Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: HERO (10/01/20)
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TITLE: An Unlikely Hero | Previous Challenge Entry
By Mariane Holbrook
10/07/20 -
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Living on a farm in the Kentucky Mountains was not for the faint of heart. The boys were awakened at 5:30 every morning to milk the cows and feed the various animals who wandered around. Their mother always prepared a hearty breakfast of fat-back bacon, grits, biscuits, and red-eye gravy.
Three grades of students occupied each of the four rooms in the country schoolhouse, a common arrangement for the early 1930s. Marvin was more interested in what was being taught to older students on the other side of the classroom rather than the reading assignment on his desk. With his retentive memory, he scored high on all his tests and when he graduated in 1940, he gave the valedictory address.
Unlike his brothers, he had no plans to leave the farm to seek fortunes elsewhere. He worked alongside his father in the barn and the fields and helped his mother in her over-sized garden.
One day in 1942, a letter addressed to Marvin was delivered to their mailbox at the end of the long, unpaved driveway, a greeting from the president of the United States ordering him to register for the draft. America was facing war on two fronts.
Marvin read the letter repeatedly, his heart beating faster with each reading as he walked toward the house. Handing the letter to his mother, Marvin sat at the kitchen table with his head resting on his hands.
"I wasn't expecting this, Mom," he said softly, choking on his words. His mother pulled a chair over beside him and began to pray, "Lord Jesus, I pray for my dear son. If it is Your will for Marvin to go to war, we pray for You to equip him, give him physical strength, increase his faith, and give him courage and commitment. Amen."
The family talked for several hours and prayed for Marvin. "Why would they choose Marvin?" Martha asked her husband later when they were alone. "He's more shy and physically unfit than all of our other boys."
Marvin followed the registration instructions, was selected to serve and soon found himself in boot camp. The other soldiers taunted him about reading his Bible but every day he felt more proud of his performance and his increasing stamina. His superiors were impressed with his developing leadership skills and over time, he rose from private to sergeant.
After more training, his troop was dispatched to England where the war was escalating. The men under his command respected him for his fairness in dealing with them during times of conflict.
When Marvin received orders to prepare for D-Day, on June 6, 1944, he had no idea of the scope and magnitude of the ensuing Battle of Normandy. When the 150,000 courageous Allied servicemen rushed from their ships to the shores to surprise the enemy, they faced 50,000 Germans armed with heavy artillery. Anticipating an Allied invasion of France, the Nazis had surreptitiously planted 4 million landmines along Normandy’s beaches.
As they crawled on their bellies toward the enemy, Marvin saw his best friend, a young Filipino, hit with a bullet. Hearing his screams, Marvin rushed to spread his body over his friend. Lying there, pretending to be dead, he waited until the firing stopped, then crouched low and began carrying his friend back toward a Medic. Immediately, a hand grenade exploded into Marvin's back. He died instantly.
Months after the war ended, Marvin's mother heard a knock on the door and confronted a young Filipino.
"Your son, Marvin, lost his life while saving mine at Normandy. He led me to faith in Christ a week before he died. Many in our group didn't make it home after the war, but several of us who did, wanted you to know what a brave hero he was."
He handed her a small, wrapped box and continued, "This was found near Marvin's body. We wanted you to have it."
Inside the package was a gift she had given Marvin immediately before he boarded the train for duty: a pocket-sized, now well-worn, dog-eared, and heavily underlined New Testament.
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"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) KJV
Based on a true story.
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