Howard Rutledge wrote a book in which he recounted the story of how his airplane was shot down in Vietnam. He jumped into a small village, and was assaulted by a group of men, stripped naked, and incarcerated.
Over the next seven decades, he was subjected to harsh treatment, often shackled in painful positions, and then buried for days in his own garbage. Rats as large as cats swarmed around the cell. Alongside the tale about his experience He also gave a powerful testimony on the importance of Scripture.
As he walked through the sight, smells as well as the sounds around Rutledge, Rutledge was determined to discover the part of him that never dies. In the solitary prison there was no priest or Bible to answer the spiritual issues of life he’d ignored for quite a while.
Rutledge thought about his Sunday School time at Tulsa, Oklahoma and tried to remember snippets of Scripture sermons, sermons and songs from his youth. First three songs were quite easily, however Rutledge had trouble recalling other songs.
A few nights ago, during a major storm, a flash of lightning smashed out the lights. Inside the prison in darkness, he sat on his bed to sleep, listening to the rain crashing around him. He began to sing his thirty-seventh tune, “Showers of blessings, Showers of blessings that we require! Showers of mercy around us have fallen, however for showers we pray.”
Howard Rutledge and fellow POW’s similar to Harry Jenkins in a nearby cell, fought to rekindle their faith. They would often use precious moments of conversation to assist each other in recalling Scripture passages or Bible stories.
Rutledge wrotethat “Everyone was familiar with about the Lord’s Prayer and the Twenty-third Psalm” however, the camp’s favourite verse which the prisoners were most likely to recall first and quoted the frequently was John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave it to us. ……”
He shared how much time was spent trying to recall what he learned growing up in Sunday School. He was amazed by what was remembered. When he looked back, he understood how important it was to memorize scriptures in the Bible.
“I did not imagine that I’d spend nearly 7 years (five in isolation) in an inmate’s cell in North Vietnam or that thinking about a single verse that I’d memorized would help me get through the day,” he relates.
One of the verses that he remembered was “Thy word have I hidden within my soul” (Psalm 119.11). He regretted not storing the Word of God in his heart.
Howard Rutledge recalls how he would set his thoughts to work and finish specific tasks. Everyday, he’d rise early, workout and tidy up as well as possible. After that, he’d take a moment of meditation and prayer.
He then goes on to add “I often prayed, sing quietly, recite Scripture and reflect on what that passage was to me…the enemy was aware that the most effective way to break through a person’s resistance is to thwart his soul in a solitary cell.” In the former POWs say, “Scripture and hymns might be boring for certain people, but it was the only way we defeated our adversaries and defeated the forces of death that surrounded us.”
HTML0 — Jan White has compiled a collection of her columns in her book “Everyday The Faithful Daily Life.”
The article The article titled COLUMN Veteran recounts his experience at Hanoi Hilton was first published at The Andalusia Star-News.
