 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Adrian Rosales Military Background
A Testimony of Life “Greater love has no one than this, than one lay down his life for his friends.” –Jesus, John 15:13 There have been many experiences in my life and of loved ones around me, both good and bad, with satisfied accomplishment or regret and shame, but of which I can attribute many reasons, be they secular or sacred, for my involvement in this cause for the Right to Life of the unborn and for the ministry to women in crisis pregnancies. One experience in particular stands as a testament of someone who has experienced first hand the full gravity of meaning in the scripture passage quoted above, not just as an abstract theological or doctrinal truth, but as the recipient of the selfless act of another human being, a brother squadron member. It was the first weekend of December 1990 and the coalition forces of Operation Desert Shield were already in full deployment as a response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. It was a drill weekend that December and up until the last possible minute I had refrained from participating in a voluntary deployment to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield. I had recently returned in March of that year from a voluntary deployment to South Korea in support of Exercise Team Spirit, and upon my return from Korea I was welcomed home at the tarmac by the woman I knew I would soon ask to be my wife. Unknown to both of us, that homecoming would be short lived as the reality of war became evident in the months ahead. On 07 August 1990, deployment of U.S. Armed Forces to the Middle East had begun. This time the deployment situation was different, this was no longer an exercise and from all indications the diplomatic peace efforts were not progressing as we had all hoped. The anticipation and planning was that war was inevitable. By that time my wife was pregnant and she was due 03 March 1991 with our first child, and I had intentionally planned to hold out to the last day possible before volunteering in the hope of being there to see our child be born. I avoided discussing the matter too much with my wife to avoid undue stress on her during the pregnancy, but the reality was that the possibility existed that any one of our squadron members may not have returned home and we knew it, and the possibility that I would never get the chance to see my first and only child did in fact cross my mind, more than once. Such was the end result with some men who served during Operation Desert Storm. I used to wonder upon hearing war veterans speak of “survivor’s guilt” how anyone could feel guilty about surviving a war, or a calamity, not out of disrespect or insensitivity, but simply trying to understand what caused the emotional turmoil and anguish within, from celebrating that you were alive and you were home with your loved ones. Now, I had a small bit of non-combatant first hand knowledge, it’s like a type of reverse “why me” only to find that as I searched my thoughts in the middle of the night, that I may never know the full reason why, unless of course..…..you believe that there is a God who interferes in the affairs of humanity, the Creator of the universe and all that is in it, who works all things for the good of those that love him.
That weekend on Sunday, 02 December 1990 the mandatory involuntary activation orders were issued and I was on the list to deploy in January 1991, a few days before the war began. Our orders were for 2 years active duty in the theater of operations. It was a surreal and bittersweet realization that the service to my country I had volunteered for, and the medical job I had selected to do to help bring home our wounded warriors if the need ever arose, was now set to begin. I was torn between looking forward to doing my part to help bring our troops home to their families and loved ones and desiring to stay home long enough just to see our unborn child be born before I had to leave. What followed later that afternoon after we had received our orders, for me, was unexpected and life changing. There were a few of my friends in the squadron that knew my wife Erin was pregnant. One man in particular whom I had discussed my wife’s pregnancy with had already voluntarily served in country during the buildup of Desert Shield and had recently returned home. He was a Veteran of the Vietnam era and was continuing to serve his country in the Air National Guard. Robert was not on the mandatory activation list for deployment. Unknown to me Robert had spoken with our squadron commander and requested to be put on the activation list in my place so that I would be able to stay home long enough to see our first child be born. A man of higher rank and years of service to his country. he did not have to go, but for his own personal reasons he gave up his spot from remaining at home. Needless to say, when I got home that evening and shared with my wife what had happened, and of Robert’s unselfish act, I could no longer contain myself and broke down. On 13 January 1991 the 146th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron deployed from the Air Guard base to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other areas within the region, on 17 January Baghdad time the war began. On 31 January 1991 our son Nathaniel was born one month early due to a premature rupture of the membrane, and with much medical intervention he was delivered into his mother’s arms, and I could not help but watch the news in the delivery room of the war in progress for any reports of casualties that were coming in. Our son Nathaniel “Robert” Rosales bears the name of the man who, not knowing the outcome of the war and what lay ahead, was willing to lay down his life for me, my wife and our unborn child, so that I was able to stay home long enough to see my son be born, an opportunity that some Desert Storm Veterans did not get, and for that bittersweet opportunity, I will share my experience with others in Robert’s honor and in memory of all those who have given their lives for our freedoms we are so blessed with today, and in special honor of the fathers who never got the chance to kiss their daughters good night or play ball with their sons. Robert returned home safely, but his actions will never be forgotten by me, my wife, my son Nathaniel “a gift of God”, or any one of my children. I was activated on 23 February 1991, around the time the ground war began and ended so quickly, and only got as far as Travis Air Force base to fill in for medical staff at the hospital that were deployed. There is more to this experience I can share, my experiences working in the labor and delivery units at military hospitals, but for now my intent is to convey my experience as a message of hope, for the women who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy, regardless of your circumstance or the choices you may have made to be in that situation. There are people who care about you and your unborn child. Those who are willing to give of their time, their finances and resources, to provide an alternative to the human tragedy of abortion and the scars it leaves not only on a woman’s body, but on her very heart and soul. I believe in a God who is merciful and forgiving, who gives a man courage to be willing to sacrifice his own life for another, and yet a God who has established a moral law for the benefit of all humanity, a moral and natural law that would lead us to the unselfish relationship between one human being and another, and a God of hope that will one day bring an end to all wars. A moral law that would hold a man accountable to his actions, and convict his conscience to honor and respect the life he has conceived with a woman, and co-created with God himself. I believe in a God who sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, so that in those moments of failure, grief, or indifference, He is there to forgive, console and bless with restoration. This is the Great Hope of my wife and I, our prayer for our children and any and all who would listen. Amen. |
