Fla. Family's Steel-Covered Bible Taken Into Battle Again
MELBOURNE, Fla. -- Army Capt. Jeff Ryals carries a symbol of his faith in his shirt pocket while on the front line in the war with Iraq. It's a family tradition.
Ryals, a senior intelligence officer with the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, took into battle a small, steel-covered Bible his father had in Vietnam and his grandfather carried in World War II.
Aside from its obvious meaning, the Bible also serves as a symbol of the Ryals' family military tradition.
"Different war, same God and the same blessing goes with you,'' was inscribed on the Bible when his paternal grandmother gave it to his father as he headed off to Vietnam.
"I took it to Vietnam in 1970 and right now it's in Iraq,'' his father, Jack Ryals said. "There's still some Vietnamese dirt on it.''
http://www.local6.com/orlpn/news/stories/news-208222320030401-130457.html
MELBOURNE, Fla. -- Army Capt. Jeff Ryals carries a symbol of his faith in his shirt pocket while on the front line in the war with Iraq. It's a family tradition.
Ryals, a senior intelligence officer with the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, took into battle a small, steel-covered Bible his father had in Vietnam and his grandfather carried in World War II.
Aside from its obvious meaning, the Bible also serves as a symbol of the Ryals' family military tradition.
"Different war, same God and the same blessing goes with you,'' was inscribed on the Bible when his paternal grandmother gave it to his father as he headed off to Vietnam.
"I took it to Vietnam in 1970 and right now it's in Iraq,'' his father, Jack Ryals said. "There's still some Vietnamese dirt on it.''
http://www.local6.com/orlpn/news/stories/news-208222320030401-130457.html
