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Word Gems
What is a man but the sum of his thoughts?

• Editor's Prefatory Note:   A few days ago, I drove into Bob's yard, a modest country property, to find him tending to his garden. "Bob, these tomato plants have really grown in the last three days. I'm surprised how big they are now." My white-haired friend agrees and, with some emphasis, offers, "Yes, these 25 plants are gonna produce a ton of tomatoes." We begin our visit with innocuous talk such as this; unfocused, throw-away banter, all of which belies the once-intensity of purpose, the extraordinary tenacity - as Churchill put it - the indomitable spirit "sweeping away inertia," of my aged host, now, in the twilight years of his life. There is a banal theory of history which suggests that even heroic men and women of the past deserve no real credit for their accomplishments; that, fundamentally, they, and what they did, were merely products of their time; simply flowing, drifting, in the rushing currents of historical forces swirling about them. Well... such drivel is convincing only to insulated academics who seek to justify their own walter-mitty lives. All that I shall say to them is... you've never met Bob Feland!

June 6, 2010 ... 66 years after the D-Day Invasion.

 

In 1966, when Charles de Gaulle ordered France out of NATO, and American troops off of French soil, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk confronted de Gaulle and pointedly asked if that included the thousands of American soldiers lying dead in the cemeteries at Normandy and throughout the rest of France.

             Charles Krauthammer

PART I:

The War Memoirs of Robert Feland

Bob was 21 when he entered the War.

"I had to try to help them. I couldn't just stand by. They were my friends."

"If I die, I die. But I have to try!"

Bob's solemn words can do nothing but arrest a listener's attention.

A group of ten GI's were stranded, not daring to move, in the midst of a minefield, carefully laid as trap for them. Many of their fellows, now lifeless corpses, dismembered and shattered by the unforgiving hidden explosives, lay prostrate, silent, before them.

My frail, but still active, friend, these days, sometimes has trouble with his memory; but he will never forget the events of that long-ago place and time.

"I saw those guys over there, and I knew that I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try to help them. If I die, I die. Death was all around me, anyway, every day, for those years. You never knew when a shell would land next to you, and the guy you were just talking to would be dead. So, what the hell, there's no safety anywhere... if it's my time, it's my time... but I just had to try to help those guys."

I see Bob stare into the distance. He remembers, too well, what happened next.

"Stick close to me. Do exactly what I do! Walk careful, or we're all gonna die!"

"There was a buddy with me, and I said to him, if he wanted to, he could go with me and try to get those guys out. So, we both headed into the minefield, but I told him, walk exactly where I walk, in my steps. Don't drag your feet, lift them. Walk slow! Stay close to me, do what I do. Let's go!"

These two - very young men, in their early 20's - began to make their way through "no man's land." Bob relied on his best sense and judgment regarding where mines might be planted. The gauntlet-of-destruction to be traversed was a distance of approximately the length of a football field - plenty of opportunity in this game of minefield-roulette for one misstep to be one's last.

"When we got to where the guys were, I could see they were in bad shape. A lot of guys dead all over the place. I knew I couldn't help them. But I said to the living ones, 'we can get out of here, but you have to do exactly what I say, and walk exactly where I walk!'"

They did so. And, miraculously, somehow, all were saved.

• Editor's note: An ironic, and very sad, footnote to this amazing story. These rescued men, many of them wounded, were taken to a nearby hospital ship, just off the coast of Italy. Only days later, a German attack plane bombed it, splitting the mercy-seacraft in two. Bob says he never knew how many survived this disaster, even of those he'd just saved! all of which underscores Bob's assessment of a soldier's survival chances: "There's no safety anywhere - if it's my time, it's my time."

"You did what?!"

A little while later, Bob's commanding officer demanded, "Feland, where have you been!"

Bob explained.

"You did what?! You mean you went over there into that!" - stated with a tone of voice that meant to say, "You are crazy, boy!"

The officer wrote a report about the incident and submitted it up the line. A few days later, Bob and his friend were summoned to see General Mark Clark, Commander of the Fifth Army, in charge of the invasion of Italy, who presented each of them with a Silver Star, commendation for bravery beyond the call of duty.

Bob remembers the kind words and praise from the famous General:

"You really did something good, really something! I am proud of you! The army should be filled with guys like you. Let me shake your hand!"

General Mark Clark

"TO: Robert O. Feland, 37278183. Under the provisions of Army Regulations 600-45 as amended, you are awarded a Silver Star for gallantry in action. CITATION: Robert O. Feland, 37278183. Private First Class, Medical Corps, United States Army. For gallantry in action on 22nd of February, 1944, near Anzio, Italy. Private First Class Feland responded to an emergency call for aid-men to administer first aid to wounded assault troops who had entered a minefield in darkness. Upon arrival at the scene of the accident, he found twelve casualties lying in scattered parts of the field. With complete disregard to his own personal safety, Private First Class Feland entered the uncharted mine field, personally escorted several wounded men from the dangerous area. After rendering first aid to these men, he arranged for their evacuation by ambulance. Private First Class Feland's courageous and selfless action reflect credit upon himself and the Medical Corps. MARK W. CLARK, Lieutenant General, US Army.

"courageous and selfless... with complete

disregard to his own personal safety"

"you are awarded a Silver Star for gallantry in action"

Untold Superhero Tales

The above account of Bob's heroic exploit has been presented in print elsewhere. It is my purpose to offer some additional information. I have seven hours of recorded interview with Bob - amazing testimony, the stuff of which deserves exposition in an entire book; maybe, a movie.

There is a particular aspect, however, one most compelling, concerning Bob's military ordeal that has never been made public. I will get to that shortly. But, before I do, allow me to briefly offer capsule summaries of Bob's remarkable war-memoirs, some of which might never be known if I do not mention them here:

        "we were like animals"

• For over three years Bob lived out-of-doors - in all kinds of weather, including snow and ice! "I learned how to heat a tent with a single candle! and how to pitch that tent against the rain, so that it would not leak!" Often, after miles, sometimes days, of marching, Bob's boots and socks would be soaked - and the skin on his feet, if he would allow it, would easily peel away, like a spent banana skin! To counteract this, he learned to help himself by removing boots and socks and running barefoot in the snow, which, he found, would restore firmness to the covering of his flesh! "We were like animals!" Bob reports that, after so long a time, living in the open elements, as a veritable creature of nature, it became difficult to be indoors, as he experienced a sense of not being able to breathe, of being too warm!

        " flies were in my mouth"

• At Mannheim, Germany, the retreating Nazi troops, in an effort to slow the advance of the Allies into their homeland, had knocked out bridges over the Rhine. "There were 4 or 5 bridges down. And the river water was swift as heck there, really moving fast. We were trying to run pontoons across, and the Germans were just shelling the hell out of us. I wasn't supposed to be down there with the ambulance until 9 o'clock that night, but I was down there at 3 in the afternoon. And shelling, oh, my gosh, I tell you, all around you, just BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM... and PING, PING, PING, bullets hitting the ambulence, and you're losing glass... I got down there, and [in a minute] I was loaded [with the wounded]... and I was driving 3 miles out of there to our hospital, and there were shells falling all the way... there were so many shells in the air that night that you didn't need lights, you could see where you were going, the whole sky was lit up, just BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM... and it went on like this all that night, and all the next day, and all the next night, without stopping! When I'd get to the hospital, some would be dead, and there would be 2 inches of blood in the truck from all the bleeding! I was so tired from being up for two days straight, driving back and forth with the wounded, that finally, when things quieted down, I just passed out. When I woke up, my mouth was open, and flies were in my mouth..."

        crème de menthe for a month

• The stress of living on the battlefield; of never knowing if the next moment might be one's last; of seeing friends blown-up, sometimes, at close range; exacted a heavy psychological toll on the warriors. With grief, Bob remembers an all-too-familiar phenomenon. Men would come off the front-lines, dazed, disoriented... and then, the dreadful sounds of a single shot... "pop... first one, then another... pop... then another... pop" ... exhausted men, who could no longer live under such conditions, would take their own lives! Bob decided against this kind of remedy, but he dealt with the crushing stress in his own way. After capturing a German stockpile of crème de menthe, Bob recalls that he was drunk for a month! For over three years, he'd been given no time off! not a single day away from the war! and he jokingly states that, during that time with the bottle, such a welcome respite from unimaginable terrors, nothing mattered, not even driving to the front-lines could bother him.

