The Warrior

I was visiting with a friend just before the Band of Brothers meeting yesterday. She had recently gone through some medical struggles. I asked her how she was doing and she said, pretty good, thanks to my husband and my warrior.

I thought she was talking about her husband in both terms but she pointed over to the next table where Loren Myring sat. She then went on to tell me that he got up early every morning and prayed for her for two hours straight. "I know that had allot to do with how well I have come through.", she said.

So, in one of my middle of the night musings, I pondered on those words and on my good friend, Loren. Loren was Phil's best friend who we lost recently and was a big part of the founding of the brothers even though he will be quick to tell you that he was not at the original meeting.

Like Phil, Loren was at Iwo Jima. That brutal battle that was so much a part of the swing of the war. Loren was a wind talker protector there. But, it ended up the other way. His Indian friend saw the grenade that was thrown and jumped up to take the concussion of it, saving Loren's life in the balance.

Unlike Phil, Loren was not sent home after Iwo but sent to the mainland of Japan to help the Japanese after the war had ended helping to supervise the return of the devastation of Nagasaki where the second bomb was dropped. The radiation was still quite high there causing Loren to have his sternum bone dissolve. Later, after open heart surgery, Loren had to be wired back shut because of that.

After the war, Loren joined the police force and had a career on the force. He retired but remained active in other roles, especially as the chaplain for the Marine Corp League. The first time I met Loren, he was attempting to log in all new members of the newly formed Band of Brothers, taking their picture and logging in where they had served.

Loren is in a retirement home now but it still does not stop him from his chaplain duties. Recently, when Jess was sick, I asked him at the spur of the moment if he would be interested in leading the prayer at the beginning of the meeting. He agreed and did quite well.

As I lay in bed pondering of his life and how special a friend that he is, I drifted back to sleep and began to dream of a car that was coasting down a hill. The car came over a rise and started down a rather steep grade. Loren was in front of the car on his hands and knees guiding it down the hill.

I noticed that he was clearing out small rocks that were in the tread paths that the car was rolling down. As the grade was steeper, he became more fervent in his clearing. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I can't talk now. I am to busy clearing this path. If her tires hit one of these stones, it can careen off of the path and crash on the rocks below.".

I quickly realized what he was doing and jumped down to help. As we worked he spoke, "Watch out for these smooth ones. They look innocent enough but when her tread hits them, they are slippery."

I awoke and lay there in deep thought of what I had just witnessed in my dream. Loren, the warrior.......Loren, the prayer warrior was doing his thing. He was on his knees, clearing a path so that she could be safe.

I am truly blessed to be able to call this man friend.