Sermons
Courage And Selflessness
Series: The Way Of SalvationCOURAGE AND SELFLESSNESS
Sermon By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / November 10, 2019
Perhaps nothing brings out the character of a person more than the trials of war. War is a terrible thing and no one should ever want it and those who find themselves in the midst of battles are tested beyond our comprehension.
I want to focus this morning's military veterans salute on FIVE MEN WHO SERVED IN WWII.
Many women have also served our country with honor, courage and distinction, and next year, Lord willing,
on our second-Sunday-in-November Veterans Salute Sunday I will plan to reflect on some of them.
16 Million Americans served in WWII and, as of this year only about 389,000 remain alive.
It won't be too long until our nation bids farewell to the last remaining WWII veterans.
Since I am sharing stories about five brave men, my plan is to briefly offer a snapshot profile for each of them.
Regarding these five men:
one is a new acquaintance;
one was a hall-of-fame baseball player;
one was a famous Hollywood actor;
one was my uncle;
and one was one our former Cortland Church shepherds.
I met Daniel King for the first time a couple of weeks ago.
I visited with Alice Jean Stone and the two of us had lunch together with five of her friends - -
all of them “neighbors” now living at the Antonine Village Assisted Living in North Jackson.
Three ladies are widows and the other two: a happily married couple, married for 75 years.
The husband, Daniel, age 96, remains very sharp and articulate.
Daniel is a war veteran, having served as a fighter pilot in WWII.
I tried to coax a bit of information from him, but his only comment was:
“People want us to tell them about things we've spent the last 50 years trying to forget”.
In his particular case, I have calculated that he has spent the last 75 years trying to forget.
He wasn't rude about it, but it was clear he didn't want to talk about WWII.
The silence of many of our war veterans is often a testimony to the horrors they encountered.
As strange as it may sound, quite a few WWII veterans have struggled with a sense of guilt that accompanied
their survival. Many wonder, why did I make it out alive when so many of my comrades were cut down?
The second veteran that I want to highlight this morning is Yogi Berra.
Most of us recognize his name and those of us who are older know a bit more about him.
Yogi Berra lived to be 90 and passed away in 2015. He was quite a character. Most of known of him from his
years as a catcher for the NY Yankees and Mets. His glove, arm and bat landed him in the baseball hall of fame.
He was also in a number of movies and commercials. He even had a cartoon character named after him (Yogi Bear).
Many know Yogi for his malapropisms, those unintentional and humorous ways he expressed himself
Over the years this collection of Yogi Berra misstatements has lightly become somewhat inflated.
He himself admitted, “I didn't really say all of the things I said.”
He said things like - - Nobody goes to that restaurant anymore, it's too crowed … You can observe a lot by watching ...
If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be … Baseball is 90% mental (and) the other half is physical …
If people don't want to come to the ballpark, how are you going to stop them … Never answer an anonymous letter …
You should always go to other people's funerals, so that they will come to yours ...
I wish I had an answer to that, because I'm tired of answering that question.
What you may not know about Yogi is that he also served in the Navy in WWII, at the age of 18.
In the pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944, Yogi was win the waters off Normandy, about 300 yards from the beach.
Yogi was in a LCSS/Landing craft support small , often derisively called a landing craft suicide squad by the soldiers.
Their goal was to provide cover for troops going ashore by firing rockets ahead of the landing party.
In an interview, Yogi once noted that when the invasion began it was like the biggest fireworks show ever.
He recalled his officer telling him, “You better get you head down in here, if you want it on.”
The third veteran that I want you to meet is Jimmy Stewart.
Jimmy Stewart's father and my grandpa Boyd Siverd were good friends.
Jimmy was born in Indiana, PA, and his father owned a hardware store that my grandpa frequented.
My grandpa lived in the small town of Clymer, just a few miles from downtown Indiana.
When America entered WWII, Jimmy had already established himself as an accomplished actor.
Born in 1908, Jimmy was 32 in March of 1941 when he reported for duty at draft board #245 in West L.A..
He was 6'3” and weighed only 138 lbs (5 lbs shy of the acceptable weight level)...and he was turned down.
He immediately went home and began to eat everything in sight and returned not long
thereafter to enlist with the Army Air Corps, passing the physical with one ounce to spare.
After several months of instense training, in 1944 Stewart began flying as a lead pilot with the B-24 Liberators.
During his time in the military he flew 20 total combat missions as a command pilot over enemy territory.
He served as the flight leader of a 1000 plane bomber squadron attack on Berlin, Germany.
The fourth veteran I want you to know about is my uncle Buddy, one of my mother's two brothers.