        "I'll ram this into your ******* belly"

• As the U.S. Army moved closer to invading Germany, Bob remembers one evening in a small village. There was a makeshift bar, an ancient stone building, and he and his buddies spent a few hours there having some drinks. Suddenly, a somewhat-large fellow, probably inebriated, accosts the slender Bob and demands that they go outside to fight. Bob, instantly assessing the unfavorable odds, reaches for a beer bottle, smashes the end of it, and, menacingly waving the jagged shard at the aggressor, threatens with, "Come on, you want me, come and get some, I'll ram this into your ******* belly." At this point, Bob's friend, Homer, a 300-pounder, a one-time logger from northern Minnesota, bellows, "What the hell's going on there!?" Bob laughs as he recalls Homer, a gorilla of a man: "He had hair this long on his chest," indicating a few inches! Then, like a dangerous projectile finding its mark, Homer's hairy arm lunges toward the assailant, and with that one quick grabbing fist, picks him up, sends him flying, crashing, straight through the bar-room doors, out into the street! Homer had stepped up to the plate, smashed a line drive to left field, and the other guy was out! Bob remembers that he and Homer would often "watch each other's back," rescued each other, throughout the whole war! Editor's note: Another sad and dramatic ending to a story: Homer made it back to his hometown of International Falls, MN - but, one night, an intruder shot him to death! right in his own bed! Bob suspects that he had made enemies in the logging camp!

        the sniper's sporting activity

• Many of us have seen films of the D-Day landing. Bob was part of that offensive; moreover, he asserts that he played a role in five amphibious landings, of the most perilous sort, made under entrenched enemy fire! Bob speaks of the soldiers, while disembarking landing-craft, mortally hit while coming ashore, and, with 70 pounds of equipment on their backs, would immediately sink into the deep water, far out of reach for anyone to help. There was a sniper, holed-up in a small building, picking off GI's as they made it onto the beach - but this assassin-in-the-shadows would soon find his own time in this world to be cut short, as Bob's group made their way to him, lobbed a few grenades through the window, and abruptly ended his sporting activity.

Editor's note: Is it not supremely ironic that Hitler's Germany, technologically superior as it was, essentially, lost the War at the D-Day invasion! Why? Because German forces could not react quickly enough to the surprise-landing. And why the lack of timely response? No field commander dared make a decision contrary to Der Führer's ("the Leader") gameplan. And why was Dear Leader not minding the store? Because he was catching some z's - and no subordinate dared risk incurring Dear Leader's wrath by awakening him. You know, it really puts a crimp in the chanting rally to find that thousands of ships, and hundreds of thousands of troops, have just landed to end your excellent adventure... that would make anyone a carpet fresser... I'm having a little fun here. But I want you to think about something. Albert Einstein, one who fled Nazi Germany, once said that unthinking deference to authority is the greatest enemy of the truth! The question for us becomes... who are the Dear Leaders in your life? To whom have you surrendered your autonomy? With whom have you checked-at-the-door your brains? Who in your life claims to be better than you; claims that s/he will take care of you; claims that God has put him or her in charge of you; claims that if you will only obey exactly what s/he says, all will be well for you! We find Dear Leaders in all aspects of society (P.S. #21), and their followers, offering Einstein's "unthinking deference," are all about us. Until we recognize this untoward dynamic, especially, in ourselves, we will not be ready for that "unfolding of the human spirit" (see below).

        "no German could speak American like that"

• On the march to Germany, Bob and a few other men, found themselves stranded behind enemy lines, in a village. They sought cover in one of the houses, and spent much of the night there. Bob remembers: "Just outside the house was a road, and all night, the Germans marched by, and their trucks and their tanks rolled by, just a few feet from us. In the darkness, we finally decided to make our move, and head for the countryside. But we didn't know which direction to go. We listened to the gunfire and recognized the sounds that the American guns made, so we headed in that direction. We finally made it to our line, but the American sentry shouted at us to stop, and thought that we were German spies, and was about to machine-gun all of us. But one of the guys with me suddenly started cussing a blue streak, and called the sentry every damn name under the sun. The sentry was so shocked by this, and thought that no German could speak American like that, and so he let us in!"

        "SHOOT! BANG! ... he got all 8 tanks!"

• "Anzio was a tough landing. We were there for three months. We had 380 big guns from battlewagons and cruisers pounding the shore to keep the Germans back. On the first day of the landing I went ashore and climbed a hill. From up there, about a mile away, I could see 8 big German tanks coming fast for us. But a Navy boy, just a young guy - not Army, he wasn't dressed like us, he was dressed in blue - came running up to me, and lay on top of the hill beside me. He had a radio and could communicate with the battlewagon. He started shouting into his radio, 'latitude this and altitude that,' and then he said, 'SHOOT'! Next thing I saw was two big guns go off on the battlewagon, and the shells were lobbed over us, over the hill, and 'BANG,' a tank exploded! The Navy boy did this again, 'SHOOT'! and 'BANG,' another tank went up. The Navy boy got all 8 tanks! It's a good thing he did, because if those tanks had gotten through, we'd all been goners, and we'd have lost the beachhead!"

Washington Apocalypse

Editor's note: Winston Churchill, during the dark days of 1940, the early months of the War, when few things were going right, had sharp words for those who feared invasion, and who mused of surrender. He castigated: "There is a time to die... Let it end only when each one of us lies choking in his own blood." He forbade all so-called "peace talks" with the Nazis. He did so because he knew that there are some in this world who cannot be reasoned with, cannot be negotiated with. Germany had the greatest scientists in the world! and Hitler was within a hairsbreadth of perfecting "The Bomb." If Heaven had allowed this to occur, without a doubt, German bombers would have quickly wiped out the great cities of America. We live in a most dangerous world - and, thankfully, our tour of duty here is a temporary one - and I can tell you that, having read the AfterLife testimonies, our Guides on the Other Side well understand the systemic peril of living within this "veil of suffering." And, while these Spiritual Advisors desire only to promote peace and freedom, they are not so naive to suggest that certain demented ones in our troubled world, such as Hitler, and others today, might be mollified with empty platitudes of "can't we all just along!" (P.S. #14, 15, 17, 29)

        "I'm all she has now"

• The most touching story in Bob's collection, without a doubt, is this one: As Bob drove his ambulance through the battlefields of France and Belgium, bodies would be seen to litter the fields and roadways. "The sad part about it, by this time in the War, I hardly even noticed, I had seen so much death." However, his attention was arrested by a most tragic sight. A dead young woman lay in a ditch. Beside her was a crying, hungry, little girl of two or three. Bob stopped, opened the ambulance door, and the little tyke scooted in. She didn't speak English, but the two of them made fast friends. During the coming days, this tiny French girl would shadow Bob in all of his activities, even going to the front lines, as no one knew what to do with her. "What are you doing with that little girl?" the other GI's wanted to know. "I'm taking care of her. Her mother is dead, and I'm all she has now." Bob, with emotion, recalls: "I didn't know her name, but she was my little girl." Some days later, some French nurses came to take the child, which, Bob knew, was for the best. The two-year-old cried, reached out to him, and did not want to leave her new father. "That was the last time I saw her. If she is alive today, she will be close to 70!"

• President Ronald Reagan, June 6, 1984, Normandy, 40-year commemoration of D-Day: "These are the men who took the cliffs. They were what General Marshall called 'our secret weapon - the best damn kids in the world.'"

