Ron entered the long hospital corridor looking for his brother Roger. After searching the ward unsuccessfully, he approached a doctor standing by the bed of a patient. I’m Sergeant Helle’s brother, he said. How is he? The doctor looked at Ron and said, I’m sorry, son, but your brother is going to die. There’s nothing else we can do.

Just a few beds away, drifting in and out of consciousness, Roger heard the doctor’s death sentence. Not yet twenty-three years old, he felt fear grip his heart in a way he had not even experienced on the battlefield. That fear caused him to do something he had never done before. Roger silently prayed, God, if there is a God, if you let me live, I’ll do anything you want! Then he slipped mercifully back into a drug-induced sleep.

That prayer would be answered in a way Roger could never have imagined, but only after years of nightmares, alcohol, and tortured emotional battles. Peace did come at last as Roger not only made peace with Vietnam, but the emotional pain of his past as well.

Roger and Shirley Helle live in Chattanooga Tennessee. They retired from Teen Challenge in 2017 after 40 years of ministry. The Helle’s continue to travel across the country speaking and ministering.