Page 99 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2022 - Online Magazine

Army
my leadership style Today, Gary and his lovely
and philosophy.” wife reside on a small East
Texas ranch, where they look after some horses and
While serving at a small herd of cattle. Unfortunately, Gary has a new
the Pentagon as the type of cancer. His faith and dependence on God is his
Chief, Weapons of greatest defense. “God will see me through this trial to
Mass Destruction His conclusion and in His timing.”
Branch, Domestic
Preparedness
Division, Operations
Directorate, Deputy
Chief of Staff
Operations (G3), Headquarters Department of the
Army, Col. Wallace provided “direct oversight for the
Secretary of Defense of the congressionally-mandated
program to train elected leaders, law enforcement, fire
departments, and emergency medical personnel in the
largest 120 US cities, in how to manage and respond
to terrorist attacks using radiological, chemical, and
biological weapons.”

As Col. Wallace was training others in defense of our
nation, God was revealing His defense strategy against
Gary’s most deadly enemy … cancer. At the age of
42, Gary was diagnosed with Stage IV Non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma. God defended and carried Gary through
two major abdominal surgeries, 18 weeks of intense
chemotherapy, a two-month hospital stay, and a
lengthy nine-month recovery. The doctor’s words, “You
have cancer,” hit him hard. “My world just got more
scary, confusing, and uncertain … I knew I needed
to be closer to God.” Gary confesses, “I needed more
than just knowledge. I began studying to increase my
knowledge, but mostly built a personal relationship
with Jesus.” God used a former Army nurse to remind
Gary that he was going to be okay … that God loved
him. The Psalmist writes, “Defend my cause and redeem
me; preserve my life ...” (Psalm 119:154). And God did
just that. He defended and preserved Gary’s life.

The support of family and friends helped. “My parents
respected my decision to serve and …were always
supportive.” The same was true of his brother and
sister; daughters, Sarah and Jill; wife, Belinda; and other
family members. "Knowing I had a supportive family
was encouraging to me as a professional Soldier.”

Cousin Gary and I were childhood playmates on
the Bar W Ranch. Our imaginations created make-
believe games and strategies that kept us entertained
on long hot summer days. In addition to playing
cowboys and Indians, I vividly remember Gary’s not-
so-small collection of army-green plastic toy soldiers.
~ Barbara

Lubbock Senior Link 99