Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

• Psalm 23:4

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

• Deuteronomy 31:6

[Verse 1]
Lonely, I’m Mr. Lonely
I have nobody for my own
I am so lonely, I’m Mr. Lonely
Wish I had someone to call on the phone

[Chorus]
Now I’m a soldier, a lonely soldier
Away from home through no wish of my own
That’s why I’m lonely, I’m Mr. Lonely
I wish that I could go back home

[Verse 2]
Letters, never a letter
I get no letters in the mail
I’ve been forgotten, yeah, forgotten
Oh, how I wonder, how is it I failed

[Chorus]
Now I’m a soldier, a lonely soldier
Away from home through no wish of my own
That’s why I’m lonely, I’m Mr. Lonely
I wish that I could go back home”

• Bobby Vinton, Mr. Lonely

This song has an odd history.  Bobby Vinton went to Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA, after completing his college degree (Musical Composition).  He was drafted into the Army.  He was assigned as a chaplain’s assistant at Fort Dix, NJ.  He also played trumpet in the Army band.  After two years of service there, he returned to Canonsburg, PA where he started his own record label and put together his own band.

This was long before the draft lottery.  Less than ten percent of the eligible people to be drafted were actually drafted into the military during the years between 1955 and 1958, and of those years, they drafted the least in 1956, the year Vinton was drafted.  There could be a case of “Why me?” in the song.

The song Mr. Lonely did not do well when first released.  But if they knew that he was indeed away from home, but not in a hot spot of the world, then maybe the words did not ring true in his case.  But he served from 1956 to 1958.  While the USA had a few advisors in Vietnam, we had limited involvement.  JFK drastically increased the “advisors” and “training staff” during his time in office (1961-1963).  LBJ sent the first full units to Vietnam in 1965.

Bobby Vinton released the song again, and it became a hit.  There were a lot of soldiers that could relate.  There were a lot of loved ones back in the states that could relate.

But regardless of whether bombs are falling or not, I served in peacetime in Europe.  We constantly got interrupted with readiness tests.  The Russians relocated their tanks along the boarder just to learn what our reaction would be.  And some of us knew where the spies lived.  And all of us knew what telephone conversations were being recorded by the enemy.

But in spite of that, some of my troops were away from home for the first time, in a country where they did not speak the language.  And the Army in all its wisdom, took the raw recruit from Hawaii and flew him to Germany in January.  He might have been surfing on the beach a week earlier.  Note: I had two Hawaiians in my platoon, and I later worked with an SFC who was from Hawaii.

They called me Lt. Eskimo because if the Army, in its wisdom did not switch to winter uniform protocol until mid-November, I would stand in morning formation in weather far below freezing, without a field jacket and with my sleeves rolled up.  My troops would be “illegally” wearing a hooded parka and heavy gloves (Army issue, but not used due to an arbitrary date on the calendar).  They would ask how I could handle the cold temperatures.  I would say that it was “mind over matter.”  When they asked what that meant, the sergeant would interrupt and say, “I don’t mind and you don’t matter!  Now, get to work!”

I have respect for any troops away from home, but I am trying to point out that military service is more than just being away from home and not having enough money or leave time to go home for a visit.

But of the Scripture above, the Deuteronomy Scripture was Moses’ pep talk to the soldiers.  So, it fits in with the song nicely.

For those who have Jesus in our hearts, God is always there for us.  God is everywhere, but He has a protective hand on His own.

That still does not keep a soldier from feeling lonely – anyone for that matter.

I was asked in a survey not long ago if I had ever been separated from loved ones for more than a month.  The two longest stretches were when I went into the Army and after coming back from Germany, going to my duty station while my wife visited her family.  That second one was due to not having an apartment in the Boston area for a while.

Those times of separation, especially with little children, became times when I could really relate to this song, even with God in my heart.  Add to the separation that this was long before the days of cellphones and long-distance calls were expensive.  If we talked, it had to be short and to the point.

But having God in my heart made those times bearable.

Here is Bobby Vinton singing Mr. Lonely.

Have you ever been separated from loved ones, with no means of contacting them?  For six weeks?

Sometimes, we have a pity party, but we do not realize it in those terms until we see those days in the rearview mirror.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.