There is a dichotomy shrouded within the fog of war. On the one hand there is destruction, death, cruelty, and hatred. On the other stands sacrifice, love, unselfishness, and friendship. Today’s Inspiration is a tale of the latter played out on the stage of the Vietnam War. It’s author, John Mansur, overheard this story as it was being told by other soldiers in-country at the same time he served there. “It was told to me as fact,” he recalls, “although I have no way of knowing for sure that it is true, I do know that stranger things have happened in war.”
Whatever their planned target, the mortar rounds landed in an orphanage run by a missionary group in the small Vietnamese hamlet. The missionaries and one or two children were killed outright, and several more children were wounded, including one young girl about eight years old.
People from the village requested medical assistance from a neighboring town that had radio contact with the American forces. It took well over an hour, but finally a U. S. Navy doctor and nurse arrived in a jeep with only their medical kits. They quickly performed triage on the surviving victims and determined that the young girl was the most critically injured and that, without quick action, she would surely die from shock and loss of blood.
A transfusion was imperative, but a donor with a matching blood type was needed. A quick test established that neither American had the correct match, but several of the uninjured orphans did.
The doctor spoke some Vietnamese and the nurse a bit of French, so, using that combination, together with much impromptu sign language, they attempted to explain to the frightened children that unless they could replace some of the injured girl’s lost blood, she would certainly perish. Then they asked if anyone would be willing to give blood to save her.
Their request was initially met with wide-eyed silence, but after several moments, a small hand slowly and waveringly rose, dropped back down, and then went up again.
“Oh, God bless you,” the nurse said in French. “What is your name my brave little one?”
“Heng,” came the reply.
Heng was quickly laid on a pallet, his arm was swabbed with alcohol, and a needle inserted into his vein. Throughout this ordeal, little Heng remained stiff and silent.
After a few minutes, he burst out with a shuddering sob and then quickly covered his face with his free hand in an attempt to hide his shame.
“Is it hurting, Heng?” asked the doctor. Heng shook his head, but after a few more moments another sob escaped, and once more he tried to cover his tear streaked face. Again the doctor inquired if the needle hurt, and once more Heng shook his head indicating that it wasn’t. But then his occasional sobs gave way to a steady, silent crying, his eyes tightly shut, his mouth clenching his fist in a futile attempt to stifle his sobs.
The medical team was concerned. Something was obviously very wrong.
At this point, a Vietnamese nurse arrived to help. Seeing little Heng’s distress, she spoke to him rapidly in Vietnamese, listened to his reply, and answered him in a soothing voice.
Suddenly, Heng stopped crying and looked questioningly at the Vietnamese nurse. When she nodded, a look of great relief spread across his face.
Glancing up, the nurse said quietly to the Americans, “He thought he was dying. He misunderstood you. Heng thought you had asked him to give all of his blood so that the little girl would live.”
“But why would he be willing to do that?” implored the Navy nurse.
The Vietnamese nurse repeated that question to Heng.
He answered simply, “She is my friend.”
“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” – John 15:11-12
Have an AWE-full weekend!
William J. “Bill” Bacqué