WAYNESBURG – Decorated Vietnam veteran Dave Roever spoke to a diverse crowd of people Sunday evening, delivering his message on faith and freedom.”Join me in doing whatever’s asked of us to remain a free nation, under God and indivisible,” Roever said. “We can do it. But don’t cave under pressure. Stand for what’s right in the face of anyone who wants to take that away from you.”The Faith and Freedom program, sponsored by the First Assembly of God in Waynesburg, took place at 7 p.m. on Sunday evening in the Waynesburg Central High School auditorium.Featuring Roever as guest speaker, the event was a celebration of faith and a gathering to acknowledge the character of human sacrifice and service in the pursuit and maintenance of freedom.Rev. Richard Ritenour, pastor of First Assembly of God, explained that the purpose behind the Faith and Freedom program was to bring a message of hope to the community.”We see today that there are issues of faith and patriotism that are big issues but they are sometimes minimized,” Ritenour said. “You don’t hear a whole lot about the patriotic aspects of serving in our country; the sacrifices that are made that sometimes require giving life and limb. And Dave Roever is a gentleman that has gone through a lot of tragedies and heart ache and yet he’s overcome them.”Roever received a draft notice at the height of the Vietnam War. He had no desire to serve in the infantry, he said, deciding instead to join the Navy where he served as a river boat gunner in the Brown Water Black Beret in Vietnam.Eight months into his tour of duty, Roever was burned beyond recognition when a phosphorous grenade he was poised to throw exploded in his hand.

The ordeal left him hospitalized for 14 months.”[Roever] comes with a message that helps people whether they are in military service or civilian life to overcome great adversity,” Ritenour said.At 63, Roever is still greatly involved in military affairs. Following the program, he and his son left for Kuwait so that they could minister to the troops.”It is my belief that you should do everything that you can do in your expertise,” Roever said. “Mine happens to be surviving war.”The number of individuals present almost filled the entire auditorium, with people visiting Waynesburg from all over the area. A group of four men traveled together from New Life Worship Center in Weirton, W.Va., to hear Roever’s message.”I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with him at another event he spoke at and I decided to get some of my friends to come here,” Lenny Angelo said. “His testimony is awesome. He’s a great guy.”Roever and his wife are co-founders of Eagles Summit Ranch – Roever Learning and Resource Center, near Westcliffe, Colo., where they and a team train wounded warriors and others from the U.S. military in areas of special focus such as public speaking and marital and emotional recovery after devastating injury.A second ranch, located in Texas, is currently in the process of being completed.”This is not my story,” Roever said. “This is about Jesus who in my life gave me another chance. Who stepped in when nothing, nothing, could give me hope. He gave me hope. This is the story of Jesus in the life of Dave Roever.”