Retired Soldier: Guardian Angel Protected Me from Death
This year, Arlan W. Horman, 93, will spend a quiet Christmas with his daughter and son-in law. Horman knows that he is really blessed to have this time with them. Not because of his age, but because he has encountered many close calls in his life during World War II.
As a soldier in the Army, Horman recalls coming close to death not once or twice, but several times. However, as a Christian, Horman has always felt that he was being protected by a guardian angel.
He said he first felt a divine presence as a teen growing up in Wisconsin. While driving to a lake to go fishing, his car flipped over with both he and a friend inside. After that incident, Horman was convinced that he was being protected.
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His conviction grew stronger throughout his military career. As a private in World War II, a gun exploded to Horman's right. A whole gun crew was killed. Although Horman suffered some temporary hearing lost and damage to his right side, he survived.
"It was a miracle that he wasn't killed," expressed Dean Stein, Horman's son-in-law.
For Homan, his survival meant "my guardian angel was still on duty."
He graduated from the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School and entered engineering as second lieutenant.
Aboard the Queen Mary battleship in1942, he and his crew successfully evaded attacks from German submarines.
Horman also married his wife Dolores in 1942. She followed him to Germany and England where he served. Together, they had two children, Debra and Trudy.
After the Korean War, he was stationed near Seoul from 1956 to 1957 as a combat engineer. His family did not follow him there and Horman did his best to stay connected to them through letters.
While he tried to stay close to family, Horman said his guardian angel stayed close to him, saving his life once again.
Horman was scheduled to get on a plane to Japan for leave, but "my battalion commander stopped me from boarding a plane," he recounted. The commander needed additional help completing a project. The plane that he was about to board later crashed in Korea.
"I was supposed to be on that plane," said Horman, acknowledging how he escaped death.
After 22 years of military service, Horman left the Army and became a civil engineer building major power plants and bridges in the United States.
Yet his Army experiences stayed with him. Horman's military experiences drove him to begin his memoirs nine years ago at 82. Those memoirs are now a book entitled, My Guardian Angel and Me.
Horman stresses that his belief in a personal guardian angel is not based on superstition or mysticism. Raised Lutheran, Horman quotes Psalms 91: 9-12 as the basis for his beliefs. Psalms 91:11 says, "For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways."
At 93, Horman is hard of hearing, legally blind and not as active as he used to be. He lives in Florida near daughter Debra and her husband Stein. He also has two grandchildren and three grand grandchildren.
He hopes his memories will let others know they too are being cared for and protected.
