnamese flag up about 15 feet from my head. I thought it was allover. Then I heard a voice call, “Lieutenant! Lieutenant!” It was an18 year old Marine from Alaska, Rod Hunter. He crouched down by myfeet and picked enemy off just as they were coming up the hill. At thesame time, Corporal Lucas, who had already won a Silver Star inVietnam, crawled out of the bomb crater and also was returning fire. Itold him to take over.
“Try to get helicopters to come after us.” He radioed for choppersbut they said they couldn’t come until daylight (it was 2:45 AM). Itold him, “Tell them to forget it. We won’t be here at daylight. We’reout of grenades and throwing rocks.”
He relayed this to the chopper pilots and instead of waiting, theycame right then. It was just 3:00 AM when they put my two dead men,the four wounded, and me on the first bird. As it lifted, the secondhelicopter landed. The last seven men dropped their packs, weapons -everything – and jumped on. As it lifted off the ground about 150 ormore of the enemy swarmed over the top of the hill. In a few moreminutes, not one of us would have gotten off that hill alive.
We were flown to the hospital at Danang, then on to Japan for moresurgery and then to Bethesda, MD. Here Deanna joined me in myrecuperation. Her love and encouragement gave me strength to rebuild mylife. After further operations, endless physical therapy sessions andoverwhelming pain and anxiety, I finally was strong enough to go hometo South Carolina. Though I still claimed my religion, I did not claimmy Savior.
One night I read in the paper that Bobby Richardson, a former NewYork Yankee, and Vonda Kay VanDyke, a former Miss America, were goingto be at a special rally at the football stadium. I told Deanna that Isure would like to see Bobby Richardson and added, “Any Marine wouldlike to see Miss America. Let’s go.” And we went.
Bobby and Vonda Kay gave brief testimonies followed by a message byBilly Zeoli of Gospel Films. He preached a sermon I will never forget.He said there are two kinds of fools in this world: a fool for Christand a fool for others. I knew right then what kind of fool I had beenall my life. I had gone to Sunday school and church only because thatwas what my mother and father wanted me to do. I didn’t drink orsmoke. I had a lot of religion but still needed a Savior.
There at the stadium that night I realized that I had just beenfooling myself. I had never Personally received Jesus Christ as mySavior. Yet the Bible says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith,and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works lestany man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8, 9). So that night I dropped allpretense and opened my heart to Jesus Christ in simple faith.”
How about you? On what do you base your hope of heaven – good works?Church attendance? Doing the best you can? Perhaps you have beenmaking the same mistake that I made for so long. Listen to what Godhas said in His Word:
1. GOD LOVES YOU AND HAS A WONDERFUL PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE. “For Godso loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoeverbelieveth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” – John3:16. And John 10:10, “I came that they might have life and have itmore abundantly.”
2. YOU ARE A SINNER, AND YOUR SIN HAS SEPARATED YOU FROM GOD. “Forall have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”-Romans 3:23. Romans 3:10, “There is none righteous, no not one.” And Isaiah 59:2,”Your iniquities have separated you from God; your sins have hiddenHis face from you.”
3. JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR ALL SINNERS, AND HE IS GOD’S ONLYPROVISION FOR SIN. “But God commendeth His love toward us, in thatwhile we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”-Romans 5:8. And John14:6, “Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth and the life; no mancometh to the Father but by Me.”
4. YOU MUST INDIVIDUALLY RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOR AND LORD,PUTTING YOUR TRUST IN HIM; THEN YOU CAN KNOW AND EXPERIENCE GOD’S LOVEAND PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE. “But as many as received Him, to them gave Hethe right to become children of God, even to those who believe in HisName”-John 1:12. It is by faith alone – see Ephesians 2:8, 9 above. This is called the “new birth”, in John 3:1-18. If you trust inanything but Jesus Christ and His death, burial and resurrection, thenyou have no chance for heaven.
Jesus Christ died for you; He paid your debt of sin; he offerseternal life to you and now He wants to come into your heart. Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any manhear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him.”
Will you, right now, let Jesus Christ come into your heart and takecontrol of your life? If so, pray this prayer or something like it(the attitude of your heart is far more important than the words yousay): “Lord Jesus, I know You love me because You died on the cross formy sins. I confess I am a sinner and cannot save myself. Thank You,Lord, for paying my debt of sin so that I may have eternal life. I donow, by faith, trust you Lord Jesus, and receive You as my Savior andLord. Please come into my heart and take control of my life. Byfaith, I thank You for doing so. In Jesus Name, amen.”
Does that prayer or something like it express the desire of yourheart? If it does, pray it now and Christ will come into your life, asHe promised.
Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) andtrusting Christ to come into our lives, to forgive our sins, and makeus the kind of people He wants us to be. Just to agree in your mindthat Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross forour sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotionalexperience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.
If you have made this decision, may I ask you to contact me forfurther information? I’ll be glad to send you additional freematerials to help you grow in your Christian life.
Clebe McClary Servicemen’s Christian Center John T. Sargent,Director P.O. Box 10413 Alexandria, VA 22310 (703) 971-0242
A ministry of Missions to Military, an independent Baptist missionboard