By Steve Stricker

Columnist

This column was to be about things in July and early August:

Dad, Paul Bernard Stricker died suddenly of heart attack on Saturday, July 25, 1964; Sunday, July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong first to walk on the moon watched on leave before going to Vietnam on Sunday, July 27, 1969 to Saturday, July 25, 1970 – 1^st of August 1969 massive rocket, mortar, sapper attack 18^th Engineer Brigade Headquarters Dong Ba Thin, Vietnam across the bay from the huge Air Base at Cam Ranh on fire,  just days after arriving, made all the news at home and should have been dead as they were right on top of me, ear-grazing close, literally bouncing me in the air from the concussions – next day to Long Binh, 14 miles from Saigon attached for remainder of that horrific year.

Friday August 15 to Monday, August 18, 1969…Woodstock…so surreal reading about that hippy stuff in our “Stars and Stripes” newspaper just days in Vietnam, year from college, and already a combat veteran with a full year ahead and so many other deadly encounters awaiting me….

As a kid just out of college, this stuff was butt-puckering scary, yet exciting. Years later, processing these many close encounters with death for a full year, PTSD kicked in to realize how often so close to death I really was.

However on Saturday, July 13, a 20-year-old “okay” loner kid from my research, denied membership to his high school Rifle Team, seemed to want to prove them wrong by killing President Trump at a Rally in Butler, PA, at a distance of only 130 yards (118 meters) with his dad’s AR15 rifle.

In Basic Training we were the last to carry that heavy-ass M14 rifle, 7.62 (.308) soon after assigned to Vietnam had to be trained on the M16 which the US Army had just transitioned to – 5.62mm (.223) and was one of a very select few to have ever shot expert with the M14 and M16, for both – had to hit 36 or more out of 40 stable and popup targets, from 5 to 300 meters (80-327 yards); 118 meters was a snore – so rewarding to see that 300 meter “postage stamp” target drop.

He was perhaps spot-on but God turned Trump’s head slightly, grazing his right ear, sparing his life and denied the shooter burning forever in hell, fame. But his shot wounded two and killed hero Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer fire chief who shielded family members when the shots rang out. Shooter was identified as a suspicious person an hour before, spotted on the roof of that warehouse for 30 minutes before the shot – no excuse for this and the Secret Service Director needs to step down or be jailed….

Neither Republican or Democrat, just strong supporter for whomever can best Make America Safe Again and that for now is former President, Donald J. Trump.  Putin is on the brink of forcing World War III and anemic Biden is not a deterrent, only Trump poised to be out next president will keep he and that dumb ass North Korean in check – China guy has way too much invested in the USA to blow it; just look at who makes the stuff you are currently using…

How many of you projected yourself into that incident Saturday, so close to death and survived?  I have had close medical encounters with death and felt immensely grateful; surviving so many close calls with death in Vietnam where an enemy was trying to kill me was so very different, like this attack on Trump.

It took me over 50 years to finally write about that stuff in Vietnam.  There will be a time in the near future when President Trump will discern how close to death he came this past Saturday and have his own PTSD moments – writing this on Thursday July 18, perhaps that time is now as he seems to have pulled way within himself, tore up his prepared speech for tonight’s acceptance speech, and rewrote it himself…

Death is final,  shocking at an early age to those immortal, especially friends, day-to-day for those older, tragic to be taken by someone other than God….

For non-believers, wake up!  There are four last things:  Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell – forever, for eternity…!

Steve is an Oxford resident and received his Ph.D. in Counseling from Ole Miss.