Letter to an Apache pilot
Dear Chief ______,
As the long eve of war gives way to a fiery dawn, I wanted to express my personal gratitude for the noble service you are providing to me, to the American people and to the world. It is difficult, I know, for you to be away from your wife and children, and harder still are the doubts you face about the terrible things you must do.
But as you do your martial duty, I hope you will keep the following thoughts in mind.
First, I thank you for volunteering to serve your country - not because serving one's country is always a desirable thing, but because this particular country is founded on a shining ideal of freedom that is still a rebuke to the darkness that engulfs the world. That America has oft fallen far short of this ideal does not change the fact that of your own free will, you volunteered to uphold our Constitution and to defend those liberties we hold most dear.
I thank you for being willing to put your life on the line for mine. Our enemies have warned that every American is a target, and so I thank you for being willing to intercede for me and my family, for being willing to stand in the gap and defend us, even in the face of death.
I also thank you for the courage you have shown in confronting your fears. Bravery is not the absence of fear, it is the willingness to persevere in the face of it. And yet, you need not be afraid that practicing excellence in your craft will damn you - for just as there is nothing you can do to win salvation without Jesus Christ, there is next to nothing you can do to lose it with Him. Neither David nor Paul were innocent of bloodshed - even murder - and yet the Lord loved them both and chose to use them in awesome ways.
Jesus does not love only prostitutes and tax collectors, He loves soldiers too. He knows who you are and what you do, for He, Himself, is a warrior who came, not to bring peace, but a sword. Remember that the Lamb of God is also the Lion of Judah. And did He not once tell an officer of an army occupying a country in the Middle East that He had not seen such faith in all the country before healing the man's son? Lean on His words and not on your own understanding, because death is nothing more than a gateway - not only for you, but also for those you must perforce send through it.
God works in mysterious ways, and one thing I have learned is that sometimes we are the unknowing instruments He uses to answer the prayers of others. Surely there is at least one Iraqi who has prayed for the liberation of his people, one Kurd who has prayed for vengeance upon the oppressors of his nation. Often, the rightness of your actions cannot be known until their fruits have ripened. Keep your eyes open and be on the alert for the hand of God guiding you to do His will.
Come back safely. Come back whole. Come back to the heartfelt gratitude of a nation, with the praise and thanksgiving of a newly liberated people ringing in your ears.
Know that I - and many others - will be praying for your victory, for your safe return and that you shall one day know the peace of Jesus Christ in your heart.
In gratitude,
Vox Day