I've read many books on World War II, some on World War I, but not many at all on the Vietnam War. Blaze of Light is a fascinating (and sometimes horrifying) memoir of the life of Green Beret Gary Beikirch. I enjoyed all the details in this book, it started with Gary's childhood and went all the way through present day. I felt that this really gave a deeper picture of who Gary is and what motivated him to first of all enlist in the army and then to go on to become a Green Beret medic in the US Special Forces.
The depictions of the war in Vietnam were disturbing to be sure. The blood shed and lives lost were astronomical. Gary was gravely injured while stationed as a medic in the village of Dak Seang. He was hospitalized for ten months, recovering from gunshot wounds, and an explosion that filled his body with shrapnel and ripped apart his stomach and intestines. He nearly bled to death, was paralyzed from the waist down and had an colostomy bag. He was in excruciating pain and unconscious much of the time, but it was while he was in the hospital that he met Jesus.
Gary's life didn't immediately change. He was not miraculously healed of his injuries. He still dealt with PTSD from the war. He still distrusted people and had anger issues, but the Lord was working in his life. God used many people, Gary's cousin and her husband, Gary's long-estranged father, a college professor and most of all Gary's wife, Lolly, to help heal his emotional wounds. God also used his own creation, the Appalachian wilderness as a place of spiritual healing for Gary.
If you like true stories of courage, adventure and overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles, you will definitely enjoy this book, as I did.
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