        "gonna smash me to hell"

• "Later at Anzio I was watching our tanks on top of a hill. But then a German shell hit a tank and the GI running the tank slumped over. I started running over to him to see if I could help him. But I had to run through this mud and swamp to get to him. Just then another shell landed near to me in the mud. But shell didn't explode at first and sort of skimmed along in the mud just under the surface, pushing up dirt as it went along. I was running, and I put my foot down, but, at that moment, the shell skimmed right under where I was stepping, and it flipped me high in the air, and I landed on my belly in the swamp water." Other GIs who saw Bob fall would later say, "We saw you faint out there!" to which Bob angrily replied, "Ya damn fools, I didn't faint, I was flipped by a shell!" Bob explains what happened to the wayward missile. "A few seconds later there was a big BOOM and the underground shell sent a lot of big chunks of dirt and rock flying high into the air. And all these big chunks - I mean, big things, some hundreds of pounds - were landing all around me - BOOM! BANG! SMASH! And I thought, 'Oh, my God, in a minute one of these things is gonna smash me to hell!' But, after some seconds, I was ok, it all missed me. I got up and ran to the top of the hill to the tank - but I couldn't help him, half his head was gone, he was plumb dead."

        "just wanted to kill them all"

• "Something terrible I witnessed. Some of our guys did some bad things. This lieutenant brought a bunch of German prisoners in, and told a sergeant to look after them. 'Sure thing, Lieutenant!' But when the officer drove away, and out of sight, the sergeant brought out his automatic and mowed them all down. This was terrible." I asked Bob why this would happen. "You have to understand, some of these GIs went a little crazy, were mad as hell. They had seen so many of their buddies blown to bits, friends machine-gunned, even guys killed while going to the bathroom, snipers would pick them off. And some of our guys were so mad at the Germans and just wanted to kill them all. I don't say it was right, only that this is why it happened!"

Editor's note: I have many recorded hours of testimony from Bob. Virtually, each one of his stories is mind-boggling in its own right. As one who has never been to war, I have trouble processing much of this, and find myself distressed as I contemplate the horror of Bob's accounts. But I clearly understand this much: As I observe Bob sharing his experiences, I see a man, now 89 years-old, almost 70 years removed from the events of which he speaks; and yet, I often find him at a loss for words... he stammers, he searches to explain, he sighs deeply... and it's evident to me, from Bob's body language, and his troubled spirit, that he is reliving the terrors of that dark time; and, even to this day, cannot fully accept that civilized people would actually do these things to each other; that these things actually happened! actually happened to him! a farmboy, who loved horses and the prairie! just a young guy from Almont, North Dakota!

       the Valley of Death, "not one living thing in that 8 miles"

• On the march to Germany, Bob described a killing field of mammoth size, a Valley of Death. "The Germans were trying to get away from us as fast as they could. There was a long line of German tanks, trucks, troops, artillery, and lots of horses, too, pulling wagons, all trying to retreat, and they were climbing all over each other just trying to get away. This line was 8 miles long!! 8 miles filled with all of these men, animals, cannons, and vehicles. They were moving through a valley, and our fly-boys took this opportunity to box them in. Our planes blasted bridges and roads at the front of this line, and did the same at the rear - there were no other roads out, so they had no where to go, just all boxed in." "Like a turkey shoot," I said. Bob affirmed my metaphor. "Our planes started pounding them with bombs, strafing, raking, them. At the end, I'd never seen anything like it. There wasn't one living thing in that whole 8 miles! Everything had been blown to bits! The Germans had laid mines behind them to trip us up, but we didn't find even one active mine! Every mine had been blown up! Dead men everywhere; heads, arms, body parts, everywhere. And all of those big beautiful horses, all dead. The Germans lost a lot that day."
  

       lucky 13

• After basic training, Bob's troop-ship headed for North Africa, where, on August 7, 1942, they landed under heavy fire. Bob had been assigned to a certain landing-craft, but, at the last minute, was ordered to another boat. This second one, too, would not work out for him; and, once again, he was reassigned, this time to Higgins Boat #13. "I didn't like the idea of going on a number 13, but I went anyway. While boarding the boat, and while it was being lowered down into the water from the main ship, I fell and landed on my head. I could have broken my neck, but I was ok. We made it onto land without getting all shot up. The next day, though, I found out that both of the other two landing-boats, ones that I almost went on, had taken direct hits by cannon fire - and all aboard those two boats were killed! From that time on, number 13 was my lucky number!"

  An amphibious landing, pinned down, on the beach.
Bob endured, and somehow survived, five such as these.
During the first one, his canteen was shot off his hip!

        "our throats slit"

• Before leaving North Africa, after securing the area with intense fighting, Bob and a buddy were having a drink in a French Moroccon village bar. A French sailor, speaking with broken English and with hand-signs, approached Bob with a warning, of which the upshot was this: "See those French Foreign Legion guys over there? They are bad. They are going to kill you!" which was said with repeated horizontal figure-gestures across his neck. "You need to leave now!" The French sailor, and a couple of his friends, walked with Bob and his company back toward the Allies' camp, with the Legionnaires in close pursuit of all. Bob recalls, "We made it back into camp, and the French navy guys went on their way. If they hadn't helped us that night, we would have had our throats slit!"

     "I would have been butter!"

• "It's hard to explain how dangerous it is having cannon fire rain down on you. We dug in, and even used sandbags, if we could get them, to strengthen our trenches and foxholes. We could make them strong, and if a shell landed even several feet away, we'd be shaken up a lot, but we would be ok. The only thing that could hurt us in those dug-in places would be a direct hit by a shell. If that would have happened, I would have been butter! Sometimes, there would be a direct hit. I was part of a medic team, and we had to go into a hole where 8 of our guys had been, but it took a direct hit. There was nothing left in there. We collected one helmut-full of flesh, that's all - that's all that was left of 8 guys! They were turned into butter!"

"You would think, after so many years - hell, after 70 years - that a guy would forget
some of those things... but, **** you don't forget! I'm out in my yard today, mowing grass,
and I think of this and I think of that from the War; and, let me tell you, you don't forget..."

     "They ain't got you yet, huh, Feland!"

• "I was driving a truck, and far ahead of me, up in the sky, I saw this German fighter plane swooping in fast to take me out. I saw a bomb falling, coming right at me. I had just enough time to jump out of the truck and hit the ditch! There was a big explosion and the windshield and the whole top of the truck was torn off, just gone! The plane flew on and was gone. And the thought went through my head - can I still drive this thing? The keys were still in the ignition, I tried it, and the motor turned over just fine. I drove it back to camp this way. The guys started laughing at me when they saw me dragging in, and said, 'They ain't got you yet, huh, Feland!' It was funny."

       "I saw daylight under the ship!"

• "Something else I saw at Anzio. One of our cruisers was coming closer to the shore, trying to get into a better position for its big guns. I was only about 200 feet from it so I could see it very well. But suddenly there was a big explosion - the cruiser had hit a mine! - and I saw that big ship go straight up into the air. I mean, I could see daylight under it! There was a sailor, a black man, high up on the mast, and he was blown out into the water - he survived, he was the only one, I think. There were 3000 men on that ship who died that day!"

June 6, 1944, the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the largest
assembled armada in history! Bob served as medic to the fallen.

These stories are larger than life, of epic proportion, each one the stuff of which blockbuster movies are made.

World War II claimed 50 million lives! Most of the action was created, and endured, by very young men - we often call them "boys." And these boys were from cities, towns, villages, and farms, from all over the world. Young men, many of whom had never been 50 miles from home, now suddenly found themselves on the other side of the globe, waging herculean battles; engaging in warfare, of the unthinkable kind; experiencing death and destruction on a scale never witnessed before in the history of the world!

It was a fight to the death, with enlightened civilization, itself, as opposed to a new dark age, hanging in the balance - all this profound drama and portent, the destiny of the world, resting on the shoulders of very young men!

I am reminded just now of the words of President Ronald Reagan:

"Our minds play a trick on us. We see the [World War II] soldiers as old and wise; we see them like the Founding Fathers, grave and gray-haired - but most were boys when they died. And they gave two lives: the one they were living... and the one they would have lived." Veteran's Day, November 11, 1985

Ed Olsen (left), Bob's buddy. Both survived the War.

