The story of DESMOND DOSS and HACKSAW RIDGE has intrigued me ever since I saw it at the movies a few years ago. Desmond grew up in Virginia - he had a brother - a father (who struggled with PTSD from WW1 and alcohol) and a mother - who displayed great faith in God for herself and her boys. After a serious incident with his younger brother that could have been fatal, Desmond, took very seriously the ten commandments, including the verse that states - THOU SHALL NOT KILL. Desmond later joined the army as a medic and because of his convictions asked to be a conscientious objector - that is - he would not bear arms. The movie - Hacksaw Ridge - told the story of this gentle man with a great big heart.

Private Desmond Doss walked into one of the bloodiest battles of World War II with nothing to protect himself save for his Bible and his faith in God. Doss was a devout Seventh Day Adventist and his faith was very important to him.

The fighting took place on the hellish Maeda Escarpment in April 1945. The battlefield, located on top of a sheer 400-foot cliff, was fortified with a deadly network of Japanese machine gun nests and booby traps. The escarpment, nicknamed Hacksaw Ridge for the treacherously steep cliff, was key to winning the battle of Okinawa. The mission was thought to be near-impossible, and when Doss's battalion was ordered to retreat, the medic refused to leave his fallen comrades behind.

Facing heavy machine gun and artillery fire, Doss repeatedly ran alone into the kill zone, carrying wounded soldiers to the edge of the cliff and singlehandedly lowering them down to safety. Each time he saved a man's life, Doss prayed out loud, "Lord, please help me get one more." By the end of the night, he had rescued an estimated 75 men. (The always modest Doss reckoned he saved about 50, but his fellow soldiers gauged it closer to 100. They decided to split the difference.)

I wept as I watched the movie. I wept as I saw this brave young man pull himself up that 400 - foot cliff all night long - rescuing one soldier after another. I wept as I watched the movie and Doss continued to pray to save just one more. I wept at his bravery and strong faith. I wept when his commanders and fellow soldiers made fun of him and his faith - and yet he stayed faithful. I wept for all the lives lost. I wept that his conviction was to leave no one behind!

Desmond’s story reminds me of something that happened in our lives two years ago - not quite as serious as the situation he was in, but none-the-less - important.

Harv and I had taken a trip to the Netherlands with our friends, Jim and Julie - a cycling trip that would take us from Amsterdam to Bruges, Belgium. We would cycle during the day - about 50 kms - and sleep on a barge. When I say barge - think - gorgeous, updated, 5 star, fantastic accommodations and food. Each day two groups of 15 cyclists would head off for a ride through the beautiful, scenic countryside. We had a guide at the start and a “sweep” at the end of the line to make sure no one got lost or left behind. Our guides were from the cycling company and were knowledgable and kind and gave us lots of breaks during the day. The sweeps were “one of us.”

Riding sweep means staying at the back of a group bicycle ride, to make sure no one is left behind and to be their to help in case of any problems. This job was very important when we went through small towns with many corners. The leader would have the second person at the front of the line to wait at the corner until the sweep came into view before joining the group again. This worked fantastic all week long and we never lost anyone along the way.

After our 7 day cycling trip was completed, Jim, Julie, Harv and I had a couple of days to “kill” and we decided to rent bikes to cycle the 50km round trip to the North Sea from Bruges. We didn’t know if we’d ever get back to that part of the world again so decided to take advantage of being there. We headed out shortly after breakfast. It was a warm, sunny day. What could go wrong? There were only four of us to keep track of.

The cycling paths are amazing in that part of Europe and we followed the map - like pros - to the outskirts of Bruges and then through the rolling country side. We arrived at the Sea - late morning - the guys enjoyed a swim - Julie and I waded in the not too cold water - and we ate our lunches before deciding to ride back to the city.

This is where things go bad! I take the full responsibility for things going south!

Our bikes were locked together in the parking lot and three of us were ready to go. Harv was using an e-bike and had locked his motor up so it wouldn’t be stolen and since he had the e-bike, I decided that Jim, Julie and I would start out and Harv could easily catch up to us. It all sounded so fine.

The three of us biked across the highway and headed on the south trail towards the town where we were going to grab a coffee and biscuit on our way back to Bruges. When Harv was ready to go a few minutes later, he headed south on a different bike path towards the town but because of the high median - we couldn’t see each other. After a few minutes, recognizing that Harv hadn’t caught up to us, we decided to go back to the parking lot. No Harvey. What to do?

Harv cycled all the way to town and was surprised we weren’t there already.

After a frightening half hour or so - and Julie turning on her phone - Harv realizing my phone was on his bike - figuring out how to call each other in Europe - we got in touch with each other and waited back at the parking lot for Harv to join up with us there. I was super apologetic when Harv joined us - took the blame - and he was gracious in his forgiveness.

My bad! My fault. I’ll never do that again.

Only four us but no sweep! No one to make sure that we didn’t leave anybody behind.

So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind.

I’ll be your sweep. I won’t leave you behind.