All Gave Some, Some Gave All

2nd Timothy 4:7

2 Timothy 4:7 NKJV

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Nestled inside the Soldier’s Creed, which every member of the modern Army learns in basic training, is the Warrior Ethos: “I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade.” If the Army had created a personification of the Warrior Ethos, it would have been Roy P.Benavidez. Benavidez personified mental and physical toughness throughout his life, and he epitomized the Warrior Ethos on May 2, 1968, near Loc Ninh, Cambodia, where he earned the Medal of Honor.

On May 2, 1968, Master Sergeant (then Staff Sergeant) Roy P. Benavidez distinguished himself by a series of daring and extremely valorous actions while assigned to Detachment B-56, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, Republic of Vietnam. On the morning of May 2, 1968, a 12-man Special Forces Reconnaissance Team was inserted by helicopters in a dense jungle area west of Loc Ninh, Vietnam to gather intelligence information about confirmed large-scale enemy activity. This area was controlled and routinely patrolled by the North Vietnamese Army. After a short period of time on the ground, the team met heavy enemy resistance, and requested emergency extraction. Three helicopters attempted extraction, but were unable to land due to intense enemy small arms and anti-aircraft fire. Sergeant Benavidez was at the Forward Operating Base in Loc Ninh monitoring the operation by radio when these helicopters returned to off-load wounded crewmembers and to assess aircraft damage. Sergeant Benavidez voluntarily boarded a returning aircraft to assist in another extraction attempt. Realizing that all the team members were either dead or wounded and unable to move to the pickup zone, he directed the aircraft to a nearby clearing where he jumped from the hovering helicopter, and ran approximately 75 meters under withering small arms fire to the crippled team. Prior to reaching the team's position, he was wounded in his right leg, face, and head. Despite these painful injuries, he took charge, repositioning the team members and directing their fire to facilitate the landing of an extraction aircraft, and the loading of wounded and dead team members. He then threw smoke cannisters to direct the aircraft to the team's position. Despite his severe wounds and under intense enemy fire, he carried and dragged half of the wounded team members to the awaiting aircraft. He then provided protective fire by running alongside the aircraft as it moved to pick up the remaining team members. As the enemy's fire intensified, he hurried to recover the body and the classified documents on the dead team leader. When he reached the team leader's body, Sergeant Benavidez was severely wounded by small arms fire in the abdomen and grenade fragments in his back. At nearly the same moment, the aircraft pilot was mortally wounded, and his helicopter crashed. Although in extremely critical condition due to his multiple wounds, Sergeant Benavidez secured the classified documents and made his way back to the wreckage, where he aided the wounded out of the overturned aircraft, and gathered the stunned survivors into a defensive perimeter. Under increasing enemy automatic weapons and grenade fire, he moved around the perimeter distributing water and ammunition to his weary men, reinstilling in them a will to live and fight. Facing a build-up of enemy opposition with a beleagured team, Sergeant Benavidez mustered his strength, and began calling in tactical air strikes and directing the fire from supporting gunships, to suppress the enemy's fire and so permit another extraction attempt. He was wounded again in his thigh by small arms fire while administering first aid to a wounded team member just before another extraction helicopter was able to land. His indomitable spirit kept him going as he began to ferry his comrades to the craft. On his second trip with the wounded, he was clubbed from behind by an enemy soldier. In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, he sustained additional wounds to his head and arms before killing his adversary. He then continued under devastating fire to carry the wounded to the helicopter. Upon reaching the aircraft, he spotted and killed two enemy soldiers who were rushing the craft from an angle that prevented the aircraft door gunner from firing upon them. With little strength remaining, he made one last trip to the perimeter to ensure that all classified material had been collected or destroyed, and to bring in the remaining wounded. Only then, in extremely serious condition from numerous wounds and loss of blood, did he allow himself to be pulled into the extraction aircraft. Sergeant Benavidez' gallant choice to join voluntarily his comrades who were in critical straits, to expose himself constantly to withering enemy fire, and his refusal to be stopped despite numerous severe wounds, saved the lives of at least eight men. His fearless personal leadership, tenacious devotion to duty, and extremely valorous actions in the face of overwhelming odds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him and the United States Army.

Ronald Reagan

Master Sergeant Benevidez passed away on November 29, 1998.

I will always place the mission first

What is my mission? My first mission is to Christ and to follow His command which is: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is my mission, but I so often forget to put it first. I let the distractions of life get in the way to love The Lord with ALL my heart. If I was on the battlefield and I forgot to put my mission first as a soldier it would very likely end up getting me killed. I need to take my mission from Christ that much more seriously. I will always place my mission first!

I will never accept defeat, I will never quit

I saw an article a while ago which told of a stowaway from West Africa who got on a steamer to come to the United States, and after he was discovered he was put in irons. When the boat neared Brooklyn, he jumped overboard and swam to shore under water. Still in irons he crawled up on the shore, and there was rearrested. Why? Because he was still chained! I could not help thinking of experiences of my own and many other Christians, who think they have made their escape and find they are still in the same old bondage. That is not the sort of gospel God has for us, but I think it is the sort of experience that some of us have had. Of course there are some who have never had a relationship with Christ and who think they have made their escape, but sooner or later they find they are still chained. Defeat is never an option in the military. And neither should it be an option in my walk with Christ! Colossians 2:6, “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”  Every day I need to make the choice to continue fighting to never accept defeat and to never quit!

I will never leave a fallen comrade

The last of the four lines to the warrior ethos speaks of the team dynamic and that no matter what I will never leave behind a member of my team. If my mission is to love The Lord with all my heart then Christ also addresses our comrades. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ – Mark 12:31. As a soldier in Christ’s army I need to be constantly looking around me to the wellness of others. If I have those who have no relationship with Christ I am to show them the same love that Christ has shown me. And if when I look around I see a comrade that has fallen, a fellow christian who has gotten stuck, it is my responsibility to go to their side and help them. We are to never leave a fallen comrade!

Final Thought

I am a soldier in the Army of Christ and like a soldier it is my duty to always place Christ’s mission first, to never accept defeat, to never quit, and to never leave a fallen comrade, saved or not! This is my warrior ethos and I have a choice to stand by it or to leave it.