~WALKING THE POINT~
by Linda Landreth Phelps (Bill's Sister)
A Christian Outreach Ministry
FOR Veterans,
BY Veterans
That was the mission of Bill Landreth, founder of Point Man International Ministries.
In the early 1980's, Bill was a Viet Nam Veteran in his thirties and appeared to the world to be a successful man. He had a Master's degree in education, a lovely wife and two small children. He owned a home in a beautiful neighborhood. What the world could not see was the hurting heart below the surface of the man.
Bill had gone to Viet Nam in 1968, a fresh 1st Lieutenant, determined to be the best platoon leader he could be. His first concern was for his men...the responsibility of making sure his guys got home again safely weighed heavily on his shoulders. He saw close combat and did things he would never have dreamed he would have to do. All the training in the world can't prepare a sensitive man to watch the life fade from the eyes of any enemy soldier whom he has just shot. The faces of that soldier's family, seen in photos taken from his dead body, haunted Bill.
A mortar attack brought his short tour in Viet Nam to an abrupt and dramatic close. He was pulled out of a hot zone by a senior officer's personal chopper. Even while he fought for consciousness and held together the raw edges of his ripped jugular, his thoughts were with his men left behind, leaderless and facing death alone. The bullet and shrapnel wounds to Bill's body were life threatening, but the wounds to his soul went even deeper. How could he reconcile the realities of combat with the message of God's love that he had received in his childhood? How could he live with his feelings of guilt?
But Bill was a proud man and had a strong will. He learned to hide his doubts and fears so well that most people only saw what he wanted them to see. Within a few years after his return from Viet Nam, Bill's marriage failed and his wife disappeared with their daughter. By 1975, Bill was happily remarried, but still slept with a fully loaded gun and knife under his pillow. He became something of a daredevil and sought risk in a variety of socially acceptable ways, hoping to recreate that feeling of heightened perception and to feel as fully alive as he did when the adrenaline of combat flooded his brain. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) had him firmly in it's grip. VA "rap sessions" were supposed to bring relief from these symptoms, but he described it as putting a Band-Aid over a bullet hole - you might not be able to see the wound anymore, but it doesn't heal the underlying problem. Instead of relieving his agony, feelings of anger were unleashed by the psychotherapy - unfocused rage boiled just beneath the surface. Meanwhile, Bill bounced around from one career to the next, bucking authority and unable to find the peace he sought.
He finally found that peace one night in his own den after reading the Gospel of John. Alone and prostrate on the floor, crying out to God to save him and give him His forgiveness, Bill arose from his tear-wet carpet forgiven, a new creature in Christ, ready to begin a new life.
Bill sold all his weapons and slept like a child again. No nightmares, no more seeking out risk to achieve an adrenaline high. He was high on God! He couldn't wait to tell everyone he encountered, about the way God had changed him. God gave him a heart for evangelism and a love for people which was evidenced in the big bear hugs he passed out freely. Soon his vision grew beyond the confines of Overlake Christian Church and Bill began visiting a nearby prison where he found many fellow vets.
Bill and his wife, Jan were inspired to begin a ministry to help hurting veterans who were still fighting their own personal wars. Bill and Jan knew from first hand experience that PTSD affects not just the veteran, and so would minister to their families on the home front as well. Their mission in the founding of Point Man Ministries was to rescue wounded comrades by pointing them to the only One who has the authority to heal and forgive.
On October 12, 1986, 1st Lt. William L. Landreth II was forced once again to leave his comrades behind to fight on without him. A sudden heart attack claimed his life and he is now with his Lord. However, Point Man International Ministries has lived on and prospered, growing to a global scale which would have astounded its founder, proving that it was not Bill Landreth's ministry, but God's. The field is ripe for the harvest, and the time grows short. Christ could come to claim His church at any time. When He does, I know that if Bill is allowed the privilege, he will be among the first to greet each of the Point Man troops with his thanks for a job well done, a snappy salute and one of those famous hugs.
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Point Man International Ministries
PO Box 267
Spring Brook, NY 14140
(716) 675-5552
(716) 675-5552- FAX
(800) 877-VETS - Hotline
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