The War Prayer
by Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens]
[ca1904-5; Complete Essays of Mark Twain ed by Charles
Neider (1963)]
O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds
with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the
pale forms of their patriotic dead; help us to drown the thunder
of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain;
help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire;
help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with
unavailing grief ... for our sakes who adore Thee, O Lord, blast
their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter
pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their
tears: stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet!
We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of
Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that
are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts.
Amen.
Prayer before the Ia Drang Battle
by LTC Harold G. Moore
[ca1965 We Were Soldiers Once, And Young: Ia Drang, The Battle
That Changed The War In Vietnam by H.G. Moore & J.L.
Galloway (1992)]
Our Father in Heaven, before we go into battle, every soldier
among us will approach You each in his own way. Our enemies too,
according to their own understanding, will ask for protection and
for victory. And so, we bow before Your infinite wisdom. We offer
our prayers as best we can. I pray You watch over these young
troopers that I lead into battle. I pray You use me as Your
instrument in this awful hell of war to watch over them,
especially if they're men deserving of a future in Your
blessing and goodwill. ... oh, yes, and one more thing, dear
Lord, about our enemies, ignore their heathen prayers and help us
blow those little bastards straight to Hell. Amen.
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