The Archives of Andrew Hawkins: The Tribute to Mr. Hal Northington

(originally written on October 10th, 2017)

A Spiritual Casualty  

 “Many people, including me, mistook the automatic bullets for fireworks,” one of the victims said.  A terrorizing Sniper used at least 10 automatic rifles to rain down a steady stream of fire for approximately 9 minutes. During the rounds from his automatic rifles, the murderous maniac murdered 59 innocent civilians and destroyed the livelihood of over 500 others. Psychopath Stephen Paddock launched the deadliest shooting in U.S modern history from his hotel room near the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Festival. This cruelty pales in comparison to the cruelty of the Vietnam War. This horrific scene brings up an interesting question: “Who is responsible for all of this?”

One cloudy afternoon in Germany after WWII, a 20-year-old American medical supply officer, Mr. Hal Northington, was trying to navigate the foreign country with a map in his hand along the sidewalk. All of a sudden, he unexpectedly ran into a woman. She was intrigued by this American and began asking some questions.

The young lady questioned, “How do you do, sir?”

“I am doing pretty well, ma’am,” the young soldier commented.

The young lady continued, “Do you mind me asking your name, sir?”

“My name is Mr. Hal. What is your name, ma’am?” the officer gracefully responded.

She affectionately answered, “My name is Miss Ingeborg.”

 “I am kind of lost, you see. I am trying to go to the cinema. So do you know where the theater is?” He questioned nervously.

She quickly answered, “Yes, I do if you follow me.”  

During their walk, they asked some get-to-know-you questions.

 “Do you go to church? Do you smoke? Do you do anything against the Bible?” He intriguingly asked.

She explained, “At our school, I was confirmed into the Lutheran Church. I do not smoke, and I try to not do anything against the Bible.”

This walk was the start of a beautiful relationship between the couple. After a year of deciding whether to get married, she arrived in the States and, with a church finally found, they officially got married. Life was perfect for them until her husband received a disappointing letter in 1966 that stated he had to go to the commander’s office.

He travelled to his commander’s air force base in his rusty old car. He finally arrived. The commander greeted him immediately at the doorway of his office. 

“Hello, officer. You have been selected to deliver medical supplies to the hospitals at Vietnam. This is a command, not an option.” Commander Wilcox informed. 

He sadly replied, “Hmmm… okay. I am deeply honored, sir.  I will tell my wife.” 

But in the back of his mind, he was thinking, “How in the world will I explain it to my wife.” 

“Okay, you know that you will have to leave ASAP,” Commander Wilcox gruffly commented.

“Yes, sir,” he responded, with a solemn look on his face.

He finally arrived home. He walked in the doorway and explained to her the situation, “Commander Wilcox informed me that I have to leave ASAP to go to Vietnam.”

His wife disappointingly responded, “Thank you for telling me, I will really miss you. Hope your journey will make your relationship with God closer.”

With those words, Mr. Hal arrived and then traveled to South Vietnam, where the helicopter landed on the small airstrip. While Miss Ingeborg’s husband was doing his military obligation of delivering medical supplies, Mr. Hal saw a staggering number of injured bodies—approximately 5,000 just lying there helplessly.

Right after this, the Medical Supply officer Northington trotted to the doorway of the hospital. Outside, Miss Ingeborg’s husband suddenly spotted a 30 ft. by 80 ft. by 9ft trailer full of sticky, motionless, decaying bodies.  The foul fumes reached his nostrils. While he observed all of this, he was thinking, “There is no such thing as a God, because, if there is a God, why would he allow all this suffering?” Mr. Northington was drowning in the sea of sadness.

After his service was over, Mrs. Ingeborg's husband arrived back in the States. He loaded his belonging in the trunk of his car and headed home.  As he approached his house, Mr. Hal saw his wife standing there, ready to greet him.   

As he was getting out of the car, she asked him, “How have you been?”

“I have been doing actually pretty well,” he responded.

 Miss Ingeborg, with a curious look on her face, urgently asked her husband the dread question, “What did you see at the war?”

“I saw deceased bodies, and I could do nothing to heal them,” the husband venomously answered.

              She furthered the conversation, “Are you planning on attending church?”

              “I do not believe in that nonsense anymore. So, I am not going to church anymore,” he immediately commented.  

              She proclaimed, “Okay, that’s disappointing. But I am still going to Church.”

Today, after 50 years, he still has this disturbing image in his mind. Dad and I went over to his house a couple of weeks ago for this information and respectfully told him that we do not know why God allows all this suffering in the world, but it is a fallen world because of Adam and Eve’s Sin. War is a result of our fallen nature. If you were to ask me point-blankly, “Why did God allow the Vietnam War to happen?” the only answer I can wholeheartedly come up with consists of four words—“I do not know.”

Update: That was the last time I talked to him. He died without knowing Christ. Are you following God or following the Devil? You cannot have one foot on God's soil and one foot on the Devil's soil. You have to be all in for Christ. He allows suffering to help you persevere and endure your faith. You have to put 100% faith in Christ. If you do not, you will end up in the Lake of Fire without your name written in the Book of Life. Is your name written in the book of Life? Or are you still unsure, like Mr. Hal Northington was?