RADERSTROF MEMORIAL--10 JAN 2007

HE WAS THAT SOLDIER
MEMORIAL MESSAGE
for
CPL STEPHEN JAMES RADERSTORF
10JAN07

Corporal Stephen J. Raderstorf, or “Rader” to his friends, represented all that is honorable, all that is professional, all that is sacred about soldiering. He was a soldier whose enthusiastic personality and caring heart transcended rank, age, and status. He was a soldier who was a friend to all and an enemy to none.

We heard from the Psalmist that God fashions every heart individually, meaning everyone is unique and has within themselves the capacity for greatness. All soldiers are special people, but every company has that one guy who stands out in the crowd. The guy who can make you laugh even when you feel down. The guy who is willing to protect you from your own worst impulses. The guy who can be both a warrior and a peacemaker, a man of faith but not of condemnation, a leader who knew when to be serious and a friend who knew when to be carefree. Every company has that kind of soldier…and CPL Raderstorf was that soldier for Alpha Company.

Today we could focus on what has been taken away. We could think about those dreams of home, of finally owning that Pontiac Solstice that he always talked about, and of a future in law enforcement…the dreams that have been tragically taken away by the death of this young man. But I have two questions to ask after hearing how this man affected so many people around him. How would Rader have wanted to have been remembered? What would be the legacy, the gift that he could give through his life?

Some if not all of us have been asking other questions concerning his death: legitimate questions, hard questions. Why did he have to die? What did his death gain? And make no mistake that how we answer these questions will affect the trajectories our lives, the paths that each and every one of us takes as we go forward after today. I will not be so arrogant as to even begin to give an answer, for I still feel now as I did when you came in on Sunday night, and that is that no human words can even begin to address the pain you have and are experiencing.

But how would Rader have answered these questions? Why was he here with you? Well, from the stories that you have shared…his actions at a Dallas IHOP, his humorous attitude during trips to the lake or while shooting pool, or just his every day display of goofiness around his friends…Rader was here for one reason. That reason was summed up in the words of one of his best friends who said this about Rader, “He was exceptionally good at taking care of other people.” CPL Stephen J. Raderstorf was here in Iraq because…of…you, because…of…us. Rader served because he wanted to serve you, his comrades, his leaders, and his friends. And what he gained was your love, your respect, and your friendship.

The last thing Rader would have needed or wanted would be to have a chaplain try to preach him into heaven. You of all people know where he is. We go to the grave of a friend, saying, “A man is dead.” But angels throng about him saying, “A man is born.”[1] But before we close, let us ponder the question of his legacy once again.

What would be the final gift that CPL Raderstorf would have wanted to give Alpha Company? Would he have wanted our legitimate sense of grieving to be slowly replaced by desires for revenge? You, his company-mates, his leaders, his friends, know in your hearts that a future consumed with bitterness and regret is not the legacy that Rader would have wanted, that any of us would want. The words, your words, that you used to describe him were words like courage, selflessness, faithfulness, and compassion.

I will humbly ask that you permit me to suggest one more virtue to add to CPL Raderstorf’s list. We find this in the last verse of Psalm 33, “Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.” Rader did not put his hope in horses, or in weapons, or in men. His hope, and his strength, rested in God. And because of this, Rader’s most noble quality was his sense of mercy, God’s mercy. Rader lived his life like he knew he had received a second chance, a pardon for the wrongs that he and we all have done. Another word for mercy is forgiveness. And that should be his legacy, that through his death this company grows closer together, not farther apart. And you can and do honor him with your tears, your honesty, and your actions. God bless Stephen James Raderstorf, and may his family and his friends feel a sense of the Lord’s presence and comfort in the difficult times ahead. And God bless Alpha Company, and may we all live our lives in a way that brings honor to the soldier who made those around him better men. Hallelujah, Amen.

[1]Tan, P. L. Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. Garland TX: Bible Communications, 1996, c1979.