~ SOLDIER'S DECK OF CARDS
|
During World War Two, a bunch of soldier boys had
been on a long patrol and they arrived in a little town called Casino. The
next day being Sunday, several of the boys went to Church. After the Padre
read the prayer,
the text was taken up next.The soldiers who had a prayer book took
them out, but one boy, a young private, produced a deck of cards, and he spread
them out in front of him.
The officer in charge saw the cards and said, "Soldier, put away those
cards."
After the services, the soldier was put under arrest and
brought before the commanding officer. The CO said, "Sergeant, why have you brought this man
here?"
"For playing cards in church, Sir."
The officer looked at the soldier and said "I hope you have an explanation. If not, I will punish you more than ony soldier has ever been puinished. Now, what have you got to say?" And so the boy began the story.
"Sir, I have been on the march for about six
days. I have neither a Bible nor a prayer book, but I have these cards, |
 |
"You see Sir, when I look at the Ace, it reminds me that there
is but one God.
|
 |
 |
 |
|
And the Deuce reminds me that the Bible is divided into
two parts, the Old and the New Testaments. |
When I see the Trey, I think
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. |
And when I see the Four, I
think of the four Evangelists who preached the Gospel; there was Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John. |
 |
 |
 |
|
And when I see the Five, it reminds me of the five
wise virgins who trimmed their lamps; there were ten of them: five were
wise and were saved, five were foolish and were shut out. |
When I see the
Six, it reminds me that in six days, God made this great heaven and
earth. |
When I see the Seven, it reminds me that on the seventh day, God
rested from His great work. |
 |
 |
 |
|
And when I see the Eight, I think of the
eight righteous persons God saved when He destroyed this earth; there was
Noah, his wife, their sons and their wives. |
And when I see the Nine, I
think of the lepers our Savior cleansed, and nine out of the ten didn't
even thank Him. |
When I see the Ten, I think of the Ten Commandments God
handed down to Moses on a table of stone. |
 |
 |
 |
|
When I see the King, it
reminds me that there is but one King of Heaven, God Almighty. |
And when I
see the Queen, I think of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is Queen of
Heaven. |
And the Jack or Knave is the Devil |
|
When I count the number
of spots on a deck of cards, I find 365, the number of days in a year.
There are 52 cards, the number of weeks in a year. There are 4 suits, the
number of weeks in a month. There are 12 picture cards, the number of
months in a year. So you see, Sir, my pack of cards serves me as a Bible, an Almanac and a
Prayer Book." The charge against the soldier is DISMISSED.
"And folks, this is a true story. Because I knew that young soldier." |
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Return to top of page
The popular song Deck of Cards (sometimes known as "A Soldier's Prayer Book") was written in 1948 by "T." Texas Tyler and was recorded by (among others) Tex Ritter in 1948, Wink Martindale in 1959, and Bill Anderson in 1991.
|
| | | |
|
