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The Journey Continues: Black History Month 2021

The Journey Continues: Black History Month 2021

Sunday, February 14, 2021

My journey took me this week to Black History Month. May I share with you a special memory from my days of combat in Vietnam?

I met Sergeant Luster, who had deployed to Vietnam with the 25th Infantry Division from Hawaii in January 1966, as he was the squad leader of the infantry platoon I was assigned to lead.

One day, I received an urgent message that the battalion commander was en route by chopper to our field location to meet with Luster, a very unusual situation. On arrival, the battalion commander stated that Luster’s mother in Chicago had received an erroneous notification of his death in combat (KIA) brought to her by an SAO (Survivor Assistance Officer). With scant details, it appeared that another Chicago serviceman who had the exact same name and rank with only a onedigit difference in service number had been the actual casualty. To repair the mistake, Sergeant Luster was offered an immediate 30-day free leave back to the US to console his mother.

There was a long pause… then I will never forget what Luster replied, “No thanks, I will stay here with my rifle squad; they need me.” Can you imagine how that humbled me and lifted the entire squad when they learned of his sacrificing his leave for them? Luster was aware that the men were risking their lives in combat and needed his presence.

On Aug. 28, 1969, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered before a large Washington gathering the famous “I have a Dream” address. He said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Sergeant Luster, a Black man, in 1966, in the jungle of ’Nam, chose to stay with a squad of white and Hispanic soldiers because of his character What an example of John 15:13 (NIV) “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

During Black History Month, as we reflect on the racial injustice African American people have borne throughout American history, we honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his contemporaries, who, out of love, sought peace and justice while enduring slights just because of the color of their skin. In 2021, character and Jesus' love are needed more than ever when addressing racial injustice.

San Marcos Record

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