Tuesday is Veterans Day. A big THANK YOU to all our veterans who fought to preserve our freedom of religion so we can propagate the word of God. Here is a story for you: Brit returns lost Bible to local WWII veteran Published: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 JOHN REYNOLDS AVALANCHE-JOURNAL New Testament lost nearly 60 years ago by a Lubbock infantryman fighting in Italy in World War II found its way home Monday thanks to some luck and the efforts of a persistent Englishman. Photos U.S. Army soldiers secure the area after unknown assailants in a car hurled a hand grenade at two U.S. vehicles in downtown Baghdad outside the Al-Karma Hotel Friday. Five Iraqis, including four teenagers, were injured in the blast. --Associated Press W.C. Dub Cline received the unexpected phone call 8:30 a.m. Sunday. The voice at the other end was explaining that he had Dubs Bible and wanted to return it the next day. I really thought it was a prank call at first, Cline said. He hadnt thought about the lost Bible in many years. However, Fred Fisher of Cornwall, England, who was vacationing in Texas with his wife, Barbara, and some longtime friends from Campbell had all the right information and it all jived, Cline said. Freddie Fisher, left, travelled from Great Britain to Lubbock to return a Bible lost by W.C. Dub Cline during World War II. --JIM WATKINS * AVALANCHE JOURNAL So the Fishers and their friends, Phillip and Lavonne Chaffin, detoured through Lubbock on their way to Big Bend National Park to deliver the pocket-sized testament to Cline. Fisher received Clines New Testament in 1974 from his uncle, who had fought in Italy and Normandy. He carried the Bible with him (everywhere), Fisher said. It was his lucky omen. Fisher, a 25-year veteran of the Royal Electrical Mechan ical Engineers who served in Hong Kong and Kuwait, became intrigued by the enigma of the Bibles original owner. The owners name was listed as Pvt. W.C. Cline. Under a space for the nearest relatives address was written, Mrs. Jo Alice Cline, Box 664 Tahoka, Tex. Its always been my intention to return it to its rightful owner, Fisher said. Cline said he fought with the Armys 34th Division in Italy for a little more than two years. Now 83 years old, Cline said a few months in combat convinced him of the need to get right with the Lord. The saying goes, There are no atheists in foxholes, he said. Im an example of that. An Army chaplain, Fred R. Edgar, baptized Cline by the side of a mountain and later gave Cline the New Testament. The Bible, which Cline said was not generally issued to the troops, carried an inscription with President Franklin D. Roosevelts signature. The first sentence in the inscription reads, As Com mand er-in-Chief I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States. Somewhere in the battlefields of Italy, Cline lost the Bible. Hes spent the past couple of days trying to remember where he lost it, but to no avail. Cline does not remember ever meeting Fishers uncle, he said. Getting the testament back in Clines hands required one last major stroke of luck. The only clue to Clines whereabouts was the Tahoka address, so Lavonne Chaffin called directory assistance there. The operator couldnt find a listing but then checked for the name in surrounding communities. A listing was found in Lubbock. When Fisher tried the number, it worked. Both the Fishers and Chaffins were taken aback by their luck. The odds against Cline being in Lubbock after all those years were tremendous, they said. Even more amazing was the fact Jo Cline never lived in Tahoka. Because the Army re quested a permanent address, she listed her mothers address as her permanent address, she said. As the United States and Great Britain stand together in the war in Iraq, Fisher said he was glad to honor an American veteran by returning his Bible. Jo Cline said the feelings were reciprocated. Without the Brits, wed be in bad shape now, she said. Dub Cline will most likely give the New Testament to his granddaughter, he said
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 20:21:26 +0000
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