Dear friends:

I was notified last night that Colonel Richard Case, who has been in a coma from a freak choking accident and for whom we have been praying, has gone on to be with the Lord.  I am sorry yet glad to report that -- sorry that he is no longer with us but happy he is with his Savior, the Lord Jesus, in Paradise.

Let us rejoice that we were privileged to have had him in our midst -- one of what is called "the Greatest Generation."  

On the telephone today, friend Travis (Tex) Armstrong reiterated what a great man Colonel Case was.  A fearless, John Wayne-type hero, yet very humble and kind.  He was a solid Christian man.

To recap: Colonel Case was a Green Beret hero from WWII where he parachuted into Normandy on D-Day with the famed 101st Airborne Division.  The exploits of the 101st during WWII were the subject of a wonderful mini-series docu-drama titled "Band of Brothers."  He jumped at Utah Beach to secure the causeway for the invasion and experienced 21 consecutive days of combat.  He was later a part of the bloody "Battle of the Bulge"  in snow and sub-freezing temperatures against the German offensive fighting Allied forces in the heavily forested Ardennes region of eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg, one of the most brutal battles of the war. 

On the 50th and 60th anniversary of D-Day he jumped at Utah Beach along with 21 of the original paratroopers.  He has been awarded a Purple Heart, 2 Bronze Service Stars, Oak Leaf Cluster with a Distinguished Unit Badge.  As if one war was not enough, he also later served in the Korean War.

Thank you, Lord, for Colonel Case.  Please give him our love and thanks, and our salute.

Jim