At the age of 23, Second Lieutenant Karl Marlantes was in
charge of 40 marines during an intense battle in the Vietnam War. Marlantes had
moved his men into the jungle as they waited for U.S. jets to bomb a hill that
North Vietnamese soldiers had overtaken. Unfortunately, the jets came and
dropped their bombs on the wrong hill. So when Marlantes led his men out of the
jungle, they were instantly under fire from untouched machine-gun positions.
Marlantes knew it would only take a few minutes before the enemy rockets and
mortars found his troops. The entire mission ground to a halt as the U.S.
soldiers ducked behind downed trees and huddled in shell holes. Marlantes knew
what he had to do next. He writes: If I didn't get up and lead, we'd get wiped
out …. I did a lot of things that day … but the one I'm most proud of is that I
simply stood up, in the middle of that
If I didn't get up and lead, we'd get wiped out …. I did a
lot of things that day … but the one I'm most proud of is that I simply stood
up, in the middle of that flying metal, and started up the hill …. I simply ran
forward up the steep hill, zigzagging for the bunker, all by myself, hoping [my
own soldiers] wouldn't hit me in the back. It's hard to zigzag while running
uphill loaded down with ammunition and grenades.
But then in the midst of his
solo charge up the hill to take out the enemy, Marlantes suddenly saw some
movement in his peripheral vision: It was a marine! He was about 15 meters
below me, zigzagging, falling, up and running again. Immediately behind him a
long ragged line of Marines came moving and weaving up the hill behind me.
Behind the line were spots of crumpled bodies, lying where they'd been hit.
They'd all come with me …. Everyone was intermingled, weaving, rushing and
covering, taking on each hole and bunker one at a time in groups ….
We, the group,
just rushed forward all at once. We couldn't be stopped. Just individuals among
us were stopped … but we couldn't be …. I was we, no longer me.
Karl Marlantes, "The Truth About Being a Hero,"
The Wall Street Journal
The key words of this story are found at the last of it. "I was we, no longer me." In church unity we need to quit being me and become we."
