AND MY ANSWERED PRAYER
Eugene V. Greenberg Jr. enlisted in the army in February 1966. He went to Germany and served two tours in Viet Nam. On December 3, 1968, he was 100% disabled by friendly fire. But God deemed that he would not die on a hill in Vietnam.
He returned home from Vietnam like all other Veterans, broken, hurt, and disillusioned in serving his country with the reality of what they were doing being tainted with all the controversy over Vietnam. More than 2,700,000 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam, and more than 58,000 were killed or reported missing. Estimates of Vietnamese deaths range over 1 million.
Lingering impacts of the war are important, and Memorial Day provides a particularly appropriate time for reflection. Our soldiers did not receive a “Welcome Home,” or a “Thank you for your service.” Instead he and his comrades were ridiculed and called “baby killers!’ He experienced survivor’s guilt. He grieved over one of his buddies who just received pictures of his new baby, and was killed in action the next day along with all the others who seemingly sacrificed their lives for naught. His anger and disillusionment led him to destroy his medals. Married in December 1969 we had two wonderful and adorable sons, but life was tough. He struggled with PTSD and had difficulty holding down a job and continued to have health problems from his disability. Further, Gene was very angry at God. As a child he knew two things about God…God is all powerful, and God is all loving. He had a very hard time reconciling the horrific things he saw in Vietnam, particularly the little children the Viet Cong maimed and killed to accomplish their purposes.
I knew Vietnam was the issue, but he refused to talk about it, get help for it, or deal with any of it. So, I began to pray, “God do whatever it takes to break open the pain of Vietnam and force him to deal with all of it.” God answered that prayer one day in 1985 when the phone rang. Little did I know God was in the background orchestrating as only He can. The person on the other end of the line asked to speak to Eugene Greenberg. This was the first odd thing about this phone call. No one called Gene, by Eugene. Not his family, not his co-workers…no one. Gene came to the phone, he said hello and said almost nothing before dropping the phone. At this point he put his head in his hand and tears came! Obviously, my anxiety went off the charts, as I’m wondering what in the world could this be since I knew it was not his family. I had no idea this was the answer to my prayer.
As it turned out, this man was one of Gene’s Vietnam buddies, Kenneth Fife. This man had been searching for him for a while, putting ads in newspapers and trying to locate Gene. Over the next few months he and Gene began to talk regularly. One night, during one of their conversations, he revealed to Gene that he thought he was responsible for the disaster that ensued on that hill in Vietnam on December 3rd. He stated he was responsible for the coordinates that caused the round to fall short killing several and wounding many including Gene. This was a game-changer for Gene. He suddenly realized there was someone carrying a heavier burden than him. He decided to go to Wyoming to see Ken.
My prayer…whatever it takes, Lord for Gene to face Vietnam was the very thing that broke open the sealed box in the basement where the contents continued to spew out into the living room.
Gene and Ken continued to speak and Gene even flew out Wyoming to visit face to face with his past. It started the healing journey. Then early 1998 we received another telephone call. It was from another Viet Nam Buddy, Bobby Moody. This started another long conversation for Gene. Members began searching for all of the 5th Division members and planned a reunion in September of that year. Gene was going to go, but then had second thoughts and decided not to attend. The following year, we both attended the Society of the 5th Division Reunion and Gene discovered from his Captain that Ken had nothing to do with what happened. The round that caused such disaster was defective and it landed short. Friendly fire, that left several dead and others seriously wounded, but no one’s fault. Gene lost his left leg immediately and almost lost his left arm. He was air lifted to the hospital ship Repose, and then to Japan. The doctors wanted to amputate his left arm stating it would be useless, but he refused that option and gained more use of it than they ever thought possible. This phone call was the answer to my prayer and began Gene’s healing journey. As these men came together, visited, shared community and created a lot of joy to be together and realize they were all alive and doing well, living life in the shadow of the cross and allowing God to heal their wounded hearts so many years later.
So this Memorial Day, I’m still celebrating the hero of my life, my husband, Gene Greenberg, Jr. and how God still orchestrates and answers prayer. I feel very appreciative that Gene chose me to do life with him, and God orchestrated our life together to “grow us up” into the persons He intended us to be.
Our boys are also very proud of their dad. He is their hero and together on this Memorial Day we celebrate together our Hero, when you realize the trauma he experienced on the other side of the world, yet came home, and fought hard to overcome and live productively. My oldest grandson, Joshua Cole, joined the Army this year and just graduated from engineer boot camp from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and is now in California for further training. Cole even questioned, “I wonder what Grampa would think now? We assured him Grampa would be as proud of him as we are.
We are blessed, and we continue to appreciate and thank those who sacrificed more than we will ever know to protect us and our freedoms. Freedom is never free. There is always a sacrifice.
