There were times 50 years ago, when fighting in the Central Highlands jungle of South Vietnam, Rex Heape wondered what might happen next.
Ever-present heat and humidity took their toll. Personal hygiene was nonexistent; if lucky, Rex found a stream to splash away dirt and grime every two or three weeks. C-ration packets were little more than subsistence.
By the time his years obligation ended, including firefights during the Tet Offensive, Rex was a gaunt 140 pounds, 50 less than when drafted.
For years, Heape refrained from discussing his experience in Vietnam and even today doesnt have the stomach to revisit particulars.
He knows, though, he danced with death on several occasions when bullets zinged through the heavily-canopied foliage.
Same could be said, of lesser extent, when he was growing up on a farm near Independence. I was driving a tractor by age 6 and a grain truck by the time I was 10 tasks expected of men.
Back from Vietnam, Heape headed to school to earn a civil engineering degree at Kansas State University.
Living in Humboldt and an active member of the First Baptist Church, Rex often thought he should be doing more to share the peace and comfort of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
His chance for greater involvement came nine years ago when he became First Baptists representative with the 120-year-old Gideons International.
Thinking of his experience as a youth on the farm and his service in Vietnam and how he believed God had always been at his side, Rex considered the offer preordained.
LAST SATURDAY Rex celebrated his 71st birthday at a meeting of Gideons officials from seven states in Dallas. He has been a member of the Kansas cabinet three years, serving as a scripture coordinator.
Dashing to Dallas tells much about his commitment. Many would have forgone the trip.
On Sunday, he was back in church with wife Donna by his side.
The two have been married less than two years, renewing a friendship from their youth. They grew up half a mile apart and were in 4-H together, even dated a couple of times in junior high.
