WASHINGTON, D.C.— Vietnam veteran Leroy Lawson doesn’t believe in God. But he does believe in justice.
And, for that matter, war.
“I think it’s unavoidable,” said Lawson, an artist and teacher who lives in the Washington, D.C. area.
Take Hitler, Stalin, and Saddam Hussein, he said. “There are simply people on earth who are evil for their own sake.”
Lawson served in the United States military as an infantry platoon leader during Vietnam.
He knows what it’s like to watch friends die in combat. He is alive, he said, because another man died in his place. One day, he was supposed to go on a mission. A more seasoned soldier went in his place. He never came back. And today his name is on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Lawson’s task at the Memorial is to help people find their loved ones’ names on the 246-foot black granite wall that honors the men and women who were killed or missing in action. He and his fellow volunteers answer questions and make sure the men and women who come to the wall have the space they need to remember or grieve. In the process, he has found many of his old friends on the wall, although he says he has never intentionally looked anyone up.
Lawson doesn’t volunteer out of any sense of religious commitment.
Lawson has never been a religious person. That realization came early, long before Vietnam. And the war didn’t change things.
The faith which drives his actions is more a sense of faith in human beings, in doing what’s honorable.
“People have an obligation to each other,” he said. “You do what you can for other people.”
The Wall, which was built in 1982, is a focal point for many tourists but also for veterans like Hector Raymond, of Columbus, Ohio.
A former sergeant in the U.S. Army, Raymond has visited the Vietnam wall many times. On a recent cold and windy day, he was back again. And he knelt before the shiny black rock, scanning the lists for the name of his doctor’s son.
Raymond is a devout Catholic and has been all his life. He is the youngest of 12 siblings. He says he doesn't advocate wars like Iraq, especially if the United States hasn't been attacked. But in 1971, he went off to Vietnam.
"I felt it was the right thing at the time," said Raymond of the war. "When we got home, of course, they were calling us baby killers and things like that."
Even though he had an administrative job and guard duty – relatively safe jobs -- the first few days he was in Vietnam, he saw a couple guys “blown away.”
That specter hung over his tour of duty and the experience of going to war changed his life. “It put me on edge I think for the whole year, but it was one of those years I learned a lot. I learned a lot of respect for people from other countries (and) … how important life is.”
He said he could have gotten bitter from the experience. "I think it's one of those things that gave me the perspective that I respect life. I know that God created every single person because he loved them."
But perhaps Raymond's biggest lesson came from his older brother, who also served in Vietnam. His experience was much more dangerous, according to Raymond. After risking his life almost daily in combat, Raymond’s brother went home. He came back so that Raymond would come home in his stead.
His brother survived but doesn’t talk much about those days.
Still, it was a selfless act, said Raymond. And like Lawson’s story of the man who died in his place, he’ll never forget it.
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Comments (11)
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April 5, 2008 9:38 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on April 5, 2008 21:38
In war you will do things that a civilian will never understand and there is no use in trying because unless you have been there you cannot comprehend the facts of war.
January 31, 2008 9:20 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on January 31, 2008 09:20
Anonymous,
You call peace from sources outside of God "false peace." This can have two meanings: 1.) they don't really feel peace, or 2.) the source of their peace is false (an illusion). Well, I can tell you from experience--my own and that of others--that people do indeed feel peace in their lives without God. You can deny it if you want, but you might as well deny that people can love their spouses or children without God. You are simply wrong. As for the idea that any peace without God as its source is an illusion, I would think the opposite. Since it seems to me that God is pretty obviously an illusion, that is the false source of peace. But I don't begrudge godly people their peace. Whatever works, I guess. Find peace where you can.
January 30, 2008 9:37 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on January 30, 2008 09:37
Neal,
However, I beg to differ. Peace found in other sources outside of God is a false peace.
But as you and I both know to each his own. One thing that I do know I have seen many people die in my field of practice and all those who claim to have peace in other sources except God did no have the peace they claim at the end.
So much so that I have personally witnessed such intense fear by people knowing that the end is very, very near. They verbalize knowing that they are going to die, verbalize their fear, and more than I care to remember verbalize visioning God and hell right before their death.
Now I ask you where did their peace trusted in other sources outside of God go?
January 30, 2008 8:14 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on January 30, 2008 08:14
Roadrunner,
My point--which was explicitly stated and therefore obvious--was that, contrary to what Anonymous says, one does not have to be a Christian to have peace. Being a Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Mormon, atheist, etc. does not preclude having peace in your life, or feeling contented or fulfilled. Anonymous' claim that without Jesus there is no peace is one of those claims--like without religion there can be no morals--that too many Christians blithely and smugly assert without any justification.
My point was also that being Christian may indeed bring one peace, as Anonymous claims.
January 30, 2008 7:57 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on January 30, 2008 07:57
Neal,
And your point is???
January 29, 2008 11:08 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on January 29, 2008 23:08
To Anonymous,
I have no quarrel with "Know Jesus, Know Peace." Many people find peace in their religious belief, including belief in Jesus. But "No Jesus, No Peace" is simply untrue. Plenty of people who do not believe in Jesus (like me) have peace. People can find peace in all sorts of ways and from all kinds of sources. If you want to say it isn't "real" peace, well, peace is what you feel; if you feel it, it's real.
January 29, 2008 8:23 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on January 29, 2008 20:23
Gary, ","THERE'S THINGS THAT EAT AT A MAN WORSE THAN DYING.""
What a profound statement. I hope that it is not something that you are experiencing. If so, I hope you find peace and comfort with it. But Jesus says in,
Matthew 11:29-30 (29) “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
No Jesus, No Peace
Know Jesus, Know Peace
Christ is the answer
Sound advice you gave Kristen.
January 29, 2008 7:54 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on January 29, 2008 19:54
For a year you worry you pray. You check your e-mail a hundred times a day, knowing there would be one about every two to three days. The ultimate fear is when you get one that says I'm going on a field trip for awhile don't worry I'll call when I get back. I learned to talk to God more than pray watching the sun coming up over the mountains and telling him another day you are trusting him with your most precious position your only child. My child came home safe and sound on Christmas God gave me the ultimate gift this year.War is hell on earth not only for those fighting but for those at home.
January 29, 2008 4:32 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on January 29, 2008 16:32
KRISTIN; IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY A MAN WOULD GIVE HIS LIFE FOR ANOTHER MAN, READ A SERIES CALLED "SIX SILENT MEN". IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY GOD WOULD GIVE HIS SON FOR US,READ THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. LIKE I HEARD IN A MOVIE RECENTLY,"THERE'S THINGS THAT EAT AT A MAN WORSE THAN DYING."
January 29, 2008 3:47 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on January 29, 2008 15:47
This really struck me: why would a man give his life in another man's stead? He must have encountered something or someone exceptional in his life before to inspire this kind of self-gift
January 29, 2008 1:09 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on January 29, 2008 13:09