William Sharit Enfinger of Pensacola, Florida, served with the U.S. Army in WWII.
More specifically, he served under General Patton as a foot soldier infantryman.
He was awarded numerous medals - - including a bronze star and two purple hearts.
He fought in one of most awful struggles ever known to soldiers - - the Battle of the Bulge.
When my uncle Buddy died in February of 2007, my aunt and cousins asked that I deliver his eulogy.
I quickly prepared my thoughts and flew down to Pensacola to officiate at his funeral.
The funeral began at the Innerarity church of Christ near the Gulf shores.
After a ten mile funeral procession with dozens of vehicles, his funeral concluded at beautiful Fort Barrancas
National Cemetery, on the grounds of the Pensacola Naval Air Station, full of live oaks with hanging moss.
He was buried with full military honors that included a 21-gun salute and a military bag-pipe regiment.
Here again, I knew my uncle for all of my life, but it was only when he died at the age of 82,
that I came to have a knowledge of his military accomplishments. I suspect that, like my new friend Daniel,
he had intentionally repressed many of the memories of that hellish war in which he had participated
Last of all, I want to remind you of our beloved brother in Christ, Elwood Stone.
Like Elwood, whom we all cherished dearly, my uncle Buddy was also a faithful Christian.
Both Buddy and Elwood were born in 1924.
Both enlisted in the Army.
Both served with Patton's Army in the Battle of the Bulge.
Both were highly decorated.
Elwood was also awarded the Bronze Star for his valor.
In addition, Elwood received an impressive list of citations. Besides the Bronze Star, he was also awarded
The Army Presidential Unit Citation, which was given to Army Units for extraordinary heroism
in action against an armed enemy. He was also awarded the Army of Occupation Medal
for serving thirty consecutive days of service in territories occupied by the enemy.
It was only near the end of his life that Elwood began to open up and speak a little about the war.
I've often wonder if my uncle buddy and Elwood ever crossed paths on the battlefields.
No one should want to glorify war, but when evil presents itself we are
justified in standing for good and fighting against evil when necessary.
The writings of the apostle Paul incorporate military terminology.
Paul saw himself and his fellow Christians as ones engaged in a battle between evil and good.
On multiple occasions, he urges others to fight the good fight (1Tim.1:18; 6:12 and 2Tim.4:7)
In Philp.2:25, he refers to Epaphroditus as my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier.
In 2Tim.2:3, Paul exhorts Timothy to suffer hardship with me as a good solider of Christ...
As was read in today's Scripture reading, in Eph.6:10 Paul writes - -
Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God,
that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil...Take up the full armor of God
that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
He then paints a verbal picture employing military paraphernalia, speaking of:
loins gird with truth … the breastplate of righteousness … feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace …
the shield of faith … the helmet of salvation … and the sword of the Spirit.
The apostle Peter writes these words in 1Pet.2:16 - -
Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-slaves of God.
When we peer into the lives of our military veterans we see so many fine virtues.
Discipline … Self-control … Knowledge … Perseverance … Brotherly Kindness … Goodness …
Faithfulness … Kindness … Courage … Sacrifice … Suffering … and Selflessness - - to name just a few.
And chief among all virtues is LOVE.
Although I suspect that Jesus stated these words often, they are recorded once in John 15:13,
Greater love has no man that this, that one would lay down his life for his friends.
Today our assembly has included our worship to God - -
songs of praise … prayers … reading of the Scriptures … monetary offerings …
thanksgivings to our Lord Jesus Christ for His willingness to lay down His own life for our salvation.
We have also paused to express our gratitude to our military veterans, who have also sacrificed so significantly.
We are grateful for men like Daniel King, Yogi Berra, Jimmy Stewart, Buddy Enfinger and Elwood Stone.
We are thankful to these and to a host of other men and women who have honorably served our nation.
As Jeff Miller has written - -
The willingness of America's veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We pause today, to thank You for the freedoms that we enjoy in our nation - - a land rich with liberty.
We pledge ourselves to helping to be peace-makers in the midst of a world often torn by strife.
Bless our leaders with by restraint (so that we might avoid conflict) and
bless them with wisdom (to guide our nation in doing good when battles become necessary).
We thank You Father for the men and women who serve in our military - - both in times of peace and
during times of turmoil and unrest. Thank You for their discipline and perseverance … for their goodness …
to their sacrifices and sufferings … for their courage and their selflessness. We are grateful for the comfort and
freedom that we all derive from their service to our nation. May our gathering today serve as a sincere
attempt to give honor to whom honor is due. Through Christ, The Lord of Hosts, we pray, Amen.
