Category Archives: Vietnam

Heirloom without a Home

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Like most blogs this blog has frequent topics or categories.  One of my favorite categories is Heirlooms.  The things I am calling heirlooms are really just family keepsakes and have little or no value to anyone outside of my family.  Nevertheless some of my heirlooms are coveted by several members of the family. Unfortunately that is not the case for today’s heirloom. Today’s heirloom is in search of a home. When I was ten years old (1969) my father, Kenneth Warford, was an Air Force chaplain stationed in South Vietnam. During the year he was overseas he sent me a number of souvenirs. Most have been lost or simply fallen apart in the years since the war but my most cherish souvenir from Vietnam survives. It is difficult to explain the bond I have with this particular heirloom. The close bond I have with this heirloom probably developed from the fact that it has always been in my room. For some reason, all of the women in my life, beginning with my mother, have encouraged my relationship with this heirloom.  They have insisted this heirloom be kept in a place where I alone can enjoy it.  Consequently I have taken especially good care of this heirloom and hope to someday pass it along to some member of my family.  I am looking for someone to leave Jake to when I am gone.  They need to be willing to love and appreciate Jake as I have.  He is after all the only heirloom that I have actually named.

Jake

Jake

I am honored to introduce you to Jake. Jake is a cobra from Southeast Asia. Yes, at one time he was one of the most deadly creatures on earth but his venom glands were removed more than 40 years ago. He has not bitten anyone in the 40 plus years I have known him.  As far as I know Jake is completely harmless accept maybe to people who have both ophidiophobia and a heart condition.  If you have an abnormal fear of snakes and a heart condition you might want to pass on Jake otherwise Jake is an heirloom in search of a home.

Jake

Jake

If you are a member of my family even a very distant cousin and are willing to provide a loving home to Jake please contact me.

Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

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1969 - Vietnam - Baptism 01

In 1969 my father, Kenneth A. Warford was an Air Force Chaplain serving in Vietnam. Baptist Chaplains rarely perform the baptism of soldiers and airman. Baptist Chaplains normally may only baptize a soldier or airman with the permission of, and in conjunction with, a local Baptist Church. Obviously there were no local Baptist Churches in Vietnam and making arrangements with a local church back home could take months. Communication with preachers and congregations back home were far more difficult than today. This put Chaplains like my father in the position of denying baptism to new believers for months or even years. Baptist do not believe that baptism is necessary for salvation but most new believers have a strong desire to be baptized. Some chaplains, including my father, were also concern that denying baptism to new converts sent a message to other soldiers and airmen to put off getting their lives right with God until they got home. On most occasions the young men were encouraged to wait until they got home for baptism but there were times when some Baptist Chaplains felt led to bend the rules. In the winter of 1969, Chaplain Kenneth A. Warford baptized Airman 1st Class Robert E. Douglas off the coast of Tuy Hoa Air Force Base in the South China Sea. There were other such baptisms in Vietnam but as far as I know this is the only picture and record of one.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20