COURAGE

JOYPEACE

It was a few weeks beforeChristmas in 1917. The beautiful snowy landscapes of Europe were blackened by war. It was World War I and the Germans were in their trenches on one side of the battle field, and the Americans were in their trenches on the other side. The exchange of gunfire had been intense. Between these two companies of soldiers was a thin strip of no-man’s-land. A young German soldier, trying to cross no-man’s land, had become caught in the tangle of barbed wire. He cried out pitifully for help. Whenever there was a lull in the noise of the shells exploding, the Americans in that sector could hear him scream. Finally one American soldier could stand this crying no longer and carefully crawled out of the safety of his trench to help the German. Right away the Americans stopped firing for fear of hitting their own man, then the German officer realized what the young American was doing and ordered his men to also cease firing. Now there was a weird silence across the no-man’s-land. On his stomach, the American made his way over to the German soldier and disentangled him. He then stood up with the German in his arms, walked straight to the German trenches and placed him in the waiting arms of his comrades. Having done so, he turned and started back to the American trenches. Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder that spun him around. There stood a German officer who had won the Iron Cross, the highest German honor for bravery. He jerked it from his own uniform and placed it on the American, who then walked back to his own company of soldiers. When he was safely back in the American trenches, they resumed the insanity of war!