Glen Roy Draper had a short tough life. His mother and siblings were killed when he was 5, and he only had his father to count on for the rest of his life. Glen only got 24 credits at BYU before he was drafted and entered a Marine unit heading to Korea. He was assigned to the Communication Section, which sounds like it should be a safe place.
Early on, he made a distinct impression on the soldiers around him. He bolstered the faith of many. Jim Carmickle, the Sergeant in charge of the message center said:
"Draper was a full-blown Mormon. He carried
his Mormon Bible with him at all times. When
he had free time he read it. He lived it, he
believed it. He was fully religious without
being obnoxious to others about his beliefs."
Carmickle explained that Glen's death was a religious trial for him, because until then he had trusted that God would protect him. However, after seeing Glen's devotion and death Carmickle realized that faith and devotion do not guarantee survival. He was later told by his unit Chaplain that God wanted Glen in Heaven where most of his family already was. He was taken up to Heaven because he was so good and believed so firmly.
Death is part of God's plan. It's the way that we return to Him, and the way that we escape some of the pain, trial, torture, and evil of this world. It would be inappropriate and misguided to believe that faith will protect us from all harm and evil. While speaking at a funeral Elder Anthony W. Ivins, an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said:
"This is what the gospel gives us-not immunity from death, but victory over it through the hope we have in a glorious resurrection...It is a pleasure, and it is a satisfaction and joy to know that men lay down their lives in righteousness, in the faith, true to the faith."
Some correction on his family life. His mother and father had 8 children. His mother and one brother did die in a flu epidemic when he was 5. Previously, he had had two other brothers die as children.
ReplyDeleteHowever, he and four of his siblings lived to adulthood. The other four all married and had children.
His father re-married in 1940. He and his second wife had 3 more children.
Glen was my uncle, but I never knew him. He was killed ten years before I was born. My mother is the oldest of my Grandpa's second group of kids.