Around 11 a.m. shooting started. I began looking for targets for my M-16 rifle. I did not like where I was laying and moved behind a tree. The spot where I was laying turned into a small crater when a rocket grenade landed precisely where I was a split second before. Two soldiers joined me, and we began firing into trees believing that the enemy soldiers were tossing grenades at us.

Then there were two explosions. My legs and right shoulder were hit. One of the other soldiers went into panic mode, dropping his rifle and running while pursued by the other trooper. I was completely alone. I figured out where the enemy troops were and fired into their position. After reloading, I was unable to continue firing. I was bleeding, in pain, and it seemed to me that at age 19 I was about to become forever young, killed in action.

I said the Lord's Prayer and added fervently that I did not want to die - not under a tree in Vietnam at age 19. I next heard soldiers yelling my name and firing at the enemy who were awaiting my rescuers. The enemy withdrew and did not take the liberty of shooting me. U.S. troops pulled me to safety. A medic pulled off my pistol belt. The poncho had stopped a golf ball sized piece of shrapnel from likely severing my spine.

This was a profound moment in my life. I feel that God does from time to time literally intervene in our lives. I say the Lord's Prayer every day.

From time to time, I attend St. Johns Episcopal Church on weekdays near my office. The half-hour services make me feel better. Once in a while I go to services with my wife at a Synagogue, which I also find spiritually fulfilling. While I am Christian, God casts a wide net in my view and loves us all the same. I also visit Vietnam and usually go to a Buddhist temple as well.

I can't prove it (this is why it is called faith), but I feel that God spared my life in order to accomplish something during my time here. In 1979, I decided to build a memorial on the Mall with the names of all those who died in Vietnam. The Wall was dedicated in 1982