A GLIMPSE OF ONE LIFE

UPROOTED FROM A HAPPY HOME

I remember one elderly lady who took us to church on Sunday mornings. I remember most of all the fragrance of the flowers she carried to church in her car. It was truly a happy carefree life in this foster home setting. While there I played some mischievous tricks on my sister who still remembers them even to this day with a frown. Unfortunately, she has the scars to prove it as well!

One day we were uprooted from this wonderful setting in our life and placed in another foster home where we were to remain until adulthood. The former foster parents had a child of their own and moved to another state to accept a job offer which prompted our being sent to the other foster home. I never fully recovered from their decision. They sought my forgiveness at a later date but I rejected their request. If I could see them again I would readily show my forgiveness but that chance has long since come and gone. A lesson to be learned in forgiveness, the opportunity may come along only once, and one needs to carefully weigh their decision!

A NEW LIFE - A NEW SETTING

I remember another such instance. I enjoyed going to a lake about 30 miles from our new foster home to water-ski. Later in life when I returned to get another glimpse of those cherished moments, only to find that they eluded me once again, as before. The lake was still there but its landscape had been so drastically changed that it could no longer reinforce those old memories. The only way they would ever be reconstructed again would be through my previously captured memories of those wonderful times.

A COMMITTED LIFE

GOOD MORALS - A PART OF OUR UPBRINGING

Alcohol consumption was not even a consideration in the home we grew up in. Foul language was taboo. TV was not a factor at the time we were growing up for it was still good wholesome family entertainment. We went to drive-in movies but again the contents of the movies did not have to be a concern to our foster parents. It would be good to revive those days, if one could, for the morals of our land has certainly gone in the opposite direction!

THE BIG - BAD - AN UGLY

I had height but was like a beanpole. I could offer little resistance towards him other than have a dislike cultivate deep within me. I had a friend, in a similar circumstance, and we simply endured. Maybe you can relate to such a happening with a glimpse into your own life! I heard of one Christian lady who had hatred towards the one who had betrayed her family and caused them to be put to death. It took God to do a surgical removal of that hatred and place forgiveness in her heart toward that person. He will do that for each of us, if we will allow Him too.

I have read of many who suffered horribly at the hands of their captors; some even being put to death simply for their belief in Christ. But they still possessed a love towards those doing them bodily harm and prayed for their soul; yet many are unable to forgive man of simpler trespasses. We go through some trying times in our lives, as I was to learn, even past my high school days, but we have to be willing to forgive. Scripture reveals that if you will not forgive man his trespasses neither will your Father in heaven forgive you yours (Matthew 6:15).

BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL

While attending Business College I lived in the YMCA. While there I learned the art of throwing dice which would cause my removal from Business College after a short eight months. I was a poor loser after having depleted my checking account that had been set up towards attending Business College. When I complained to my gambling buddies they gave me an attitude adjustment that still smarts today when I think of about it. The desire to gamble soon left me but then another vice came into existence which was alcohol consumption.

One night of alcohol indulgence almost cost the use of the hand that I am entering this story with. I apparently did not care for the reflection of myself in a storefront window and hit it with my fist. I found out later that the upper part of the huge window could have easily sliced my hand off, when it fell, had not divine providence intervened. As one reflects on the past one has to be thankful there is one mightier than ourselves watching over us.

BEYOND BUSINESS COLLEGE

Just prior to joining the military I had a falling out with my foster father. I departed from home by the way of thumbing a ride to a distant town about 30 miles away. I learned to fend for myself by staying at the local YMCA and working in a field earning $40.00 a week. It was a five-mile walk to work and back. I later traveled five miles in the opposite direction to pick strawberries for half a day and earn as much as I did working a day in the field.

I remember one instance that I have never forgotten. I had 25 cents left and the choice of eating a piece of pie or a bowl of soup at the same price. I wanted that pie so bad I could taste it but knew the soup would be more nourishing. A valuable lesson in the difference in "wants" and "needs."

One day I returned to the YMCA to find my foster father waiting for me. He asked me to return home, if not for him then for my foster mother. I returned home for departure into the military.

