Virtue Magazine

- Jonathan Edwards

A Table in the Presence, by Lt. Carey H. Cash
© 2004 Carey H. Cash Printed by the W Publishing Group, a Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers (www.wpublishinggroup.com)
ISBN: 0-8499-1823-5

A thousand Marines and sailors in the desert. Evil men in high places. Thousands of guerilla warfare fighters. One Almighty God. On April 10, 2003, the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment attacked Baghdad, engaging in what has been called the most fierce battle of the war. Eight hours of fighting. The commander dreaded his list of dead. But, when all was told, only one Marine was dead. What of the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) that hit an AAV, but not one of it’s occupants was killed, when such a blast usually kills all inside? What of the young Marine who knew his life was over as an RPG headed straight for him, leaving him with no chance to escape? What made the RPG swerve and miss him, leaving him unscathed? And then another Marine, who was hit by a bullet in the side of his helmet. The bullet went in, curved up, and went out the other side of his helmet, just barely scratching him. So many instances of life saved…by no natural means. The men of the 1st Battalion camped out in the desert of Kuwait in the early spring of 2003, awaiting the order to attack Saddam Hussein’s evil regime in Iraq. They began to think about where they would be if a bullet, grenade, or suicide bomber struck home. Lt. Cash, a Navy chaplain serving with the Marines, gives his poignant and thrilling account of a spiritual revival in the face of danger. Prepare to laugh, prepare to cry, but above all, prepare to be blessed. Semper Fi!