The rescue of the Wild Boars
was not without tragedy. But it is in this tragedy that we find the definition
of ‘courage’ and the meaning of ‘hero.’
Saman Kunan was a former SEAL
who volunteered to return to duty in the rescue mission. In what turned out to
be a prophetic moment, as he waited to board the airplane which would take him to
the cave, he promised, “We will bring the kids home.”
The world was saddened to
learn that he died after he was returning from placing air tanks along the
roughly 3.2km route to the boys, the method for replenishing the air supply in
the cave. He died from a lack of oxygen,
showing the necessity of his mission and the danger that lurked in the cave for
the team and the rescuers. He death
could have served to frighten or discourage the rest of the rescue team.
Instead, as news of his death
became public, Arpakorn Yookongkaew,
Commander of the Navy SEAL Unit was seen declaring, “I can guarantee that we
will not panic, we will not stop our mission, we will not let his life be in
vain”, as he sharply raises his right hand, piercing the air thickened with
grief, an emphatic exclamation point on his resolve to bring the kids home.
Still more prophetic words.
To Saman Kunan’s family, of
course, he is still lost too young. But,
as with all those who carry in their being the courage to go where others would
not go, to truly risk life for the sake of others, we pray that his family will
see that, indeed, his life was not in vain. His life will live on forever in
the memory of a world which witnessed prophecy become reality.
For reasons we cannot understand,
sometimes sacrifice is the necessary factor to the success of a life-giving
mission. Miracles often come at a great cost to one for the sake of the many. While we cannot explain the ‘why’, we can
continue to honor those who have the courage to ‘bring the kids home’, by
remembering their sacrifice. These heroes model life’s perfect example. Romans 5:6-8.
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