Reflections on Time in the U.S. Army

My Story...Randy Huddleston

Today is Veteran’s Day 2015.  I thought I would tell my story.  In September of 1972 I entered the U.S. Army.  Basic training was at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Advanced training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.  These were the days of the Viet Nam War.  It was winding down, but all of our training was geared for that jungle warfare in Southeast Asia.  Because of the news reports we had seen for years it seemed likely many of us would go, but not come back.  It wasn’t a fear.  No one ran.  It was just there hanging in the air.  

Jesus had become more and more real to me during my first year at Northeastern.  Digging into the Scriptures and discovering more about Him was thrilling.  A couple of guys at school were guiding me in the Bible and in how to talk to other people about Christ.  We were going around campus and door to door talking to people about Jesus.  A big event took place between the time school let out in May and I went to Basic in September it was called Explo ’72.  A gathering in Dallas of thousands of Christians getting trained in Bible basics and in evangelism.  Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ sponsored the event.  If you see the movie Woodlawn you will get an idea of what was going on at the time.  Getting even more encouraged to make Christ known I did what I could around Chouteau, and then the time came to go to the Army.  

A few weeks into Basic I had a weekend break and got to make a trip home.  That was such a welcome break.  While there I picked up my New Schofield Reference Bible.  Back at the barracks I would take out my Bible and talk about the Lord.  Guys were interested.  I think the uncertainty of what we were facing made things very real.  If we had any time in the evening after chow a few would gather from time to time and we would open the book and talk of the things of the Lord.  That continued into our Advanced training at Fort Sill.  Some came to the Lord during those days. 

When we were given orders for our next assignment not one of us was sent to Viet Nam.  Most of us were going to Germany.  After a wonderful time at home over Christmas I was on my way to Germany in January.  A crowded troop plane flew us into Rhein-Main in Frankfurt.  Disoriented, tired and carrying everything we owned we were loaded onto buses and taken across country.  Eventually making it to my final destination Herzo Base near Nurnberg in the middle of the night.   

A sergeant on CQ signed for us and seemed a little bothered that we arrived.  Eventually bunks were found and we found a less than welcoming scenario as we settled in.  The unit had been moved to this location from Dachau just before the ’72 Olympics so that Munich wouldn’t appear to be occupied by a military presence.  We were in a barracks that had been the home of Nazi aviators during the war.  Fixing it up apparently hadn’t been on anyone’s to-do list from their time to ours.  The tensions of the day included the Middle East.  Remember the eleven Israeli athletes killed at Munich by the Palestinian Black September group?  That had happened only months before.  For a feel of the times watch the movie Munich.  There were European gangs making waves.  The Soviet Union had apparently 28 divisions on the border to our 3.  They liked to move massive numbers of tanks up to the fenced border at night so that when the sun came up and our border guards saw them a lot of excitement would take place.  Racial tensions existed as well.  Blacks against whites, Puerto Ricans against others right on base.  

Settled in to a new home.  Got a new job.  Started training.  Set up field positions.  Worked all day.  Worked all night.  In the winter cold.  In the mud.  Learned a lot.  Carried an M-16.  Served with some outstanding people and some not so great.  I never served in combat and came to really appreciate those who did.  In those days the guys from Viet Nam were often assigned to Germany to sort of give them a breather before returning to the States.  They had had it rough.   

Some of the guys at Herzo would drink too much or got into drugs.  Some spent a month’s pay on prostitutes (legal in Germany).  Many were depressed and just counting the days to get out of the Army. There were those who worked with the system and those who were looking to get away with whatever they could.  And there were some who were real soldiers and I was proud to serve alongside them. 

I connected with the Chaplain at Herzo Base.  Attended chapel and helped out where I could.  A group called The Navigators wanted to extend ministry to the area I was in and I got involved in that as well. Especially with newly appointed Navigator Representatives, Don and Sue Hankins.  Opportunities came to talk about Christ at work while on all night duty or when I was off and having coffee at the PX.  

There were guys in the Army who wanted to know about God.  They had ideas and wanted to check them out.  God showed up.  So did the enemy.  

A soldier and I had been talking and walking from the PX to the barracks.  He thought the Gospel sounded OK, but was really struggling with it.  Following Jesus meant changes to a person’s morality and that seemed to be a big hang up for those guys.  He broke off our conversation abruptly.  And went into his barracks.  Wooden floor, Army metal framed bunk, radiators along the wall, chipped paint and plaster in an empty room.  He quickly came back and caught up with me on my way to my barracks.  Anxious and talking fast he told me what had happened when he returned to his room.  Thinking about Jesus and the Gospel he sat on his bunk.  Suddenly his bunk took off with him across the room.  He was shocked, but shook it off.  Those kinds of things don’t happen.  He pushed it back.  He sat down.  The bunk took off again.  He took off too.  He came outside and wanted to know how to accept Jesus.  We prayed in front of the barracks.  

Most of the guys just responded to the Gospel and prayed to receive Christ.  Some joined the Bible studies.  The enemy was there by way of interference, distractions and temptations, but many a man found Christ and grew in Him.  I saw the heaviness on so many of the guys, and I was excited for them to find a new life in Christ.  The Christians came out of that dark cloud and began to really embrace what God had for them.  It showed up in their work and in their attitudes.  

I knew the dark cloud well.  When first arriving in Germany it was dark, gray, and cold.  Nights were long and days short.  I don’t remember seeing the sun for four months.  The work schedule was relentless.  Dark feelings, hopelessness, skepticism, and a crushing depression was heavy on me.  It took a while to get time to go to chapel.  Then with the help of the Chaplain and other believers I began to get on a solid footing with Christ.  Dick Douce, a fellow soldier, was walking strongly with the Lord and helped a lot.  He became a surgeon and serves as a mission doctor in South America now.  He and others challenged me with an eternal perspective.  This world is passing away, but God, His Word and people will be around so invest in what will last.  I began to.  They were insistent on our being a good witness by doing our work for the military well.  The team I worked with weren’t all believers, but they had a good work ethic and that helped on the job.  With the Lord and the help of others the depression lifted and a new life…truly, a new life began.  And I knew I wanted to help as many other soldiers experience that new life as I possibly could. 

God made it possible.  He opened many doors.  I had the chance to serve in the U.S. Army and to serve Christ at the same time.  My two years with the Army ended in August 1974, but that was not the end.  I returned to Germany work with soldiers and point them to Christ.  In May of 1976 I returned to the U.S. in time for my sister’s high school graduation.  

I moved to Stillwater to attend OSU and assist with leading some part of the Navigator ministry.  While there the Lord laid on me the need to join the Oklahoma National Guard.  I really had a hard time with that decision.  Thinking my time with the military was finished I didn’t want to return, but the Lord doesn’t always go with my thinking.  I gave in and joined the unit in Stillwater.  I served there with the Combat Engineers and Demolitions Expert along with becoming an unofficial Chaplain among the soldiers I worked with.  

 Graduating from OSU in July and getting married to Cass in August of 1979 my time with the Army was finished.  I was turned loose on July 4, 1979...6 years, 9 months, 27 days with the Active Army, the Army Reserve and the Oklahoma Army National Guard.  I thank God He saw fit to have me serve in various ways in the Army.  I was stretched.  I had my eyes opened.  I was crushed.  I was shaped.  I was given the opportunity to meet all kinds of people.  I was pushed to do a job well.  I had to learn discipline and respect.  I found God to be faithful in every situation.  Even in the U.S. Army.