THE HERO SERIES: ONE OF FOUR
ROBERT FOX
5/18/1915 – 12/26/1944
It was the day after Christmas in 1944. World War II had been raging for over five years and Robert Fox, a First Lieutenant in the US Army assigned to the Cannon Company with the 366th Infantry, was in Sommocolonia, Italy with the other men from his Division. German forces had infiltrated the town and began an intense shelling of the area.
While most of the US Infantry forces had successfully evacuated the town, Fox and his men stayed behind to provide opposition to the approaching Germans. As fighting continued and Germans flooded the area, Fox told his battalion commander to bring artillery fire within 60 yards of his position. This offensive impeded the Germans but they continued to aggressively attack the location and soon had Fox’s position surrounded. Fox radioed the commander and told him to bring the attack in closer. The commander protested, saying that an attack that close would hit Fox, as well. Fox’s last instruction was to fire it anyway.
The barrage was fired and a large number of German soldiers were taken out. Unfortunately, Fox and his men were also killed in the attack. Because of his valor, however, enough delay in fighting was created for the US forces to regroup. For his heroic actions, Fox was awarded the Congressional Metal of Honor posthumously in January of 1997.
Robert Fox sacrificed his life for the good of something bigger than himself. He knew a successful US attack on his location would likely end his life but would provide the US forces a much-needed shift in the battle. Fox was willing to give everything for the success of the battle. His comfort was not the priority, winning the war was.
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV
Guys, we are fighting a battle for something bigger than ourselves – our family. If we are more concerned with our safety and comfort than the spiritual wellbeing of our wife and kids, don’t be surprised when they are strategically picked off by the enemy. Good intentions will not cut it. Nice words and pats on the back aren’t enough. Hugs and smiles and encouraging words are nice but we need to fight for our family.
Here are three of the ways that we can make an impact…
1. Draw Fire: Similar to Fox, there may be times when we draw fire our direction. When our values oppose culture’s and we take a stand, it can create conflict. Use opportunities like these to explain your family’s values to your children and always approach controversial topics in a loving, God-honoring manner. This teaches your family that we can disagree with people without hating them.
2. Be Uncomfortable: We may find the need to sacrifice the comfort we enjoy in our personal routine. Being interruptible is tough but important. Allowing our wife or children to interrupt us to talk about a hard day, a math problem, or some other need shows them they matter.
3. Make Room: There are also times when we may need to temporarily (or permanently) give up a hobby in order to invest in family. There’s only so much time in a day and our family deserves the best of it, not just what’s left over.
Sacrificing for family may look different for each of us depending the family dynamic and current needs but what it means for all men is that our family comes first. When we choose to put our family above our own comfort, we are being the hero that we are called to be. We are investing in the long term goal of having a spiritually, emotionally, and physically healthy family both now and in future generations.
CHALLENGE:
What would your wife or kids say occupies most of your time during the day other than your job? Does their answer line up with your long term family goals? If not, how can you begin to invest in what really matters, even if it means sacrificing your comfort in some way?
SCRIPTURES:
1 CORINTHIANS 16:13-14
TITUS 2:7
1 TIMOTHY 5:8
PHILIPPIANS 4:13
VISIT THE CONGRESSIONAL METAL OF HONOR SOCIETY FOR JOHN FOX’S STORY
Featured image from https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/john-r-fox
MENTENTIONAL 