Eugene V. Greenberg Jr. enlisted in the army in February 1966. He went to Germany and served two tours in Viet Nam. On December 3, 1968, he was 100% disabled by friendly fire. But God deemed that he would not die on a hill in Vietnam.
He returned home from Vietnam like all other Veterans, broken, hurt, and disillusioned in serving his country with the reality of what they were doing being tainted with all the controversy over Vietnam. More than 2,700,000 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam, and more than 58,000 were killed or reported missing. Estimates of Vietnamese deaths range over 1 million.
Lingering impacts of the war are important, and Memorial Day provides a particularly appropriate time for reflection. Our soldiers did not receive a “Welcome Home,” or a “Thank you for your service.” Instead he and his comrades were ridiculed and called “baby killers!’ He experienced survivor’s guilt. He grieved over one of his buddies who just received pictures of his new baby, and was killed in action the next day along with all the others who seemingly sacrificed their lives for naught. His anger and disillusionment led him to destroy his medals. Married in December 1969 we had two wonderful and adorable sons, but life was tough. He struggled with PTSD and had difficulty holding down a job and continued to have health problems from his disability. Further, Gene was very angry at God. As a child he knew two things about God…God is all powerful, and God is all loving. He had a very hard time reconciling the horrific things he saw in Vietnam, particularly the little children the Viet Cong maimed and killed to accomplish their purposes.
I knew Vietnam was the issue, but he refused to talk about it, get help for it, or deal with any of it. So, I began to pray, “God do whatever it takes to break open the pain of Vietnam and force him to deal with all of it.” God answered that prayer one day in 1985 when the phone rang. Little did I know God was in the background orchestrating as only He can. The person on the other end of the line asked to speak to Eugene Greenberg. This was the first odd thing about this phone call. No one called Gene, by Eugene. Not his family, not his co-workers…no one. Gene came to the phone, he said hello and said almost nothing before dropping the phone. At this point he put his head in his hand and tears came! Obviously, my anxiety went off the charts, as I’m wondering what in the world could this be since I knew it was not his family. I had no idea this was the answer to my prayer.
As it turned out, this man was one of Gene’s Vietnam buddies, Kenneth Fife. This man had been searching for him for a while, putting ads in newspapers and trying to locate Gene. Over the next few months he and Gene began to talk regularly. One night, during one of their conversations, he revealed to Gene that he thought he was responsible for the disaster that ensued on that hill in Vietnam on December 3rd. He stated he was responsible for the coordinates that caused the round to fall short killing several and wounding many including Gene. This was a game-changer for Gene. He suddenly realized there was someone carrying a heavier burden than him. He decided to go to Wyoming to see Ken.
My prayer…whatever it takes, Lord for Gene to face Vietnam was the very thing that broke open the sealed box in the basement where the contents continued to spew out into the living room.
Gene and Ken continued to speak and Gene even flew out Wyoming to visit face to face with his past. It started the healing journey. Then early 1998 we received another telephone call. It was from another Viet Nam Buddy, Bobby Moody. This started another long conversation for Gene. Members began searching for all of the 5th Division members and planned a reunion in September of that year. Gene was going to go, but then had second thoughts and decided not to attend. The following year, we both attended the Society of the 5th Division Reunion and Gene discovered from his Captain that Ken had nothing to do with what happened. The round that caused such disaster was defective and it landed short. Friendly fire, that left several dead and others seriously wounded, but no one’s fault. Gene lost his left leg immediately and almost lost his left arm. He was air lifted to the hospital ship Repose, and then to Japan. The doctors wanted to amputate his left arm stating it would be useless, but he refused that option and gained more use of it than they ever thought possible. This phone call was the answer to my prayer and began Gene’s healing journey. As these men came together, visited, shared community and created a lot of joy to be together and realize they were all alive and doing well, living life in the shadow of the cross and allowing God to heal their wounded hearts so many years later.
So this Memorial Day, I’m still celebrating the hero of my life, my husband, Gene Greenberg, Jr. and how God still orchestrates and answers prayer. I feel very appreciative that Gene chose me to do life with him, and God orchestrated our life together to “grow us up” into the persons He intended us to be.
Our boys are also very proud of their dad. He is their hero and together on this Memorial Day we celebrate together our Hero, when you realize the trauma he experienced on the other side of the world, yet came home, and fought hard to overcome and live productively. My oldest grandson, Joshua Cole, joined the Army this year and just graduated from engineer boot camp from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and is now in California for further training. Cole even questioned, “I wonder what Grampa would think now? We assured him Grampa would be as proud of him as we are.
We are blessed, and we continue to appreciate and thank those who sacrificed more than we will ever know to protect us and our freedoms. Freedom is never free. There is always a sacrifice.
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