Finally. Tales from the NCO Club.

“I’m going to start with a question,” Sheriff Will Diaz said. In the packed dining room of the Custer Hill NCO Club, his voice sounded strong and confident. But Jewell, his wife, looked up from her seat. she knew him better than he knew himself, and. she’d heard the apprehension in him.

“How many of you want to be me?” he asked. “Go on, put the hands up. let me count them.”

Will hadn’t expected to be doing this.

He and Jewell had attended the funeral of Officer Bryan Bower who was buried at the Veterans Cemetery just north of Fort Riley, Kansas. That ended with a surprise invite to dinner at the NCO club.

Will expected a few people he knew, just a small intimate setting.

He hadn’t expected a room full of MPs in class A uniforms, or to be guest of honor at a large table that included his old CO and the Commanding General of the 1st Infantry Division. It was a glittering affair put together to honor him and he was thankful that at least he’d put on a bolo tie

But as he took the wireless mike and stepped out from behind the table to stand among the soldiers, he wondered what to say. All these young men and women knew about him was what they’d read in the papers or seen of TV. The press had covered many of the events he was involved in very well. And every word and frame on the TV set had catapulted him to the status of living legend.

He pretended to be counting hands and almost everyone in the room had raised them.

But in reality, he was praying. Holy Spriit, fall heavy on me. I’ve an opportunity here to influence and change lives and I’ve nothing prepared. It’s going to be all you.

He closed his eyes for just a second, and when he opened them, he knew what to say.

“Go ahead and put your hands down,” he said. He waited until he knew he had their undivided attention. “When I’m finished telling you my story, I’m going to ask you to put them up again. I want to see how many of you have changed your minds.”

The comment made them lean closer to hear every word.

“Almost four years ago, I was one of you. A young NCO standing under the Saudi sun. I was so full of anger, hate, and pain, I was a walking bomb waiting to explode.

“And one day, it all came out. Someone said the wrong thing and turned to walk away. And the next thing I know, my hand is around the butt of my forty-five and it was halfway out of the holster. I full intended to kill this man. His words had broken the dike, and the flood of emotions was threatening to carry me and him away with it.

“And then there’s a hand on top of my hand, and the voice of a friend saying, ‘Will, he isn’t worth it.'”

Will paused and almost choked on the words he was about to speak. But he got them out. “Six months ago, I thanked that man who stopped me by putting two in his chest.”

And so, begins an on again, off again project called Tales from the NCO Club. I’ve wanted to write this book for years but had no idea how to start it.

Now I do. Will is going to talk about his life. He’s going to talk about the sacrifices and price paid to get him where he is. He’s going to talk about successes and failures, and the people he’s met along the way.

And before it’s done, he’ll have a chance to preach the Gospel.

I hope to have it out by Christmas.

But considering how many irons I’ve got in the fire, that will probably slip some.

But stay tuned.