Life Line - July 1999

1969: From tragedy in the jungles of South Viet Nam comes triumph. At 22-years-old Dave Roever discovered what General Sherman meant when he said "War is hell." A phosphorous grenade explosion six inches from his face, caused the loss of 60 pounds of flesh, 40% of his skin, but none of his spirit. The ordeal left him hospitalized for 14 months, where he underwent 15 major surgeries. His survival and life are miraculous.

Today he travels the world preaching the Gospel in his humorous style that includes giving testimony of his ordeal and the power of God that brought him through. Following are excerpts from one of his taped messages:

By the time I was in college, I was married, working, making good money and I had my life planned. Then I got a letter from uncle Sam. I knew what they were going to do. I had the whole thing figured out. They were going to draft me, put me in the Army, send me to Viet Nam, shoot me, put me in a doggy bag, send me to America, bury me. End of story.

I'm not into that kind of stuff. Especially those doggy bags. I'm not in to that at all. I was not a war protester. I was just your basic chicken. I could've gone to Canada. I love Canada. But I was too proud to go to Canada and too chicken to go to Viet Nam.

Being a proud chicken I was bound and determined to make the wrong decision. I went down and joined the Navy. I said to myself, "Self, nobody will float a battleship in a rice paddy." My second day in the Navy I figured "Man, I'll go swab decks. I'll go chip paint, I'll do anything for four years because that's gotta be better than being shot at for four seconds in the jungle."

My second day in boot camp they told me I was going to Viet Nam. Now I'm going to betraining with a group in the Navy called the Seal Team. The Seal Team: I didn't know what they were or what they were about. Now I know what they are about. They're about crazy. I'd never been around such people in my life. The meanest bunch of human beings I ever saw. One of the most determined and fierce fighting groups in the world.

You don't just train with them. It would kill you. I ran eight miles every day for eight weeks training for training. I had never run eight miles in the total accumulated running distance in my life. Now I did it all in one day. You ever see a fat man run eight miles? It is totally awesome! Fifteen minutes after we were through running I was still jiggling all over.

I joke about all the training and the foolishness of some of it, but I'll tell you something: I am alive today because it works. But there were some things in training they never told me about. No one ever told me how to say good-bye to my wife. That last kiss was the hardest thing I ever did.

People said to me for years: "You were a Christian, how could you fight such an unpopular war?" No one ever told me Christians only fight in popular wars.

I hate war. They can sign peace treaties when it's over but do the dead rise from their graves? Do the missing in action come home? Do the prisoners of war that some of them are still lost in that jungle over there, do they come home? Is the suffering over? Do I get a new face? Do paraplegics get new limbs? I hate war and everybody knows I have the right to.

War hurts, rapes, plunders, disfigures, destroys. But there's something I hate even more than war. It's called slavery.

I love freedom and this is one Viet Nam Veteran that's proud of his scars and stripes and I'll serve this country any time, anywhere to defend the freedoms of speech, press, religion, the right to pursue happiness, peaceful assembly together where I can, without fear of government intervention, lift up the name of Jesus Christ and voice my pride for my country.

I'm proud to be an American!

When I was a boy I learned a lesson from my dad and that is to stand on Jesus Christ the Rock and that there is no other Rock and there is no other thing to stand upon than faith in God.

I thank God that I also learned the lesson of freedom, no matter what it cost, it's worth it.

To find out more about Dave Roever or to order books or tapes call the Dave Roever Evangelistic Association at (817) 238-2000 or e-mail Dave at [email protected].

This page last updated 6 September 2000