PART II:

The Whisperings of Heaven

There is an untold aspect of Robert Feland's military memoirs. For 70 years, he has rarely spoken of it. During those few times of candor, he says that people have not believed him.

But I believe him. I do so because, as I've come to see, these hidden details of Bob's exploits, while amazing, are of the sort meant to be accessible to each one of us.

Bob survived the War - over three years of it - and, as he puts it, "every damn thing imaginable," without incurring so much as a scratch!

This statement is all the more remarkable as we learn from Bob that...

• He had bullet holes in his clothing. But Bob was never shot.

• Equipment strapped to his side was found with bullet holes; and, at times, was shot off his hip. But Bob was never shot.

• Equipment strapped to his back was found with bullet holes. But Bob was never shot.

• His work as a medic and ambulance driver was far more dangerous than that of the typical GI on the frontline. These others could find whatever cover they might devise, but a medic, unprotected, would have to run into the open fire, to aid his fallen fellows, and, in so doing, make himself an easy target for snipers. But Bob was never shot.

• His ambulance came to be so riddled with bullet holes - the entire body of the vehicle so shot to pieces - that it had to be junked! But Bob was never shot.

• Too many times, men standing next to him, in the next moment, would be dead, or maimed. One time, a bullet passed through Bob's clothing and hit the man next to him! But Bob was never shot.

As we learn of such seemingly-miraculous survival in the face of extreme danger, we might philosophically offer that, "somebody was praying for Bob"; or that, "it just wasn't his time"; or even that, "Bob was one of the lucky ones."

All these explanations have merit, and will satisfy most; and some of this rationale might, indeed, offer a measure of understanding regarding what happened to Bob during those terrible years.

But he tells me that there was something else in play that saved him.

"Peace in our time"

 

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain landed at Heston Aerodrome on September 30, 1938, and spoke to the crowds: "The settlement of the Czechoslovakian problem, which has now been achieved is, in my view, only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all Europe may find peace. This morning I had another talk with the German Chancellor, Herr Hitler, and here is the paper which bears his name upon it as well as mine... We regard the agreement signed last night and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, as symbolic of the desire of our two peoples never to go to war with one another again." Later that day he stood outside Number 10 Downing Street and again read from the document and concluded: "My good friends ... I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And now I recommend you to go home and sleep quietly in your beds."

 

Hitler used this time of "negotiated peace" to fortify his incredible military machine. Chamberlain's naivete, which allowed Hitler to increase his stockpile of arms, likely caused the deaths of untold extra hundreds of thousands; possibly, millions! Churchill, one of the lone voices of dissent and who had also met with Der Führer, was not deceived and warned - had warned for years! - that Herr Hitler could not be trusted. And the question for us which begs to be answered is this: How is it that Chamberlain could not sense the deviltry, the dark energy, exuding from the German Chancellor, while Churchill could? The answer to this question will help us to understand what happened to Bob Feland.

Internal Guidance Systems

Think of a geiger counter - that scientific device that makes a warning clicking-sound in the presence of dangerous radioactive material.

• During the War years, Bob's stomach - the pit of his stomach - became for him a kind of warning device, sort of like a geiger counter, that would signal to him impending and imminent danger!

Bob says it was like a "knot' in his gut, a disturbance, a bad feeling, an ache. I will share with you several stories from Bob and will refer to this phenomenon as The Warning.

How Often Did This Happen?

Was It Luck?

Active Imagination?

Wishful Thinking?

I wanted to know if this was real.

I asked Bob, "How often did The Warning occur? Was it a few times during the War years?"

"No, it happened every day! many times a day!"

We're talking hundreds, maybe thousands, of times here. The Warning was no isolated event but a virtual daily occurence!

"Bob, did you experience The Warning before the War?"

"No, I had it only during the War, and when it was over, I never felt it again."

"We are the origin of the coming evil!"

Destruction of the Beast and the False Prophet, Benjamin West (1804)

Editor's note: This famous painting offers symbolic depiction of the end of evil in our world. Hitler's diabolical menace has become proverbial in its representation of extreme evil. But I have come to see that the cult-like mentality that gripped Nazi Germany in the 1930s - Germany, the land of Beethoven, Brahms, and Bach; of Einstein, Mach, and Braun; of Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and Kant; the most cultured, the most educated, country in the history of the world - while, at times, latent and without full opportunity for expression, is a spirit to be found in every aspect of Today's society (P.S. #21, 17). How nice, how convenient, if such utopia could easily be brought about by surgical removal of two individuals, a so-called Beast and False Prophet. I don't think so. Carl Jung told us why! Consider his painfully honest, his devastating words: "We need more understanding of human nature because the only real danger that exists is Man himself! He is the great danger! And we are pitifully unaware. We know nothing of Man, far too little. We are the origin of the coming evil!" Why do I mention this here? Our own self-deception, of which Dr. Jung speaks, will block and cloud one's internal guidance system, the message of one's own soul, that was meant to lead us through the darkness of this world.

Was This A Secret?

Who Else Knew About This?

I wanted to know - did Bob's buddies know about The Warning?

"They knew. They took it very seriously. There was a group of about ten guys, who, whenever possible, would go with me wherever I went. They trusted me and felt safe with me. And I saved them more than once. And they would ask me, How are you feeling now, Feland? How's that stomach of yours? You feeling ok? Yeah, they knew all about it and took it very seriously!"

'Ed! No! Don't go near it!' I had an awful feeling! 'Quick, duck down, things are gonna happen!'

"I always had those damn cramps in my belly when things weren't going right. The Germans were shelling the hell out of us, and Ed [Olsen] said, 'We better get to that [protected trench] over there, or we're gonna get killed out here.' And those shells were dropping all around, and the dirt was flying, and he said, 'Let's get to that [trench]!' And we were running towards it, and then I said, 'Ed! No!' And he said, 'What's the matter?' And I said, 'Don't go near it! Come over here to the side of this hill!' I had an awful feeling in my gut! 'Duck down, things are gonna happen!' and I said, 'Quick! Duck down!' and he could tell that I was pretty excited, so he ducked down. And I had no more than said that to him and ... [Bob now pauses, and then speaks very slowly, as he relives that moment] ... a shell landed right in that hole where we were headed and blew it all to hell! a direct hit! VARRROOOOM!! All my stuff was in there. I lost everything I had! That hole was so blown to hell that nothing was left in there!"

"15 seconds later, the building was gone!"

"We were on our way to Germany, and one night we were in this bar in some village. We were having a good time, everything seemed fine, but suddenly I felt The Warning, this pain in my gut. I knew what it meant, and I didn't waste time and started running to get out of there. My buddies started running, too, and followed me. They didn't mess around if they saw me get serious! We got some hundreds of feet away and suddenly there was a big explosion - there was a shell, a direct hit on that bar! it was totally destroyed, and everyone in that building was dead. Someone knew that GI's would be there and set a trap for them!"

Bob Feland today... the Consummate North Dakota Man: ruggedly handsome,
self-directioned, always the survivor, individualistic; sometimes, to a fault. But the
horrors of war would wear upon even this Personification of Will and Fortitude:
"I saw so much death, every damn thing imaginable, that, after awhile, I sorta gave up
hope of living, because I thought it would be my turn next. For years, the whole
War, I thought that the next minute would be my turn to be carried out." Allow me to add
a note. I have read many hundreds of AfterLife testimonies (P.S. #3), and they say, on the
Other Side, that there are some spirits, so timid, that they would never consider coming
to this troubled world of ours; as such, it is also said, that anyone who agrees to come to our cold
and grey world is considered to be a hero. This is true. But there are heroes even among
heroes.What Bob experienced in this life was no accident of fate - he agreed to all this before
he came here, contracted, to be one of those who would serve others in the midst of utter
extremity. And noble spirits such as these, rest assured, my friends, are considered to be royalty in
the Next World! as Rocky said, absolutely!

