Serving in the jungles of Vietnam, Ben Jacobs* had one invaluable item in his rucksack that he carried during dangerous missions — his pocket Scripture.

The retired Army captain says, “In the Bible are words of comfort in loneliness, and courage in the face of danger — both of which are the lot of Service Members deployed, especially in combat zones.”

Jacobs depended on his Bible not only for his personal comfort, but also for his men. The wisdom and encouragement from Scripture made a difference when it was a matter of life and death.

“Feeling the weight of the responsibility of leading these men, knowing that the decisions I made, often with little time to think, could mean life or death, I wrote simply two references on my helmet — Proverbs 3:5-6 and Isaiah 26:3 — as reminders that I was far from alone.”

When he discovered his New Testament was missing, Jacobs was upset. He struggled for two or three weeks without his daily encouragement until the resupply helicopter landed with a replacement Bible.

“I remember how uplifted I felt when it arrived one day on the resupply chopper. It was a great comfort and encouragement to once again have God’s Word at my fingertips and to be able to read daily the Lord’s words of encouragement, comfort, wisdom, and hope.”

Our tradition of providing God’s Word to American Service Members dates back to 1817. Today, there are more than 20 million U.S. Veterans and 2 million active duty Service Members. Special Military Bibles and supporting booklets can give them God’s comfort and healing.

Support from caring friends like you ensures that American Bible Society can keep reaching out to our Troops, Veterans, and their families with God’s Word in their time of need.

*Name changed to protect privacy.