Posted on 04/14/2004 9:47:46 PM PDT by South40
At age 20, Lance Cpl. Ben Carman had the kind of unshakable faith in God that pulled him through his darkest fears.
"My son loved the Lord. He loved his family. He loved his country," said Nelson Carman, 53, in a phone interview from his home in Jefferson, Iowa.
Ben Carman, a machine-gunner with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, was killed April 6 in Anbar province, where he was stationed with the 1st Marine Division.
His father vividly recalled the December 2002 day he graduated from basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
"I just had to think: There is America's finest. I know it sounds funny, but I almost had pity for any enemy that would stand against them," Nelson Carman said. "There was an air of confidence that the Marines instill in their men that nothing can stop them."
The Camp Pendleton division has been involved in heavy fighting in and around Ramadi, Fallujah and Baghdad for about a week.
Nelson Carman said he and his son each knew that he might not make it back from Iraq. Though it frightened them, faith got them past the fear.
"Any sane person would be afraid of going over there. But Ben had confidence in his savior should he be killed. He thought that the sacrifice would be worth it – and so do I. "Freedom is not free; we know something about the price to be paid," said Nelson Carman, who said his father spent 27 months as a POW during World War II.
"I grieve in my heart, but if the President called me today, I'd say stay on course," Nelson Carman said.
"My advice is that all Marines going to Iraq get right with God before they go. My son did and I think it gave him an added courage that if he faced death he could face it without fear."
God bless you Lance Cpl. Ben Carman.
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