Article November 25, 2013 Issue

Protected in wartime

Charles S. Cohn

During the Vietnam War, when the United States had a draft, it came clearly to me that I could best fulfill my obligation to my country by volunteering for the draft. An account I’d read of an American lieutenant’s experiences in World War II had shaped my thought. This soldier knew that the Sixth Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13) came as a direct revelation of God’s law to Moses. Because, the soldier reasoned, this commandment was part of the revelation of God’s law, he could expect God to enforce His own law and never put him in a position in which he would be called on to break this law (see The Story of Christian Science Wartime Activities 1939–1946, pp. 201–202).

My commitment to my service was 100 percent, so was my commitment to God.

This soldier served throughout the war in seven campaigns. He held this thought throughout, while never shirking his duty nor making any effort to avoid using his weapon. Although he was frequently in combat situations and always willing to do his duty, he embraced the fact that God preserves and enforces His own law. He later wrote, “… I was never placed in a position where I was ordered or forced to kill or destroy.