LIFE IN THE MILITARY

Since I had typing ability I was selected as a Company Clerk. It had its benefits and I found out that I enjoyed administrative work. I finally was able to do something I enjoyed doing. But booth camp was another matter. One particular upsetting day was when the Company Commander, a Chief Petty Officer, came back from lunch intoxicated along with another Chief Petty Officer. They certainly knew how to make one's day hectic. They held locker inspection, in that condition, and threw personal items out the third floor window to the ground below. One boot camp attendee had his nose, ears, and mouth stuffed with cigarettes. Another was commanded to do push ups as one of the Chief Petty Officers walked on top of him. Another grabbed an attendee's rifle, while he was on guard duty, and yelled at him for allowing him to do so. Later the Company Commander wanted to know where I was and I told him in the washroom. My foster mother certainly did not raise no dummy, maybe somewhat of a coward in the line of fire, but certainly no dummy!

I survived the agony of booth camp and was sent to Corpsman School (my promised military school) to be a hospital corpsman. I found it not to be my cup of tea. The only reason I was chosen for such a rating was the military's need for more bodies in that particular rate and because of my administrative ability. When they started teaching us to give bed baths, shots and enemas I knew my departure was at hand. I was told by the Commanding Officer that I would end up on a destroyer in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I told him I did not care just get me out of Corpsman School.

I received orders to San Juan. I walked up to a sailor with a lot of years in the Navy (one could tell by the amount of hash marks on his sleeve) and asked him what ship the San Juan was. He looked at my orders and said, that is shore duty in San Juan, Puerto Rico you dummy. Again, I certainly was no dummy, but simply had believed what the Commanding Officer of the Corpsman School had told me.

SAN JUAN

Have you ever heard of one becoming so intoxicated that they tried to swim out of a mud puddle? Have you ever heard of someone trying to direct traffic in a drunken condition? Have you ever heard of someone waking up from a night of drinking with their hand hanging over the edge of the roof of a building three or four stories high? Have you ever heard of someone waking up early in the morning, out in the middle of nowhere, minus some of their clothing, as the sun came up to arouse their senses? Have you ever heard of someone being swung at by a pimp, and then being backed out of a bar by a policeman using their chest as a tattoo spot for his nightstick? Have you every heard of someone pushing another person through a swinging door who then hit a parked car and crumbled up like a rag doll? Have you ever heard of someone being chased by the shore patrol through an outdoor theater with the Commanding Officer of the Naval Station in attendance; then within seconds after immersing from that situation, come within a fraction of a second of being fired upon by a Marine Security Guard, then face three military judges at a Special Court Martial for disrespect to a superior officer, assault, breaking apprehension, drunk and disorderly, resulting in 50 days in a Marine Corp Brig? Welcome to my life in San Juan, Puerto Rico in a two-year hair-raising period!

No wonder the 40th Psalm means so much to me: "He brought me up out of an horrible pit, and set my feet upon a rock, and established by goings. And he has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to my God." One Shore Patrolman, who had used his nightstick on me, saw me after my transfer from Puerto Rico. He could not believe that I was still in the Navy! We serve a wonderful Savior who is able to clean our act up but it was to come much later in life.

During my time in San Juan I attempted to drown out past memories through alcohol; however when one awakes the next day those memories are still there. Many times I could have slipped out of this life to face the terrible consequences of a literal Hell. I am so thankful for the saving grace of God, through His Son Jesus, who would one day bring me into that inner peace I was searching for.

Many cancer patients say: "I am a survivor." Of my tour of duty in San Juan I can say that I was a survivor because of the one who was watching over me, even though I had not yet acknowledged Him. A book could be written concerning my many misdeeds in San Juan, I have much to be thankful for.

SEA DUTY

During my short stay on staff I did experience some moments of the reality of military duty. The USS Boxer, and other ships deployed with us, helped evacuate some 500 foreign nations from the Dominican Republic during an uprising in that country. I saw, through intelligence reports, what remained of many who had been thrown over a cliff into the sea, or rather what remained of them after the sharks had finished with them. It was an eye opener towards the reality of warfare and its nasty business.