Sorry, Sir, I really have to run, we're about to be blown up!

Bob did not actually say these words - but it's what he might have said if he hadn't been busy getting out of the line of fire of an incoming shell.

"I was standing next to a commanding officer. He was talking to me. But suddenly I felt The Warning, and I didn't even bother to excuse myself, I didn't say anything to the officer, I just started running. Some seconds later, right where we were standing, a shell landed, and men were dead and maimed."

The Minefield: Following The Energy

As we've already learned, Bob navigated the minefield with his technical knowledge of those deadly matters. But there was more guiding him that day.

He explained to me that he followed the energy of The Warning. If he "felt good," in his stomach, about stepping in a certain area, he would do that, and he would avoid those areas which registered negatively for him - and by this process he successfully traversed some hundreds of yards of what could have been instant death.

"The shell landed right between his legs!"

"My stomach never failed me, but there was this time when I was nearby this guy in a [protected trench] where he as manning a machine-gun. A shell came flying in and landed right between his legs! a direct hit, right into his trench! But, the shell was a dud! It didn't go off!" "So," I asked in astonishment, "your stomach didn't warn you because there was no real danger?!" "I guess so, because everything was fine. If that shell had gone off, we'd all been turned to butter! But my buddy was so shaken up by this, that he just got up, and started running around, and was all goofy like!"

The Middle of a Killing Field, the Safest Place To Be

I think my favorite of Bob's stories might be this one.

Think of Band Of Brothers, the Battle of The Bulge. Do you recall how deadly was the cannonfire, the shelling? Bob, not the first time, found himself in the midst of a similar situation.

He and ten of his buddies were seeking cover from German artillery fire; but there was no easy place to offer protection. Where could they go? They were surrounded by exploding bombs, with flying shrapnel all about.

But Bob noticed something. His stomach was not aching! He did not experience The Warning. And so he stopped; his men did, too. And they stayed right where they were!

Think of a Fourth of July evening with a grand fireworks display! with incendiary devices detonating all about, lighting up the sky, making it seem, at times, as mid-day. It was something like that for this group of men, all huddled together, in the midst of that rain-of-destruction, that killing field!

But not one of them was injured that night, not even scratched, even with bombs bursting, and deadly shrapnel, everywhere! as they were treated, free of charge, to the greatest light-show in Europe, with the best seats in the house! ... it was just like being there!

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil...

"When I knew I was in a bad spot, my stomach would tighten up, cramp up. But as soon as I would walk in a direction away from the coming danger, my stomach relaxed. And that's where I just stayed. I never doubted my stomach! When my stomach told me what was going on, I was a firm believer in my belly! And when my belly cramped - if I was talking to you, and my belly started to cramp, I'd move over to, maybe, from here to that tree [50 ft.], and BOOM! - you'd get shot! Now, who told me to get out of there? I don't know. But, I had this happen to my nerves, and my stomach, all, all, all, through the War! It never, ever failed me, either!" "It never failed you?" I repeated. "No. And a lot of guys knew about this! And when I would say, 'Whoops!' and when I would say, 'Watch out!' and they would say, 'Again?' and I would say, 'We gotta go,' and we would start moving, and my stomach led me out into the open where it should have been worse, and more dangerous, but I said, 'Whoah! I feel good right here,' and everybody stopped, and went down on their knees, all stayed together, and a few seconds later, VAARROOM!! - two shells landed, right where we woulda been if we'd kept going! Now, tell me why! At that particular time, there were about ten guys following me, and we'd all been gone! but they listened to me."

• Editor's note: There is an additional psychic phenomenon experienced by Bob. It is somewhat different in kind from these others, but a noteworthy one, and needs to be recorded here. At the time of the Anzio landing, a friend had given Bob an Elgin wristwatch. A short time later, this friend, along with many others, was killed by a huge explosion. At the very moment of detonation, at the same instant of the friend's passing, Bob, who was 1.5 miles removed from the blast, noticed that the entire crystal face of his new watch had turned to powder! What is the meaning of this strange coincidence? I have a theory. There is a book you might want to look at sometime, Hello From Heaven. It recounts many hard-to-explain incidents, such as this one, concerning just-departed friends or loved ones communicating final goodbyes via extraordinary means. A final footnote to this story, an occurrence that, indeed, might be coincidental as there was so much untimely death surrounding all of the men; nevertheless, I will mention it. Bob says that the incident of the damaged watch so bothered him that he did not want the watch anymore. He gave it to a buddy, who was glad to have the fractured timepiece. Two days later, Bob reports, this fellow was shot through the stomach.

"Not a day goes by that Bob doesn't tell me that he loves me!" says Dorothy Feland. Now married 27 years, a second union for each, this couple, as we see them here, celebrates their 25th anniversary. Bob's first wife, a teacher he married after the War, later in life, was found with Huntington's disease, but died in their home, mysteriously destroyed by fire. Compounding his grief, he would lose his two children, also afflicted with Huntington's. Dorothy Banning divorced her first husband, an alcoholic who beat her. "I could take the beatings," she told me, "but I couldn't take the cheating. One night, after the bars closed, he tried to bring a girlfriend to our own house. That was the end!" Bob and Dorothy have "adopted" me as their son - a high honor, for me, to have them as parents!

The Psychics Speak:

Analysis of Bob's warning-experiences from four psychics... and, for no extra charge, my own thoughts 

Recently, while interviewing for a teaching position, in the midst of these discussions, I suddenly became aware of an intense discomfort in my stomach. Inwardly laughing, I mentally commented to myself, "I've become like Bob now!"

I had begun the interview thinking that this school administration might be a good situation for me; but, as the meeting wore on, I became more apprehensive. At that point, I was not able to inform myself, with any detail, as to why I was suffering visceral misgivings - but later, shortly after the interview, it became clear to me that this was not the place for me to work.

• And I realized that my Inner Person, a deeper part of myself, intuitively knew something, and was picking up on clues offered by the energy, the spirit, of the person across the table! an instant evaluation by my heart, deemed to be of the negative kind, and relayed to my awareness, quite in advance of that slow-computer, the analytical part of myself, my head!

• Editor's note: Sharon (see below) commented on this and suggests that my association with Bob, and my new knowledge of The Warning, has sensitized me to the process under review, allowing my spirit to be more open to these things. I think she is quite correct! which means that the ripple-effect of Bob's experiences continues to reach out to, and instruct - indeed, transform - others, even 70 years after the fact!

The hidden Inner Person of my heart did not trust what the speaker was saying - did not trust the speaker! - the supporting and corroborating factual details of which my head would learn of only later!

I'd like to present to you information regarding the universal nature of The Warning! If we become aware of such phenomena, we might find that Bob's experience was not so unusual.

I contacted four of my psychic friends in Columbus, Ohio and asked them to offer their thoughts about The Warning!

Linda:

"Absolutely it was spiritual guidance that he received. The fact that it only happened during the war tells me that it was a temporary spirit guide literally helping him live through that time. The spiritual plan he came with had him going to war, being a miracle-example and leaving from the war safe and sound. When persons don't know that they are connected [to the Spirit World] in this human life, one of the easiest ways for Spirit to guide us is by giving us pressure in our solar plexus.  

"That pressure means 'follow your instincts,' so he was feeling like he should get up and move when they first gave him that pressure. Luckily, he learned that that is what it meant. When the pressure was below the solar plexus in the stomach region, the message would have been to tell him NO, don't do what you plan to do this moment in time. But the pressure within, the solar plexis is a Yes, follow your instincts, while the stomach-region pressure means NO, don't do what you plan to do. I'm sure he felt connected to Spirit at the time, even though he might not have put it in those words. He simply knew to trust it. He was an example of spiritual faith, and others learned to trust his guidance.

"I did get one more thing. Spirit is telling me that it was his mother's Higher Self [the perfected part of each person's soul] was [one of those] helping to keep him safe. She would not have known that at a conscious level, but her prayers were being answered, that's for sure."

