The killings of four U.S. Marines and one Navy petty officer in
Chattanooga, Tenn. on July 16 marked yet another episode in the growing, tragic
narrative of extremist violence across our land. The debate about the how’s and
why’s rages on, but in the days following the tragic events, in which the
shooter also was killed, two positives emerged – if such a thing is possible.
One was
the incredible bravery demonstrated by the military personnel and law
enforcement officers who responded. In fact, after doing all they could to
guide innocent bystanders to safety, two Marines reportedly rushed back to the
reserve facility hoping to subdue the shooter and protect others that were in
harm’s way.
Marine
Staff Sgt. David Wyatt and Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan had guided
nearly 20 people out of a building and beyond a security fence before returning
when they discovered two were missing. Wyatt and Sullivan lost their lives
attempting to save others.
Jesus
said, “Greater love has no one than this: to
lay down one's life for one's friends” (John
15:13). He said this prophetically about His own crucifixion for the sins of
mankind, but the principle is universal. What greater, more courageous
sacrifice can anyone make than to offer their life for another?
 |
| A poster at a memorial site shows photos of the Marines and Navy petty officer who died. |
We hear of acts like this in times of
war and in response to violence, but it also applies any time we willingly place
the interests and well-being of others ahead of our own. As Philippians 2:3-4
states it: “Do nothing from selfishness
or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more
important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal
interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Surely those noble Marines didn’t
re-enter the building with the intent of dying, but were willing to do so
if necessary. They were looking out for the interests of others.
The other positive was the incredible
show of compassion and pride exhibited by citizens of Chattanooga and its
surrounding area, as well as hometowns of the other fallen military heroes. For
each of the funeral processions of Wyatt, Sullivan, Sgt. Carson Holmquist,
Lance Cpl. Squire “Skip” Wells and Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall
Smith, many thousands lined the routes.
American flags of all sizes were waved
all along the roadways, on highway overpasses and in the cemeteries. Homemade
signs of support were held high, and tears were shed, even by those that never
personally met any of the shooting victims. I’ve never seen such a mass display
of the Stars and Stripes, even on July 4th.
Those that assembled were not
warmongers – just men, woman and young people with great pride in being
citizens of the United States, greatly appreciative of the sacrifices made by
our men and women in uniform, and sharing sympathy for the great losses by family members and friends.
 |
| A wooden cross joined a display of American flags at a memorial set up near the recruiting office. |
While the grief shared by the
mourners was profound, this great show of support must have helped to provide much-needed
strength. The Scriptures tell us about, “…the
Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we
ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
Most in the crowd certainly had not
experienced that kind of loss, but we’ve all known our share of sorrow,
enabling us to offer some small measure of comfort to the survivors. In a letter
to the Chattanooga community following her son’s funeral, Sgt. Wyatt’s mother,
Deborah Boen, wrote. “Even in our sorrow, we feel that God’s blessing us with
the outpouring of love from this community. We…were in awe of all who stood in
the hot sun to honor our son and all the fallen heroes. We saw it all, and felt
all the love showered upon us.”
No comments:
Post a Comment