Shotgun Rider: A True Angel Story

By Richard Lininger

Anyone with an interest in angels will enjoy this true story like no other. The story is about angel power, love, music, and life in the 1960s, amid the menacing fear of the effects of the Vietnam War. The author tells a true account of something extraordinary that happened to him during that time. That propelled him to spend the rest of his life trying to sort things out through study of the Bible, accumulating books about angels, and reading other source material in an effort to try to understand what had happened. He found truth for himself, while in the process, discovering some life principles for others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798885403177

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Shotgun Rider

A True Angel Story

Richard Lininger

ISBN 979-8-88540-316-0 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88540-317-7 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Richard Lininger

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984. 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, a compilation of the Scripture paraphrases previously by Tyndale House Publishers under several titles. Copyright 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois, 60187. All rights reserved. Sixth printing, April 1983.

Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, Copyright 1946 and 1952 by Thomas Nelson & Sons. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

www.jdtitzelart.com. (J. D. Titzel painting courtesy of the artist. The artist lives and works in Western Pennsylvania. He has become an award-winning artist, with his works on display around the world. His paintings are hanging in numerous corporate and private collections.)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

DEDICATION

Preface

Chapter 1

Eve of Destruction

Chapter 2

Battery B

Chapter 3

Basic

Chapter 4

Billy

Chapter 5

Arco

Chapter 6

Walter

Chapter 7

Conneaut

Chapter 8

Gary

Chapter 9

Work

Chapter 10

Groovin'

Chapter 11

Margie

Chapter 12

Scared

Chapter 13

Adamsville

Chapter 14

Questions

Chapter 15

Reservations

Chapter 16

Lake House

Chapter 17

Dudley

Chapter 18

Friends

Chapter 19

A.P. Hill

Chapter 20

Andrews

Chapter 21

Akron

Chapter 22

Florida

Chapter 23

Boston

Chapter 24

In the Spirit

Chapter 25

Mellon

Chapter 26

Diamonds

Chapter 27

Lieutenants

Chapter 28

Petroleum

Chapter 29

Jesus

Chapter 30

The Case for Angels

Chapter 31

Angels in the New Testament

Chapter 32

Billy Graham

Chapter 33

Demons

Chapter 34

Meditation

Chapter 35

Conclusion

Epilogue

Reader's Response

Notes

About the Author

DEDICATION

Norman N. McWhinney

Professor of English

Westminster College

New Wilmington, Pennsylvania

Preface

When I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, kids were deluged with cowboys and Indians in comic books, stories, movies, television, and folklore of the Western heritage of our country. In my neighborhood, there was always a Shoot 'em up going on as the kids acted out the drama of these great tales of the Wild West. Every Saturday afternoon, especially during summer vacation months in Greenville, Pennsylvania, a hundred or more kids would file into the Jordan Theater for the matinee production that usually featured a Western movie.

One of the most popular scenes, repeated over and over again in these Westerns, was the familiar stagecoach chase sequence where Indians or outlaws would raid a wagon or stagecoach and chase it for a long distance before the pursuers would overtake it or the US cavalry would arrive in the nick of time to save the day. Every coach or wagon would have a guard armed with a shotgun, riding on the right side of the driver to protect the passengers or cargo from these attacks. It was called riding shotgun. Everyone knew what that meant.

The term stuck, and by the time I reached my teen years and started driving or riding around with my buddies, we would always call out, I've got shotgun, or First dibs on shotgun, or just Shotgun, and everyone knew what that meant—to be able to ride in the passenger seat, beside the driver of the vehicle. It was a seat of privilege and responsibility because that rider was the next most important person in the car besides the driver. The shotgun rider could watch the road better, potentially warning of a possible accident about to happen. The other guys riding in the back seat usually deferred to the shotgun for any decisions concerning directions or other help the driver might need. Shotgun was a helper or an assistant driver with a good view of the road ahead, compared with those in the rear seat, drinking beer or something. And most importantly, the shotgun rider had access to the radio, with control of the music and volume on the dial for the enjoyment of all the passengers.

Metzy and I must have put twenty thousand miles on his dad's old Plymouth—riding around, reminiscing, looking for girls, and shooting the bull when we were in our sophomore and junior years in high school.

I would be riding shotgun because Metzy always wanted to drive the car. No one ever argued with him, and his dad wanted it that way. Metzy was a guy who liked to do things his way, and he could back it up. He was proving it on the field for our high school football team. He was really tough, but we understood each other and were very good friends. We hung out a lot, and we accepted our roles in our friendship.

Maybe Metzy just didn't trust my driving, but it didn't matter because I still got to be the shotgun. I believe the term has survived until today—with people of all ages using the term and, maybe, not knowing where the saying came from.

Chapter 1

Eve of Destruction

Life in the United States during the mid to late 1960s was a time of turmoil and social revolution—with powerful forces vying for control of the hearts and minds of the population and young people, flexing their wings in the hope of changing society in a direction more to their liking. This was played out against the backdrop of the Vietnam War—a nasty conflict that should have been over in a few months but was dragged out by corrupt politicians and the military establishment, looking to enrich themselves in some selfish way.

For ordinary citizens, life went on very much as usual, with little interruption of services or changes in daily life. They were only reminded of the ugly war in the Far East when they turned on their newly acquired color television sets to watch the nightly news where the media had decided to wage the war in vivid detail to the delight of news industry executives who watched the ratings soar. A war had never before been able to be shown in film the same day it was shot by the hundreds of photographers sent to the front and supported by the scores of war correspondents so the folks back home could be entertained by this new form of leisure time enrichment.

Walter Cronkite was the favorite TV newscaster of most people in those days. CBS was his network.¹ On February 27, 1968, Walter stepped out of his role to offer his own biased views after the Tet Offensive by the North Vietnamese the same month. Very few Americans realized how biased he was—leaning toward the left—and how he slanted the stories to serve his leftist agenda. He had blood on his hands after a time, being personally responsible in aiding in the death of many Americans and Vietnamese as well. You will see why I feel this way in later chapters.

But I am getting ahead of myself, so back to the year 1967—young men in those days were faced with the draft, including me. A lottery was set up to determine who would be called into service—if they didn't have a medical or work-related deferment. Many brave young men enlisted (volunteered) and gladly went