When Air Force Col. Jeff O'Leary first heard of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, he was thankful that, by "coincidence," he was on leave and safely out of his office. The airliner crashed into an area of the Pentagon that Col. O'Leary normally frequents. Upon his return to the Pentagon, O'Leary was transfixed by the ragged ripped edges of office floors, many with burned furniture still in place, and the contrast of the blackened walls to the bright sunny day. These bring to mind his own close encounters with the bombing attacks in Northern Israel during the Gulf War. O'Leary brings a pilot's perspective to the attack on America. "We have already seen rescuers, volunteers, and ordinary Americans discover physical, emotional and spiritual 'High Ground' in the midst of this tragedy," says O'Leary. "The American spirit has been awakened and we will see our country take new 'High Ground' in the coming months and years." The 'High Ground' that O'Leary alludes to is actually part of the title of his latest book - "Taking The High Ground: Military Moments with God." Calling on more than 20 years experience in the U.S. Air Force and his work with NATO, O'Leary brings to life stories of battle, courage, and faith. From the American Revolution to Desert Storm, the book is a compelling collection of short stories that will inspire readers with the real-life accounts of military people. Religion Today editor Janet Chismar met with O'Leary this summer at the Christian Booksellers Association convention in Atlanta. Following is a transcript of that interview, which includes O'Leary's own experiences of life in the military.   Janet: To start with, why don't you tell me a little bit about the book? O'Leary: What makes it unique is that it weaves together stories of men and women of faith in the military and in crisis. What I tried to do is gather inspirational stories from the Revolutionary War through the Gulf War. So I have stories of George Washington, some of the Civil War folks, and then all the way up to the current time. I guess I would like to also say that it isn't just a book of war stories, of men leading their troops in combat. Some of the stories are written by women leading their "army of children" while their husbands are deployed far away. I'm a father of five myself, so I respect the courage that a lot of those women have had to show while they have been separated for years from their husbands. I wrote the book, after serving in the military for 21 years, as a way of honoring those that had come before me, and also to leave a message behind to those coming behind us. Many times people think that you come in the military and you have to check your faith at the door. I wanted to show not only people in the military, but outside the military, that they have a tremendous core of people who are honoring and serving not only their country but God as well. Janet: You wrote this book, and you founded and direct Mission of Joy, which helps orphans in India. Do you also have a ministry within the military? O'Leary: I've been part of one, but I have not been a leader in recent years. I belong to Officers Christian Fellowship that's located out in Colorado Springs. I've also been to some of the Bible studies led by Campus Crusade for Christ Military Ministries, headquartered in the Langley Air Force area. Additionally, when I was in the Gulf, deployed over in Saudi Arabia periodically, they have a real strong chaplain presence there. Janet: So you were part of the Gulf War? O'Leary: Yes, I was. I was in northern Israel during the war and I was a UN peacekeeper at the time. I served as the evacuation officer. So when the war broke out and they started evacuating families, I organized the evacuations up to Damascus, over to Cyprus, down to Sinai and to Egypt, for our folks before the war broke out. Then when the missiles started coming in, we had to get people out of those areas as well. Actually, that story's in the book, from with my wife who was with me and our four children at the time. She was evacuated too - she didn't have a home in the U.S., because we were living there. So the Lord really looked after both of us during that time. Janet: How have people responded to the book so far? O'Leary: There's one chapter written by a woman who was a military dependent; she talked about all her experiences of moving all these times over so many years. So someone came up to me and said, "That just touched my heart." Then other stories ... one woman had a family member go to prison, and she really related to the story of a commander taking one of his troops to Leavenworth and what that experience was about. So it's not just war stories. There's a fabric of military life that goes on every single day. As you try to relate it, you want to make sure that you present the entire picture. So a lot of things are just very ordinary things that are inspirational in the way that they were handled.   Join us for Part Two of "Military Moments with God" tomorrow on Religion Today.       "Military Moments with God" (Part 2) Finding 'High Ground' in Troubled Times Do you need to hear some stories of courage and faith? "Taking The High Ground: Military Moments with God" calls on Col. Jeff O'Leary's 20-plus years experience in the U.S. Air Force and his work with NATO. Stretching from the American Revolution to Desert Storm, the book is a compelling collection of short stories that will inspire readers with the real-life accounts of military people. Religion Today editor Janet Chismar met with O'Leary this summer at the Christian Booksellers Association convention in Atlanta. Following is a transcript of that interview, which includes O'Leary's own experiences of life in the military. Janet: Would people who have no interest or no background or relationship with the military still be inspired by your book? O'Leary: I would say yes. I wrote this book so that any person would like it. For example, a woman who would like to strengthen her husband's faith might see the cover and say, "Wow, this is something he'll read." The first three or four stories in it are Americana, patriotic, values and virtues that really anybody would be inspired by. In a sense, the message is the story. I don't pound it in with Bible verses or principles. What happens is a lot of times, people sit there and just let it all sink in. They let the story be the teacher. So I think that's why it's an effective approach. Janet: I think that one of the best ways to teach, sometimes, is through real life. O'Leary: And that's the point, too. I'm trying to show that there are incredible models and heroes today that maybe people haven't heard about. There's a story in here about a POW who said, "I began after seven years of torture to see the torturer as the tormented." He said, "You know, it took all the bitterness out of my heart." I guess what I take from that and what I try to talk about is that if he can do that in those circumstances, when a guy cuts us off in a parking lot or steals our space or somebody steals our idea at work, can we then see them not as somebody that's abusing us, but as somebody that they themselves are tormented? If we can do that, that same bitterness just kind of flows away from us, and we can live on a high ground. You live in Washington, I live in Washington, that's a pretty tough town. I've been in the Pentagon for a couple of years so I've seen my share of beatings and such in that area. It's easy to sink down pretty quickly. But if you have examples of people who have not, then I think we raise the bar for people to live up to a higher ground than they have. I think they see that it is possible. It's like when you talk about holiness. You have an idea, you have a word. But until you see somebody really living it out in their life, you don't ever really understand it. There are people here who were POWs who were traumatically amputated in Vietnam, and when you see their lives in spite of those circumstances, that gives you a sense of, "That's what it means to live like that." In a country sometimes where you see the bar being lowered, this is an attempt to raise the bar, to say, "You can do this and here's some great examples of men and women who have." Janet: I think that people might have a negative perception of the military right now in some respects. Would this help encourage them that there are good men and women in the military today, leading our country? O'Leary: Yes, I think America has a tremendous well of strength and honor in their military. I think they have every reason to feel confident that they are being well taken care of and protected. Having spent a lot of my time away from my family overseas, I can tell you that there's a real commitment to ensuring the security and safety of the United States. Ultimately, you want your military to be able to do that, above everything else. But I think the stories in the book speak to the honor of the people that have served as well, and the sacrifice that many of them have given in life and limbs on the altar of freedom. Janet: Is it difficult to be a person of faith in the military? Is there a negative climate for that? O'Leary: I'm not sure I could say that it's more difficult in the Pentagon than it is for somebody in the media or somebody in business. I think what's difficult is living out your faith in a way that honors the Lord. That's kind of why I talked to this "High Ground." You know, in Washington, there's no position that's powerful enough, in a sense. It's good that way because the framers of the Constitution ensured that no one could take over. But because of that, everything is always somewhat flexible, more flexible than most people are comfortable with sometimes. And things change a lot. I learned that it is possible to live out your faith, if you keep your eyes focused in the right place. That is essential. It's too easy to focus on the people around you that maybe aren't treating you as well as you'd like. But if you keep your eyes focused on the Lord I think then it becomes more possible to keep to High Ground. -------   Reprinted with permission from Religion Today http://news.crosswalk.com/religion/ Copyright © 1996-2001 Crosswalk.com, Inc. and its Content Providers. All rights reserved. Crosswalk (TM) - http://www.crosswalk.com/ 4100 Lafayette Center Drive, Suite 110, Chantilly, VA 20112.