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to Lebanon. He did not, but he he
moved his mother Mabel into it.
He sold it in 1994 or so after
doing a lot renovation on it, leaving
Kenneth as his only tie to Lebanon.
Charles Henry, the oldest broth-
er, entered the Marines at age 17 in
November 1942 just a few months His attendance changed the
after Kenneth. course of his life.
He joined the Marines with 10 “In that meeting God came into
of his high school buddies. my life in a wonderful way. I heard
“We all wanted to be Marine heard the voice of the Lord Jesus.
Corps fighter pilots,” he said. Con- He said, ‘Quit your job. Come to
sequently, they saw their recruiter this school and be a preacher’ just
and told him of their goal. plain as day. I said, ‘Yes, Lord. Robert-on the left, Charles-in the middle,
He told Henry that after boot Whatever you want me to do.’ I and Kenneth on the right. Photographed
camp he could pick his own path walked out of that place a brand with their mother, Mable Henry
in the Corps. Later, he found out new man and didn’t know what
the Marines do not train their own had happened. It was just like America since WWII.
pilots. Their pilots came over from walking in the clouds,” Charles “The country as a whole, the
the Navy. He wound up as a radio Henry said. unification — everybody was just
operator. After completing college there like one,” Robert Henry said.
He finished a two-year course with just 200 other students in its His brother had the same view.
in four months at Texas A&M and early days, he spent the next 18 “Everything was unified. I mean
went overseas to the South Pacific years in Mexico doing mission the whole country was behind the
and a radio complex off the north- work, making return trips for years efforts, you know. It’s never been
ern coast of New Guinea. after coming back to the States. the same since then. It’s worse now
“We had contact with General He pastors a small church than it’s ever been,” Charles Henry
MacArthur and all his forces, all outside of Waco, Texas, and has said.
the southern forces, the naval forc- preached at the Dove church on Robert Henry pointed out that
es, the air forces and everything. I return visits to Lebanon. people were willing to ration and to
never saw combat,” Charles Henry “The way the Lord has mapped sacrifice for the war effort.
said. out my life I wouldn’t change it for “We don’t have that kind of
He spent 14 months there anything. I’ve been through a lot of feeling today,” he said of today’s
before returning to the States and trials and temptations. I got shot one division.
was discharged in June of 1945. He time down in the Baja peninsula. I But Robert and Charles came
worked at the Humble Oil Compa- got shot at five times on the mainland to Lebanon because of a positive
ny for two years. and never got hit, but the blessings feeling long felt.
However, the event that have outweighed all the problems, Their shared purpose is the op-
changed his life the most, even the troubles. Here I am today, 93 portunity that a trip to see Kenneth
more than the war, was accepting years old, still playing golf twice a provided.
a simple invitation. week and pastoring a little church “God has given us the blessing
He was invited to the opening and going back and forth to Mexi- of coming up here and being three
exercise of new Christian college co,” Charles Henry said. brothers together,” Charles Henry
in Corpus Christi, Texas that was The Henry brothers came of said.
christened the University of Corpus age when America had a shared Three veterans, members of the
Christi now part of the Texas purpose. Charles and Robert see greatest generation, brothers. The
A&M system. a change in the amount of unity in Henry boys are together again.
9
Summer 2018