The Atlanta Braves honor Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Gary Beikirch during a pregame ceremony on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, in Atlanta. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Blaze of Light: The Inspiring True Story of Green Beret Medic Gary Beikirch, Medal of Honor Recipient by Marcus Brotherton is a powerful book about heroism in Vietnam and healing back in the United States.
Beikirch, who came from a broken home, found a sense of family serving at an Army camp occupied by a small detachment of special forces and mountain people in the Central Highlands.
On April 1, 1970, an overwhelming force of enemy soldiers attacked the camp.
Beikirch was wounded three times and temporarily paralyzed below the waist. Refusing medical treatment, he had his Vietnamese friends carry him onto the battlefield to treat the wounded.
After being evacuated, his physical wounds took many months to heal in hospitals in Vietnam and the US. His emotional wounds took much longer.
When he became a Christian, his emotional healing truly began.
“He rebuilt his life by giving back to others,” the book says, noting how he serves today as the chaplain of the Medal of Honor Society.
Blaze of Light is a moving illustration of the grace and healing available to all of us, no matter how serious our wounds, through Jesus Christ.
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