Stephen Ambrose is a legend in Louisiana (and beyond). Ambrose wrote extensively about World War II and specifically about D-Day. As I look back over my understanding of WW II, I realize that I learned more from the popular books of Stephen Ambrose than from history courses in college.

Stephen Ambrose was instrumental in establishing the National D-Day Museum (now the World War II Museum) in New Orleans, the home of the landing craft that made landings like Normandy possible.

Stephen Ambrose interviewed hundreds of fighting men from WW II. His stories were riveting. In Citizen Soldiers (p. 441) he told the story of Capt. F. W. Norris and what Hitler’s brain washing had done to the boys he sent into battle. By the end of the war, both America and Germany were sending teenagers to fight.

Capt. Norris’ division ran into a roadblock and took casualties. The Americans returned fire and caused a number of injuries. “The most seriously wounded was a young SS sergeant who looked just like one of Hitler’s supermen. He had led the attack. He was bleeding copiously and badly need some plasma.”

One of Norris’ medics hooked the young German up to plasma. The sergeant spoke excellent English and asked if the plasma contained any Jewish blood. The medic really didn’t care whether it did or not and told the German so. He explained that in America they didn’t make any such distinction. The German told him that if he couldn’t guarantee there was no Jewish blood he would refuse treatment.

Capt. Norris said: “I had been listening and had heard enough. I turned to this SS guy and in very positive terms I told him I really didn’t care whether he lived or not, but if he did not take the plasma he would surely die. He looked at me calmly and said, ‘I would rather die than have any Jewish blood in me.’

“So he died.”

Ambrose said that Hitler and the Nazis poisoned the minds of the boys Germany was throwing into the battle.

We shake our heads at such tragic ideas, but we all have a similar problem. Satan has poisoned our minds as well. We miss God’s plan and, like our ancestors Adam and Eve, live in selfishness.

Like Adam and Eve, we suffer and our families suffer because our minds have been poisoned. We leave God and we suffer the consequences of our wrong thinking.

Thank God He sent Jesus to “renew” our minds.

Let us put on the mind of Christ and enjoy His antidote to our spiritual poison.

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