Ambush at Hawijah

I was watching the series Combat Zone the Ambush in Hawijah. Thirty soldiers outnumbered more than 3 to 1 on a mission to investigate a protest in a town that had at one time harbored Sudam Husein. I don't care much for the photography. They try to give you the "effect" of boots on the ground with the soldiers rather than just being a spectator. That is okay for a minute or two, but the constantly erratic camera angles, zooming in and out, are searing to the nerves. Setting that aside, though, this is a MUST see episode if you want to see how your prayers for our soldiers are working.


I had asked God not too long ago if it were possible for me to be able to see how my prayers were working for our soldiers. It is astounding how God answers prayers. He never ceases to amaze me. For some reason, we are now getting the Military Channel again. It just appeared one day earlier this year, then disappeared... sigh. Then last week, it reappeared. I did a search and programmed to record some favorites. Combat Zone was one that I stumbled across. Or I should say, God handed to me on a silver platter.


These soldiers walked into an ambush one day in 2004. The protest they were sent to investigate dispersed within a minute or two of their arrival giving rise to the suspicion that it was a ruse to get them there. After moving into position, all hell broke loose and bullets, IEDs, and rocket launched grenades began flying and bursting all around the men. With little cover, they inched forward, trying to push the insurgents up against the canal that divided the town.


Snipers on roof tops, AK47s aplenty, alleys filled with insurgents met them at every corner. A team of just 8 men reached an intersection with no cover but a concrete flower planter. Then when they pushed past this point, one of them was shot in the shoulder and in the leg which effectively stopped forward movement until medics could remove the wounded man. After a team moved into position to help them and the Humvee with medics made it to their position, they moved forward to complete their mission.


The mission was supposed to be an in-and-out with little more than an hour or two in the town. It turned into an 18-hour ordeal with not enough water and little or no food. Our finest, best of the best, dug in their heels and accomplished their mission with no casualties and just a few injuries. That was thirty men against 100 insurgents with basically unlimited firepower and ammunition. That is astounding in itself.


The miracles abounded that day. Just to name a few:
1. Flower box cover -- no injuries. Eight men left the area and flower box in crumbles.
2. At one point, the only cover four men had was a CARDBOARD box. "Somehow" the bullets made swiss-cheese holes in the cardboard, but never touched any of the four men.
3. A bullet ricocheted off a man's Kevlar up through his helmet knocking him to his back and his helmet five feet away. No scratches on him. He said there was no way he should be alive right now, except Someone up there was watching over him. (I make bold enough to say, and lots of Christians are praying for our soldiers.)
4. A grenade landed within two feet of eight men and did not explode.
5. Bullets splayed the concrete walls lining the streets and alleys, splayed the dirt at their feet but ricocheted away from all of them.
6. When it was over and our men, the finest soldiers on earth, had subdued the insurgents, AK47 ammunition casings littered the streets and alleys like sand on a beach. Our side had Zero casualties and just a few injuries. 


That was God at work being mindful of our prayers for our soldiers. Miraculous! 


Prayer works.