Sharon:

"The area where Bob experienced sensations (or 'pains') is the Solar Plexus Chakra, which is frequently referred to as the POWER Chakra, the seat of one's personal power or Will.  Energy moves through our vibration initially in an upward direction from the earth through the energy centers (minor chakras) in the soles of our feet where it moves up through the seven major chakras (and many minor ones) until it moves out through the crown, where we are connected to the Divine. The Solar Plexus is the gateway through which the denser energies of the lower chakras are refined or calibrated to inform the higher chakras. When someone says, 'I feel it in my gut,' they are referring to this feeling that activates or informs our personal Will.

"Bob's experience speaks to me of a sudden rush of energy through his Solar Plexus, no doubt, activated by his need to be hyper-vigilant to the dangers of the WWII battlefield.  Bob's experience could be described as a 'power surge' and the only way to dispel a sudden rush of energy such as he experienced is to physically move his body.  Through this, he learned that, when he moved, the feeling was either diminished or went away entirely, making him feel more comfortable. What does this mean? We can't really know what Bob agreed to experience in this incarnation, but we can clearly see the end result. Bob not only survived the entire war, but he did so without being wounded even once!  Much like with the character, George Bailey, in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, the lives of countless others were spared because Bob had the inherent wisdom to 'follow his gut.' It has been said that 'your KNOWER knows' and so it was with Bob. In an environment where there wasn't time to think things over or talk about his feelings, Bob's 'gut feelings' informed him of exactly what to do at exactly the right time. Spirit spoke to Bob in a language he could immediately understand. His was a message of action...literally to 'DO or DIE'! 

"We all incarnate with spirit guides and teachers which includes a Master Protector, or what is most commonly referred to as a Guardian Angel [but without wings, not the traditional picture of such]. It is quite apparent that Bob was divinely inspired to action and divinely protected. That Bob's gift began when he went to war and ended when the war was over speaks of the ability of Spirit to give to each of us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. This is Divine Order and Divine Timing in action. That Bob was forever changed goes without saying...but wouldn't it be fascinating to know how the lives of others were impacted because of his gift! At the very least, Bob's story stands as testimony that there is something bigger, that there is a 'big picture.'"

What a pretty lady! Dorothy Feland, here, a young lass of 19. She and Bob do well together. Let me tell you why. I admire Dorothy very much as she matches Bob's courage, in every way. It is heartbreaking to learn of the beatings she once endured during her first marriage; at times, she required medical attention, her delicate features, ones adorning this photo, broken! She likes it when I call her "Ma" and, from this mother, I have received some wonderful words of wisdom, most precious to me: "I look at my life, and there were some bad things that happened to me; but, I have no regrets, and I wouldn't change one thing in my past! Not one thing! Because everything that happened to me has made me who I am today. And I like who I am today!" But, I think the most disturbing item in all of the stories from Dorothy's past is this one: "When my first husband started beating me, I tried to find some help for myself, and I went to see a local minister. Do you know what he said to me? He said, turn the other cheek!" It is difficult for me to convey how angry I felt at this good lady's reminiscence. The news of this outrage nearly catapulted me from my chair, and, to Dorothy's surprise, prompted me to use a certain choice word for this Nice Young Man. Not only is he wrong in terms of biblical exegesis (see my P.S. #23, Forgiveness, The Final Battle: What I Learned From Father John Kuhn for a discussion of the meaning of "turn the other cheek"), but, worse, only a bigoted religious self-righteousness could inspire this kind of reptilian cold-hearted response; which also speaks volumes about this Dear Leader's view of how women should be treated! But... for Dorothy, even this long-ago insult is but one more item that she would not change! I have learned from spiritual teachers, even from the AfterLife testimonies, that one cannot mature and grow toward perfection without a sacred sense of self-love. And, in Dorothy's presence, this fine woman whom I'm pleased to call "Ma," I am instructed, in practical terms, regarding what it means to be a Loving Evolved Soul.

Jim:

"These comments were given to me:

"1) Bob was protected by spirit guides that had experienced war, and who were trying to safeguard Bob. You might ask Bob if his uncles or father were in the military, and if one or more of them perished in battle. [If he has military relatives, this might offer clues to] identify which relative or relatives were involved in his protection.

"2) Bob was not that interested in spirituality before his deployment in a war zone. The method that was given to warn him was one he could not easily ignore. As he gained experience, he learned to 'trust his gut.' As others observed his actions, they also learned to trust Bob's information.

"3) Bob was a person of great courage, and later, great trust, to agree to lead the troops through the minefields. This trust was shared by others in his unit as they experienced the guidance of his spirit guide. These experiences were remembered by others in the unit and it changed many lives following the end of the war.

"4) When Bob was out of danger, his interests were not such that he continued to develop or utilize his spiritual gifts. Others in his unit did find that interest in spirituality as a result of these experiences.  It might be useful to talk with Bob and see if he has any other contacts from his unit that might be explored.

"In summary, Bob's spirit guides found a way to communicate with Bob in a way that worked to warn Bob and his fellow soldiers of danger. When the dangerous situation was over, the spirit guides departed."

Laura:

[She recaps Bob's story]

"Recently, a dear friend told me the story of a World War II soldier in combat that entered war without psychic abilities. As the war became more intense, he realized that, when he was about to be in harm's way, his solar plexus would hurt. As a result, he would move to another area where the shelling would not harm him. Within moments the shells would land where he previously stood. Now, as time went on, the troops around the soldier learned that when 'the gut sounded off,' it was time to relocate.

"After contemplation, I offer the explanation that certain people, places, and situations are placed in one’s life at specific times for specific reasons. As a Group Consciousness, every soul had to be present and focused for each to come through unscathed. In addition, for the purpose of the whole group, one soul was picked to receive the signal in order to warn the others. Spirit will get through to each by whatever means they can. This addresses the whole group’s purpose.

"Next, the question of individual purpose is to be addressed. By theory, we know that before a soul is born, he picks lessons he wishes to accomplish during his time on earth. Along with the lessons come tests.  This soldier surely picked that he would go to war, and he would attempt to successfully keep other soldiers from being killed. The soul knows he is not alone, but his human psyche is not aware [of Spirit guidance] until the lesson starts. Perhaps by early religious training he knew God is with him; he asks for help, and the solar plexus warns him. The other soldiers have been given the signal to follow, because they know that each time this soldier moves, disaster will follow. Through this story, other generations will become aware that each individual is part of a Divine plan, personally and for the Whole. Consequently, one learns to become aware of what is going on around one in order to serve others. Thusly, we serve our own growth on an earthly level as well as the soul level. 

"In conclusion, we have learned to become aware of what is going on around us, individually and as a group. When we establish a plan, commit to it, and put it in motion, Spirit knows they have a job, and everything falls easily and effortlessly into place. Fear and doubt take a back seat, because the purpose has been declared. Faith, even in dark places, will shine through and guide us.

"Pay attention to the stories you hear. There may be confirmation within [such a story] to a question about your future. Do not fear the battle. The Universe already knows the outcome. You are a player [for spiritual growth] on the stage of life."

Editor's note: Many have asked the questions, Why is there suffering in the world? Why are there wars? Why do we have two-year-olds, standing in ditches, crying beside a dead mother? But there are some who no longer ask such questions; some already know, and see quite clearly. Those journeying through “the long dark night of the soul” (P.S. #36); those learning to access their own soul energies (see Tolle, below); those who have come to know the dark machinations of their own hearts, of which Jung spoke, no longer ask such questions.

My own summary thoughts

We have learned from these psychics that Spirit communicates with us, among many other venues, via an energy-sensation in the solar plexus.

Many people might say that Bob's wartime experience was an aberration, a one-time singular event, most unusual, and far removed from the norm.

This is not the case.

Bob's internal guidance system, reflected in his own visceral promptings, are of the kind that many people might have.

