Two thousand ten. The desert is hot, dusty and dangerous. 19 year old Glenn Hockton is
several weeks into a 7 month tour of duty with the Coldstream Guards in Afghanistan.
His main duties are patrolling the dusty terrain, and loading mortars. Glenn’s platoon is stationed
in the Helmand province in the southwestern part of the country, a region notorious
for being a Taliban stronghold and also for producing the world’s largest supply of opium.
One day, Glenn is on patrol when he feels something brush against his back.
The rosary beads he’s wearing around his neck slip off. He tries to catch the beads,
but they fall to the ground. Glenn bends down to pick them up and sees a strip of metal poking out
of the dirt at his feet. He carefully brushes away some of the dust, revealing more metal and wiring.
His heart skips a beat, his worst fears have come true. An IED [improvised explosive device]
is buried in the ground inches from his feet. One step more and he is likely to be maimed or killed.
Glenn slowly rises until he’s upright and calls for help. For 45 terrifying minutes he stays
in the same position, sweat trickling down his back, while his fellow soldiers work to defuse
the explosive. Thankfully, they are able to do so and the entire patrol returns to base safely.
Glenn is not a religious person. He brought the rosary to Afghanistan because of a story his
family had told him about his great-grandfather. Incredibly, the exact same rosary had
now saved two generations of his family. Over 65 year ago, Glenn’s great-grandfather
Joseph “Sunny” Truman, fought in World War II, serving with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Sunny was captured by the Nazis and held as a POW. As the Nazi retreated after losing battles,
they forced the POWs on long marches to keep them away from the advancing Allied Forces.
On one such march, Sunny caught a glimpse of something glinting in the dirt as he
trudged through a field. Curious, he bent down to pick it up. Just then, a shell
exploded right in front of Sunny, missing him by millimeters. Unfortunately, six of his comrades
were instantaneously killed by the blast. If Sunny had been standing up, he would have died too.
The object Sunny stopped to pick up? A rosary. This isn’t the first time a religious object has
miraculously saved a soldier. Several soldiers have been saved by Bibles.
In 1862 during the US Civil War, Private Richard R. Best of the North Carolina Infantry fought in
the Battle of Antietam, at Sharpsburg, Maryland. During a ferocious skirmish, a Bible Private Best
had in his pocket stopped a bullet to his chest, preventing a fatal wound. That Bible is on display
at the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier at Pamplin Historical Park in Petersburg, Virginia.
In July of 1915, 17 year old British soldier Leonard Knight was given a pocket Bible by his
aunt Minnie Yates before he headed off to World War I. Two years later, Leonard was saved from a
likely fatal gunshot wound when a German bullet hit the Bible which was in his uniform breast
pocket. The bullet penetrated the hard front cover and embedded itself about 50 pages from the end of
the book. The Bible is now a treasured memento of Aunt Minnie’s great-great grandchildren.
In 1916, 21-year-old British soldier, Private Frank Viner was stationed on the Western Front
in France. During the Battle of the Somme, he hunkered down in the trenches. He always kept
his Bible in his right-hand breast pocket. But one day he had an odd feeling and moved his Bible into
his left-hand pocket. Psalm 91 came to his mind. “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand
at your right hand, but you will not be harmed.” Soon afterwards, there was an enormous explosion
when a shell hit the trench. Several men were killed on impact. Frank was blown off his feet.
He ended up on the ground bruised, his uniform torn, his helmet blown off and his
head ringing--but very much alive. Embedded in his Bible was a huge piece of shrapnel. It had ripped
the book from cover to cover. If Frank hadn’t been carrying his Bible and hadn’t moved it to his
left breast pocket, he surely would have died. Was there divine protection at work in these
incidents? Some would say yes. But then again, soldiers have been saved
from certain death by many random items. During World War I, Optatius Buyssens
served in the Belgian Army. On September 26th, 1914, he was on a scouting mission
near Lebbeke, Belgium when he ran into trouble. What happened next makes for amazing family lore.
Optatius was spotted by a German soldier. The soldier shot him in the chest and Optatius fell
to the ground. The German kicked him in the head--possibly checking to see if Optatius was
still alive. He was smart, he played dead. Later, after the Germans had moved on, Optatius and a
wounded comrade were able to crawl away to safety. But how did Optatius survive? Six coins. He had
three Belgian francs and three French francs in his breast pocket. When the German soldier fired,
the bullet ricocheted off the coins, saving Optatius’ life. Ironically, it was the clink
of the coins that alerted the German soldier and gave away Optatius’ position in the first place.
Another World World I soldier’s life was saved due to a different ordinary item. 22-year-old Corporal
Walter Davis joined the 9th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment in 1915. Immediately he
was sent to the Western Front in France and fought German forces during the Battle of the Somme.
One day while hunkered down in the trenches, his platoon came under heavy fire.
A bullet shot at Corporal Davis’ chest was stopped by his 2 inch [5 cm] silver pocket
watch. The pocket watch, the bullet that hit it and Corporal Davis Small book-diary
issued by the British Army to service men, is a unique set of keepsakes that his family treasures.
More recently, in 2014 Staff Sgt. Shaun Frank was on his second tour of duty in
Afghanistan when an unlikely item saved his life. One day, he was on patrol when his team stopped
to help another unit whose vehicle had rolled over. A teenage suicude bomber approached them
and before anyone could do anything, detonated a bomb filled with metal balls bearings.
Frank received several wounds all over his body including on his legs, arms and thumb. Just about
the only area on James that wasn’t hit was his left front pocket of his pants, where he kept
his iPhone 5. Several bits of shrapnel hit the phone, including a larger piece which shattered
the screen and left an exit hole in the phone’s aluminum back. Ultimately, the phone protected
major arteries in Shaun’s thigh from being hit. Shaun had wanted to keep the phone as a memento,
but at first Apple wouldn’t honor his insurance agreement for a new phone
unless he turned in the old one. Once the public got wind of the amazing circumstances, they
lobbied Apple on Shaun’s behalf and he was allowed to keep his old phone and still receive a new one.
So it seems like maybe common objects, including religious objects soldiers carry, are likely
to be involved with amazing random occurrences where they might save a soldier’s life. However,
Frank Vitner randomly switched which pocket he carried his Bible in because of a feeling,
and then was reminded of a very specific Bible verse. Glenn Hockton swears something brushed
or pushed against him, causing the rosary to slip from his neck. He felt like his great granddad is
a guardian angel, looking down and protecting him. Who's to say when a miracle occurs?
And now that you've reached the end of our video, why not keep the watch party going?!
Ever heard of Desmon Doss? He was a heroic World War II soldier who saved
soldier comrades without firing a single shot. Check out his amazing stories here:
Ever wondered if that are specific tactics soldiers use to survive
when captured as a POW by enemy forces? Check our video how to survive as a POW here: