Reflections From The Battlefield..From The San Bernadino County Sun
Jennifer M. Dobbs, Correspondent



For some of the folks who live in the small mountain community of Crestline, Sept. 11 offered an opportunity to honor, remember and memorialize not only those who lost their lives that day in 2001, but each and every individual who has fought or continues to fight for the freedom of all Americans.
About 500 people filled the Crestline Village Theater ironically a converted World War II Quonset Hut brought to the town in 1946 to be used as a commercial movie theater, now serving as a community center and off-site campus for its owner, Lake Gregory Community Church.

On this day, it filled both of those roles. The church was hosting the 9/11 event, inviting the community to spend time with some who had served or were still serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

After a powerful rendition of the Boston Medley and other military tunes from the Mountain Fife and Drum Corps and a presentation of colors by Boy Scout Troop 89, Pack 702, Pastor Dave Holden played "Taps" on the bugle, then introduced his guest, Ryan Krause.

Holden became friends with Chief Petty Officer Ryan Krause, a United States Navy corpsman for 15 years, through e-mail.

"Ryan was sending e-mails from Iraq every week, and a mutual friend of ours was sending them to me," Holden said.

"We got to know Ryan and ended up sending him books and materials for the 40 Days of Purpose so they could have that Bible study over there."

Krause, 33, is stationed at the hospital on Camp Pendleton and has completed three tours of duty.

In 1992, he served in Somalia as a peacekeeper and escort for United Nations Food Convoys.

He was deployed in 2003 and again in 2004 for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Krause's latest tour took him to Ramadi, Iraq, in an office located inside one of Saddam Hussein's palaces. He worked as a patient evacuation coordinator matching up injured personnel with the facilities that could best treat them.

His e-mails started as weekly devotions sent to family, friends and members of Generations Church in Temecula, which he co-founded in 2002.

`'They were about things I saw on the battlefield, and then I related them to everyday experiences," Krause said. "It turned out to be something amazing. That e-mail distribution mushroomed worldwide. I think it was reaching 20,000 people."

Krause transformed those e-mails and stories into a book, "Reflections From the Battlefield."

"Writing a book was something I thought I would never do," he said. "It is very much about detail, and I am not."

It was over dinner that Krause told Holden about the book.

"I said if the book could be released on 9/11, we could open up the theater and have an event right here," Holden said.

To bring one of the stories


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from his book to life, Krause invited United States Army Captain Daniel Gade, who on Jan. 10 was severely wounded after an improvised explosive device blew up under his vehicle.

Krause had been part of the team transporting Gade, and one of many soldiers praying for his survival.

Gade talked about his massive injuries a broken neck, kidney failure, liver failure, nerve damage, double vision and an injury to his right leg that resulted in amputation.

"In the days that followed, I had a huge number of people praying for me. It is really remarkable," Gade said. "The number of miracles were beyond my ability to count."

Some of those miracles, in the form of those soldiers who took part in his rescue, also told their stories of that day.

One nurse talked about pumping Gade with blood that had been donated on the spot from the other soldiers.

Another talked of ventilating him with a bag in one hand and pushing drugs with the other to keep him alive.

Lt. Commander Lowell Chambers described the nine hours he and his surgical team spent working on Gade to control his bleeding and save his leg.

"When I heard about six months later that he finally got to hold his daughter in his arms, every minute of it was worth it," Chambers said.

Gade spoke with humor about himself as an Army man receiving Marine blood and being treated at a Navy hospital. But he was thankful for it all. He continues to recover and regain his health.

"Everyone faces challenges," he said, telling the audience that no matter what their challenges were, they should to turn to God.

The first chapters of the book are stories of events witnessed by Krause. The second half features the e-mails that were turned into daily devotions.

"I hope people get comfort from the book, to know that God is there and bigger than their problem or circumstance."

Reflections From The Battlefield
by Ryan J. Krause
$16.99 paperback
www.blestpress.com
www.amazon.com
www.shieldsofstrength.com