I saw U. S. Marines depart the ship in good spirits but return with solemn looks on their faces. Some came back wounded and a call for volunteers to give blood was issued. I went to donate blood and while there I witnessed one Marine, who could have been no more than 18 or 19 years old, lying in front of me with his shirt off, revealing a tiny hole in his chest about the size of a pencil in diameter. A Navy Chief Petty Officer said, "He's meat throw him into the freezer." I thought that comment to be cold and insensitive and did not realize, at the time, that the rigors of warfare could prompt such an attitude.

My duty on the staff of COMPHIBRON TEN was short lived due to continued liberty violations, while ashore during port visits, I became what is termed a "security risk" and lost my Top Secret clearance. I then became no use to the position I held on the staff without that clearance. I was transferred to the USS Telfair (APA 210), an amphibious ship that was assigned to the same amphibious squadron. I met a Chief Petty Officer and First Class Petty Officer who attempted to straighten me out but with little success. Alcohol had its terrible grip on me and I was unable to turn loose such a partner, and its controlling influence on my life. However, due to my work record I was able to reenlist for an additional four years while aboard the USS Telfair.

JAPAN - A DESTINY WITH GRACE

As I pen these words I do not encourage anyone to attempt to imitate my actions, prior to my salvation, but rather to adhere to God's Word: to shun that which is evil and cling to that which is good. May these words help someone to avoid the pitfalls I experienced in my own life and introduce someone to a better way through Jesus Christ!

In Japan I came to a crossroads in my life and another court martial. I ended up in a Naval hospital with my life on the line, after another bout of alcohol and its affects. It is not with relish that I reveal this but hope it will somehow be a benefit to someone who is headed in the same path. Many aspects of my life I have chosen not to reveal and will take some to the grave with me.

One night as I indulged in alcohol it nearly cost me my life. Looking back now, I believe that numerous times in my life I have escaped loss of life through the amazing grace that I now sing of. That night I was so far gone in an alcohol stupor that I could not even recall all that happened until it was told me later. It is as if my memory blacked out until I sobered up through sheer pain.

I was in a bar, doing my normal thing, when a Japanese bartender became angered by my actions towards another person that was there. He figured I was too big to fight so he evened the odds with a butcher knife. I had on a suede jacket and when he drove the knife though the jacket into my side, withdrew it, and then launched in again, the knife entered into the same place twice.

I was told that I had taken a cab to a friend's house in Navy housing. When my friend heard me cry out in the night he thought he was dreaming. When he awoke in the morning and seen the blood hand print on his screen door he realized it was not a dream.

I was told I had left his house on foot. In the meanwhile the taxi driver who had taken me to his house noticed I had left a large amount of blood on his backseat and notified the police. The Shore Patrol found me a short distance from my friend's home. Their appearance is the first thing I remembered of the whole incident. They looked like giants in their Navy white uniforms. I was immediately taken to the Naval hospital in an ambulance, some distance away, with its siren going and red lights flashing. I had suffered a great loss of blood for, when they returned my clothing later, my trousers had been soaked from the waistline to the knee area in blood.

I now have another belly button on my left side where the knife had made its entry. I carry this reminder of what God brought me out of. I also have a scar across my belly, still visible today, where they performed exploratory surgery to see what damage had been done. I can tell you that it was a lonely time in my life lying on the operating table not knowing what would happen. I turned to the God of my childhood and made three promises if He would spare me: I would quite drinking, quit using profanity, and become more religious. Four months later, to my shame, I was drinking again.

I was told that I was fortunate to be alive. God did His part but I for ten years reneged on mine. I do not encourage anyone to take such a chance for no one knows the hour in which they will leave this world. I thank God for His mercy that was extended but I believe I most assuredly pushed it to the hilt.

I was in the hospital for 18 days. I felt ashamed that I was in a ward filled with Vietnam vets who had been wounded in action and to the reason why I was there. Three of us, a member of the Navy Seal team, a Marine, and myself were in a room reserved for chest patients. One day Bob Hope stuck his head in the room, unannounced, and asked if we had seen the girls yet? We said no and he sent three of them in to stand by each of our beds to speak with us. The one who stood by my bed was Miss Universe! I had a patch over one eye and a tube exiting my chest. Bob Hope asked it that was where I got hit. I was too ashamed to admit what really happened and simple said yes.

