On 13 July 2010 US Army 1LT Chris Goeke was killed in combat in Afghanistan.  He was one of three Soldiers to die in that firefight and his loss, like theirs, has been mourned across the continents.

The legacy of Goeke lives on, however.  He was known not only as a good Soldier, but also as a good Christian.  This was told in the first person by his friend, Rajiv Srinivasan, a Hindu, at a blog at the New York Times: 

Chris discovered his personal relationship with God and served as one of his finest Christian servants… 

In the silence of night, sitting on the front porch of our barracks, Chris taught me to embrace my spiritual identity. He carried a Bible wherever he went. This was a natural turn-off for me as my childhood experiences with proselytizing predators showed me that I’d never live in religious harmony with a Christian-dominated environment…It wasn’t until speaking with Chris that summer that I truly started appreciating, not hiding, my spiritual values.

By teaching me to reconcile my faith with my Christian surroundings, Chris helped me understand how to connect with Muslim Afghan soldiers on their spiritual motivations.

Goeke’s faith was not merely a sincere, private endeavour.  It permeated his life — so much so that it helped a fellow officer, a Hindu, both understand the complexities of war in Afghanistan and also better lead his platoon.

Some people (like Michael Weinstein) promote conspiracy theories of Christians trying to spark a crusade in the military or take over the world.  Their unsubstantiated and anonymous tales of world domination are undermined by the real-life counterexamples of military Christians who have lived out their faith on the battlefield.