Bob's experience - what I call The Warning! - might occur by two different means:

(1) as a direct and unique gift from Spirit; sometimes, ad hoc in nature, for limited and temporary purposes;

(2) as a natural result of soul development and enlightenment; an expression of, an energy flowing from, the unfolding and maturing Inner Person.

Regarding situation #1:  Direct and Unique Gifts of the Spirit

Allow me to frame this issue in terms of the apostle Paul's teaching. In one of his congregations, the church in the Greek city of Corinth, virtually all of the members had various - what we today would call - psychic abilities and gifts!

Some of these gifts, we today might not readily recognize. But others are exactly in line with the kind that Bob experienced.

The archaic language of the King James Version (KJV) speaks of direct Spirit guidance as...

• a "word of knowledge" (I Corinthians 12: 8, KJV)

People with this gift "know certain things," but not by the scientific method! They perceive things that they should not be able to know! Information, a sense of reality, direction, wisdom, perception, an ability to negotiate a difficult situation - at the right time, to serve a good purpose - might be dropped into their heads; or, as the case may be, into the solar plexus!

This happens not because a person might be a "saint," or a perfect person, exalted above the rest of us - not at all; but, purely as gift, from Divinity itself! for the benefit of all!

Today, many would call the recipients, of such gifts, "sensitives," or psychics. But we were all meant to live this way. We were all meant to exhibit certain, various, gifts of the Spirit.

Just listen to this from the apostle Paul, his corrective instruction to the Corinthian church, to those who were becoming boastful, proud, puffed-up, about who had the best gift:

• "God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful: wise counsel, clear understanding, simple trust, healing the sick, miraculous acts, proclamation, distinguishing between spirits, languages, interpretation of languages. All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out, one by one, by the Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when." (I Corinthians 12: 4-11, The Message translation)

"Each person is given something to do that shows who God is." Yes, that's it! For the next million years, and beyond, we are to live our lives exhibiting the gifts of God, each person reflecting a unique and glorious facet of Highest Divinity! Put that on your resume, that's your job!

"These gifts ... are handed out, one by one ... He decides who gets what, and when"; therefore, there is no basis for claim to moral superiority merely because one has received a gift!

The apostle Paul tells us that these psychic gifts, these "gifts of the Spirit," can be cultivated, and sought for. My psychic friends will tell you that, too; and, there is teaching and training available to help ones develop these gifts.

While, for some, the receipt of such abilities might be desired and proactively encouraged, for others, the gifts of the Spirit come as a shock and surprise - in some cases, they are totally unwanted! My friend Linda (above) tells the story of her mother who "prayed every day for years" that her psychic abilities would be taken away! (P.S. #36).

Bob's psychic abilities seem to be of category #1. Bob was, and is, a good man; but there were many good men in the War.

Why did Bob possess these abilities and not his fellows?

Paul tells us why: "[God] decides who gets what, and when."

I have learned from spiritual teachers that the gifts of the Spirit, including psychic messages from loved ones on the Other Side, of which I have received many, are not given as "magic tricks" or for private amusement, but, primarily, are offered to strengthen one's faith; to supply evidence that life goes on, beyond this world; that our loved ones are still with us, wait for us, and love us.

It is likely that Bob, for a specific purpose and for a limited time, was given special abilities to:

(a) offer his friends protection from physical harm; and,

(b) become a Divine instrument of the strengthening of faith. Many men knew of Bob's gift, and they knew it was of God - an evidentiary spiritual help to them, not only during the War, but in their later lives.

Regarding situation #2:  A Natural Result of Soul Development

The second form of spiritual gift is more general. No matter what other special ability one might be given, everyone can, and should, develop the following.

This kind of gift was meant to be part of our essential arsenal of protective equipment as we make our way through the minefields of this life! The apostle Paul referred to such when he spoke of "clear understanding" and "distinguishing between spirits" (I Cor 12: 8, 9); and also "he that is spiritually-minded evaluates all things" (I Cor. 2: 15) - these are the kinds of gifts and abilities that every maturing soul can take advantage of!

And how shall we, as Paul says, evaluate all things? How can we obtain a sense of direction in life? How can we know to go this way as opposed to that?

• Editor's note: Personal questions regarding direction for one's life are for you to answer - and no one else. My psychic friend David (P.S. #34) puts it this way: "I never answer yes-or-no questions!" By this he means that psychics, those abiding by professional codes of conduct, will not become fortune-tellers! When David is asked, "Should I marry this person?" or "Should I take that job?" he will not respond to those kinds of questions. To do so violates a kind of Natural Law, in that, it is part of the glory of each soul, made in the image of God, to learn how to make decisions on one's own - and it's better (temporarily) to suffer the consequences of an unwise choice than to perpetually "live in the nursery," being told what to do by a nanny! This is the essence of cultism! (P.S. #21). As such, it is a form of immorality, relative to Natural Law (which is all about the unfoldment of one's spirit), to seek for an "infallible Dear Leader" who might tell us what to do regarding the personal questions, and the direction, of one's life! This does not mean that we should not seek the advice of competent others - it means that we should not blindly accept such opinion from anyone-as-guru, unless it resonates deeply within our own selves as the truth... your soul will tell you whether it's true or not! I John 2: 27: "the anointing which you have received of Him abides [permanently] in you, and you need not that any man teach you; as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie." Didn't The Nice Young Man (P.S. #34) tell you about this verse?

Yes, as we have learned from "situation #1" (above), such ability can be dropped into one's head in a dramatic way, as a direct and unique gift of the Spirit. But "situation #2" is a little different.

• Whereas #1 might involve receiving aid directly from a Spirit-Helper, an external source, #2 finds its direction by going within and tapping one's own internal soul energies.

• Abilities derived from #1 are received as external gift - but, from #2, as natural heritage, of ones made in the image of God, born into the Divine family as son or daughter! As such, the spiritual gifts of #2 are yours by right! actually, you already possess these abilities, you just have to know how to access them! 

• The sense of direction to be had from #2 is not usually of the dramatic kind as received by Bob. The energies of #2 might not tell you when a shell is about to land. #2 is more like what I experienced during that interview - a sensing of the quality of things, but general in nature. It is more like what we commonly refer to as "intuition." It is said, with street-wisdom, that women more naturally, more easily, possess this than do men. This may be true, but only because woman are more often in tune with the energy-flows of their own body (see discussion of this in P.S. #37, "The Divine Feminine Principle").

This guidance of #2 is to be developed by all maturing persons. It is a spiritual "sixth sense" that is meant to help us, to offer direction, both in this life, and in the next!

Spiritual teachers are available to help us develop - it would be more accurate to say, "to discover" that which we already possess - a sense of "the energies" of one's own soul. 

I will discuss all of this in more depth in my coming article, Personal Statement #49: Can Morality Be Reduced to a Set of Written Rules? Would You Lie to the Nazi at the Door? The Good Little Girl Strikes Back! and, Why Trying Very Hard to Be Virtuous Will Make You Worse!

In the meantime, you will want to study, very closely, these two books by Eckhart Tolle, as he explains, very well, the process of attuning oneself to the energy-flows of one's own soul; the process of discovering within oneself a direction-offering, an advising, a self-counseling, internal guidance system.

Eckhart Tolle's The Power Of Now & A New Earth

Yes... this is all very real - and if you do not have access to these Divinely-ordained helps, you are a missing out on a great advantage in life!

• Editor's note: By the way, one last point regarding #2. In many of my Personal Statement articles I have discussed the subject of how to find that cosmic Twin Soul, that ultimately-destined romantic partner, one created just for you; that one, The One, with whom, one day, when your eyes have opened, you shall spend eternity (P.S. #37). And how shall you find her? How shall you recognize her? You shall find her, and recognize her, only by developing and refining that Internal Guidance System of #2 ... are you a little more interested in this process now? Read Tolle's books. [smile]

General MacArthur and the Patron Saints of Suffering

Many years ago I read General MacArthur's memoirs, Reminiscences, in which he offers high praise, and more, to the military servicemen and women who protect America.