One Sunday morning Billy Graham, unannounced, came into our room. This was the second time I had seen him in person. The other time was in Booth Camp but I could not see him well because I had forgotten my glasses and he was a good distance away from me. He and Bob Hope both took pictures with us and we later received a copy of which I still have today. Those visits made such an impression on me that they are just as clear as if they happened yesterday. I received a Summary Court Martial for misconduct in regards to the stabbing incident but was cleared of all charges.

PUSAN - A DESTINY ALTERED BY CHOICE

I remember one rather humorous incident while there. I was sent to meet a Naval vessel carrying Korean soldiers returning from Vietnam. I went to the assigned berth where the ship was to tie up but the ship was nowhere in sight. A Korean soldier speaking in broken English asked what I was doing there. I tried to explain the best I could that I was waiting for a ship to come in. He said, "no ship coming, no ship coming, you go." He had a rifle, was getting really insistent, and needlessly to say I was relieved when just at that moment the ship came into sight!

While stationed in Pusan I met a woman of special interest. I began to buy her things and we had an ongoing relationship that was coming to fruition. She had a daughter that looked just as Caucasian as I did. She was a pretty girl and so was her mother. One of the sailors I worked with was fond of her as a friend and looked out for her interest. He told me that if I did not do what was right toward her I would have to answer to God. What I am about to reveal I am not proud of but ashamed that I allowed it to go so far. I do not know if I was simply a ticket for her and her daughter to go to America or not, only God knows. But she went through a great deal of trouble to have the paperwork approved for our marriage even to the point of selling her home.

I called home and expressed my plans to my foster mother and to say it was received with a cold reception is to put it mildly. I was then transferred back to Japan where the interest began to wear off. I know she was crushed when I broke the news to her that I was not going to pursue the marriage. Her voice crying out "No Roy, No Roy" still rings in my ears today. I had to seek God's forgiveness for possibly messing this woman's life up. But sometimes I wonder what would have been in store for me had I gone through with it? Only God knows. May God forgive us if we have committed any injustice towards anyone!

RETURN TO JAPAN

It would be unfair to leave out a descriptive outline of a country that I sent three years of my life in. It had a charm about it that was unique from any other. It had its places of splendor. Its people were polite and courteous but it had some practices that seemed a little unorthodox to me at the time.

I tied out one of its community baths. The men were on one side and the women on the other, sight unseen. On the men's side one went into an area where there were individual faucets coming out of the wall. This was where one cleaned himself prior to going into the pool with everyone else. It was a unique experience but I prefer the American traditional bath or shower!

When one assumed the role of driving in Japan they automatically become a "Professional Driver." My professionalism did not fair so well on one occasion, when I found myself, along with my Japanese companion, driving in a one-way zone. This included going through a tunnel prior it being communicated to me that I was going the wrong way! Thank the Lord we made it safely through that situation!

Then an equally disturbing incident happened on a small narrow Japanese countryside road. My large American car decided to quite running and blocked the road. A large number of Japanese, in other vehicles behind me, begin to blow their horns wanting through. I had witnessed what some Japanese had done in response to someone holding them up in heavy traffic.

In that incident a cab driver was having it out with the driver of a truck. Suddenly from the back of the truck came about four men who grabbed the cab driver and put him in the back part of the truck. It now seemed that scene as going to be replayed for my benefit. Several Japanese got out of their vehicles and headed my way. But they were as polite as they could be and helped put my car to the side and rendered whatever assistance they could.

While in Japan I had experienced pagan idol worship. I did not believe in its concept but did go to a Buddhist temple by invitation. It us an unusual ceremony and while in attendance I actually seen people worshiping a false god. There worship increased in intensity to the beat of a drum.

A friend of mine attended a temple of a fertility god. He gave me a replica of the symbol of such worship enclosed in a small wooden case. If a Japanese couple could not have a child this was the god they turned too. I thank God for my Christian upbringing that would keep me from being influenced by such falseness. Parents your bringing up a child in the way they should go is not in vain. Somewhere down the road it will bear fruit for God's Word confirms it.

(to be continued)