By Dan Shine
Voice Columnist
The Sacrifice of Abraham
“Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:13
Near Dusseldorf, Germany
April, 1945
Private Daniel R. “Bob” Shine sat in his muddy foxhole, idly reflecting as he watched the steam rise from his damp uniform and boots. He had been thinking of all those other young dogfaces who had come over with him on the troopship to Europe; so many had been lost in one battle or another. He had left them behind on snowy fields and hills, and in shattered forests and devastated villages.
His memory led him back to a rubble-strewn village street where he had lost his squad leader under heavy fire. And he recalled his good friend Abe Levy, a sergeant in another company, gone when the war was so nearly over. Abe was kind and bright, yes, and always afraid as most of the men were. Of the original 200 men in Item Company, only fifteen or twenty of the “old men” now remained. The rest of the men were infantry replacements who had joined them somewhere along the line.
Shine had mused that morning about an old Bible story he remembered, the one about Abraham and his favorite son, Isaac. In that story, Abraham had led Isaac to a mountaintop and had prepared to offer him up in sacrifice as commanded by his God. Shine tried to recall how the story had ended, but he could not.
Why, he had asked himself, did nations call upon their favorite sons to serve as sacrifices to the god of war? But suddenly he realized that he already knew the answer.
To Shine, the GIs’ role in this war had a high purpose; they had come to Europe to give the gift of freedom to others. And only America’s favorite sons were up to the task. As he sat there in the mud, lost in his musings, the company had received the order to assemble and advance. And as they moved out, Shine had one last abstract thought that lingered long: would it soon be his fate to be called to the mountaintop?
The spring days came and went. The attacks went on and on, as did the river and canal crossings and the long marches down the endless muddy roads stretching across Germany. Shine fought and marched those long miles, always wondering about the mountaintop, and when his time might come. Though winter was long since past, his feet were frostbitten for life; and starvation was always near at hand, for they had advanced far beyond the reach of their supply lines. As the GIs passed through farms and villages, they searched hungrily for any food that had been left behind.
Onward they marched toward Berlin. Their advance met with less and less resistance now. In the German villages and on the farms, white flags and bed sheets flew everywhere in surrender to the Allies. Finally, on May 8, as they reached the town of Plettenberg, the word was received: Germany had surrendered–the war in Europe was over.
As Shine received this news he was flooded with the deepest relief. Here he was, just one year past his teens, but with a war-ravaged spirit that left him feeling like a ragged old man lived within him.
His days of war were now over, but how could he ever find an inner peace? Would he be able to put all of that fighting and destruction behind him? Suddenly he remembered the ending to the story of Abraham’s sacrifice: an angel had descended and had stopped the killing of Isaac at the last possible moment. Abraham had demonstrated his loyalty and obedience, and that was sufficient.
Around him, Shine could now hear cheering and the pealing of church bells. He suddenly felt like the doomed son who had been given back his life. How would he use this gift? He did not know. But what he did know was that he would never forget his friends, his comrades, and all of those pale battalions who once had shouted and charged, and who now lay beneath Europe’s battlefields–silent and numb–their sacrifice complete.
On VE Day, the shattered forests of the Ardennes, where Shine had spent that terrible Christmas in combat, were just beginning to bloom. Where the ground had shaken and flowed red with American and German blood, all was now quiet as nature began the rebuilding process. Shine imagined those forests, those shattered trees, and knew that he too must rebuild. A young man–now with an old man’s eyes and spirit–he must turn from war and embrace his future and learn to live again.
This Memorial Day, we humbly extend our respectful thanks to those who, while protecting our sacred Freedoms, have made the Supreme Sacrifice-