I still recall the imagery he empoyed. He compared the work and life of the soldier to that of the saints of old - the suffering servants of humankind, Christ-figures, laying down their lives for fellow human, ready to present themselves upon the bloody altar of ultimate sacrifice.

Ernst Janning:  "Judge Haywood... Those people, those millions of people... I never knew it would come to that. You must believe it, You must believe it!"

Judge Dan Haywood:  "Herr Janning, it 'came to that' the first time you sentenced a man to death you knew to be innocent."

• Editor's note: I saw this movie many years ago and these haunting words have stayed with me. "It came to that the first time..." Judge Haywood presents a frightening principle, but one not only for this world. Every thought, every deed, every choice, every hope, every intention, we've ever entertained, affect our spirit - every single one... and, it shall be, according to the proverb, What is a man but the sum of his thoughts? In the final analysis, this is what we are! In the AfterLife, that which we, by our own thoughts, have made of ourselves, for better or worse, will be written on our faces. Jesus once said that we will give account for "every idle word." In my youth, I once envisioned a future time of a severe Judge presiding over the Trial of My Life, evaluating my every utterance. It's not like that. There is no Hanging Judge waiting for you in the next world (P.S. #41). But, even so, the situation, for us, will be an uncompromising one. Jesus' words rule, absolutely! Listen to this, testimony from the AfterLife, of Dr. Frederick Myers, in that poetic erudite way of his: "On Earth you are the apprentice to your own soul. Here you are the promoted individual. Bring all of your soul treasures, you will need them: your culture, your love of art, of music - all this you will use. Every want shall be satisfied. Material possessions you will not need. We are undisguised, for on our foreheads is the insignia of whatever we have gained in culture, love for humanity, charity, selflessness, energy and force, ambitions for the sake of others - all this is here waiting for us when we are given our Price, our Wage, whatever we have earned during our years of apprenticeship." Notice Dr. Myers' point. What shall be our "wage," our "price," our reward, for these earth-years of serving as apprentice to our own souls? It is the unflowering, the manifestation, for all to see, of who we really are, and what we have become! Our soul-treasures, our developed character, our service-mindedness, or lack of such, will be written on our faces, on our "foreheads," emblazoned as an "insignia"! - we shall be "undisguised." Of course, such prospect of unmasking will be terribly threatening to those who have postured as benefactors, but, inwardly, have lived a life of the rapacious wolf (P.S. #31).

Beating swords into plowshares...

These poetic words, from the book of Isaiah, picture a coming time of universal peace and prosperity. Talk of plowshares is certain to get the attention of a North Dakota farmboy... especially, after having had his fill of war. 

One of the great benefits of Summerland (P.S. #7), among its many wonders, will be the utter pleasure of living in a world free of military conflict or violence of any kind; a world without threat of invasion or attack; with no danger posed by terrorists or demagogues; no peril to the common good from grasping and ravenous politicians, and other Dear Leaders, who claim to offer salvation, but only as a pretense while enriching themselves (P.S. #21).

Dr. Myers (above), speaking from the AfterLife (P.S. #3), also said this..

• "It is not so much what you will find when you come to this side of life as what you will bring with you ..."

How beautifully stated, how profound!

We will find peace in the AfterLife, but only if we bring it with us! It's those soul-treasures of which Myers spoke; stellar virtues, including, fortitude, resilience, bravery, endurance, faith, guts, compassion, determination, noble gallantry, service-mindedness, ambition for the sake of others, even, for a tiny little girl; above all, that most costly of meritorious actions, that famous General's commendation: "courageous and selfless, with complete disregard to his own personal safety" ... even to the point of death.

Sounds like something Jesus could have said or done.

Sounds like something that my friend Bob Feland could tell us about.

• Editor's final note: I remember watching an interview with Kevin Costner, conducted just about the time he'd finished the movie, Open Range. I like Costner, a humble and thoughtful man. He candidly admitted that he, without a lot of life-experience dealing with extremity, liked playing roles of the hero in dangerous situations because it helped him to understand and visualize what the real heroes, the truly great men, had accomplished. Costner was honest enough to admit to a common condition, one that would describe most of us... but Bob Feland - one of those real heroes of history, one of MacArthur's patron saints of suffering, that "boy" who Mark Clark was proud of, one of Reagan's "best damn kids in the world" - has little difficulty in this area.

Postscript, June 22, 2010: One of the highest compliments I have ever received, Bob informed me that he has shared with me more of his war experiences than with anyone else. "I like the way you wrote it. Everything you said is true, and I'm glad you told it like it was. I'm not a hero. I was just a guy trying to live through the War to get back home. But I knew men there who were real heroes, who did some things that I couldn't have done, and I wouldn't want to act like I'm a big shot and leave them out of the picture." There are some stories given to me by Bob that are too difficult to speak of; at least, for now. Bob has granted me permission to do what I like with all of this information. I will think about this in terms of a future book, or maybe more. In any case, I hope these personal accounts from Bob have been an inspiration to you, as they have been to me.

Update, September 17, 2010: Today I received a note from Dorothy: "Bob went on the 'honor flight,' a free trip to Washington, DC for all World War II vets. He [and the other vets] just got back Saturday night to a big welcome at the [Bismarck] airport - bands, the Governor and his wife, and several politicians, and an airport full of citizens cheering them on. He was on tv last night, [featuring] a nice thank-you from several school kids. His nephew went with him [to DC] and [pushed Bob's] wheel chair..."

Letter received from a reader, November 9, 2010: "Mr. Becker: I read with interest your story about Bob Feland. We know Bob and Dorothy and have known them for many years, in fact my mom took care of Dorothy when she was a little girl down in Solen. I interviewed Bob several years ago for the North Dakota Veterans History Project, must have been about 3 hours of audio. It was hard for Bob to keep his memories in chronological order, he was all over the place, talking about basic training, Battle of the Bulge, Anzio, North Africa. I started doing research on what happened to Bob, when and where, and put together his stories in chronological sequence and some of the history behind the stories. Bob participated in seven major engagements and five amphibious landings. Bob wasn’t in on the D-Day landings but came ashore during the little talked about southern France landings that happened later called Operation Dragoon. Bob was caught behind German lines during the last gasps of the Bulge. The other major engagement in Europe Bob wasn’t in on was Operation Market Garden, the Netherlands. Bob had been getting some veterans benefits before he married Dorothy but after they were married, with Dorothy working at the rural electric office, was making too much money so Bob lost his benefits. Bob was still horseshoeing at the time so they were getting by OK.  After Dorothy retired they lived on the savings that Dorothy had invested but then the market crashed (back in the nineties) and the investments were lost. Bob couldn’t do much shoeing anymore so financially they were having some difficulty.Bob went in to the veteran service office and tried to get the benefits reinstated. The conversation would go something like this: Where you ever wounded? No. Sorry, we can’t help you. He wasn’t about to start telling war stories as to what he went through. He resigned himself to the fact that he was not going to receive the benefits again. People were working on his behalf. Someone along the line got a printed copy of my story to the right people down to the veteran administration in Fargo. Bob's benefits were reinstituted. You may have seen this already, but if not, here it is. Very interesting site you have, interesting reading! Especially your take on Bob’s gift! I’m a small farmer/rancher. I spend hours by myself on horseback or in the field and have much time to think about this'n that, God, Life'n such. One of my favorite sayings is: (don’t know who said it first)  “Cosmic upheaval is less moving than a small child pondering the death of a sparrow in the corner of a barn” - which is to say that light years away, a star may go supernova, enveloping an area larger than our whole solar system, countless billions of sqr. miles, turning dozens of uninhabited planets to ash. There is no being there to witness it. Years from now an astrologist may notice a star brighten and fade and make a note of it. There is more emotion involved in the bird and child. Keep Writing! Sincerely, Scott. PS: Did you know Dorothy was in an accident about 5 weeks ago? Her car left the road about 10 miles east of Flasher, jumped an approach and hit hard but did not roll. Dorothy broke some bones in her back, was in the hospital for about 15 days. She’s coming along fine now."

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