It was 1969. Viet Nam. Change of command for Colonel Patton with Gen. Creighton Abrams present. Gordon Livingston had chosen to go to Viet Nam to see if he was brave, and to advance his career in military Medicine. He quotes his prayer in Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart: Thirty True Things You Need to Know Now.
God, our Heavenly Father, hear our prayer.
We acknowledge our shortcomings and ask thy help in being better soliders for thee.
Grant us, O Lord, those things we need to do thy work more effectively.
Give us this day a gun that will fire ten thousand rounds a second, a napalm that will burn for a week.
Help us to bring death and destruction wherever we go, for we do it in thy name and therefore it is meet and just.
We thank thee for this war, fully mindful that, while it is not the best of all wars, it is better than no war at all.
We remember that Christ said "I came not to send peace, but a sword," and we pledge ourselves in all our works to be like Him.
Forget not the least of thy children as they hide from us in the jungles; bring them under our merciful hand that we may end their suffering.
In all things, O God, assist us, for we do our noble work in the knowledge that only with thy help can we avoid the catastrophe of peace that threatens us ever.
All of which we ask in the name of thy son, George Patton.
Amen.
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