It was 1976, I was 18 years old,  serving as a Paratrooper  of the   1/509 Airborne  SETAF,  stationed in Vicenza, Italy with NATO.

While on a training exercise, I drove a "Mule" ( (U.S. . Military M274 Truck, Platform, Utility, 1/2 Ton, 4X4  ) onto  the bed  of  a semi-trailer for transportation several miles or kilometers away.   This task  took some skill and attention. Due to improper loading ,  the "mule"was back heavy. While going up the ramp, gravity took over and  it  did  a 180 degree  back flip!

 I remembered  seeing my Lieutenant in front me,  motioning  and directing my vehicle to come forward, turned away in horror, clasping his eyes not wanting to see the impact.

Blue sky and  clouds  appeared in my vision ,  as I began to flip up slowly and backwards . I knew I was going over. 

Then  there was a "blank"   A matter of seconds,  but seemed much much longer, something  like watching  a slow motion film, and then, suddenly,   it seemed  part of the movie clip was missing , is the best way I could describe it.

 Miraculously,  I  had  landed like a cat ,  on all fours, outside the "Mule", completely  facing opposite of the direction of the fall.   It was physically impossible for me to have done such a maneuver in mid-air, much less in such a space of time .  I did not even have time to think of the consequences of just what had happened.

On impact. the vehicle contents were crushed, the steering column jammed into the seat where I had  just sat. It now looked like an upside down turtle,  it's wheels spinning and gasoline pouring out of the tank.

My chest  would have  been taken the full  force of the steering wheel being backwards into the seat.  My back probably broken   from weight  of the  impact.    Fully loaded  the "Mule"  weighs 1870 Ibs or 850 kilos.  There is no overhead protection, no roof or row bar.

Other soldiers standing by , never saw the accident ,  to busily engaged in conversation,  Many  began  cursing and swearing at me for being so stupid & quickly rallied to flip the vehicle over not even asking if I was okay.

But I survived because someone or something, probably  my Guardian Angel,  pulled me out- unknown to everyone else but to me and my God. 

Over 40 years later,  I still  can clearly recall those events of that day.

At that time I had just given my life to Christ . 
and  He spared for a purpose and a reason.  I have done volunteer and missions work in 19 different  countries
and still going strong for Him-ever thankful for his divine , angelic, intervention.

1976年，18歲的我，是1/509空降部隊的傘兵，與北約組織共同駐守在離威尼斯西方60公里處的城市維辰札。

有一天進行訓練時，我駕駛一輛“Mule”（一台1/2噸，4X4的美國軍用M274卡車）要上運送卡車，以便運輸這台Mule到其他地方。上卡車是需要一些技能和注意力，但由於配重不良，導致車尾過於沉重。在上坡時，我所駕駛的Mule向後翻了180度！

意外發生的瞬間，我記得當時用動作指示我開上卡車的陸軍中尉，驚恐地轉過身去並緊閉他的雙眼，不想親眼看到這場悲劇。

一瞬間我看到藍天和白雲出現在我的眼前，當我開始慢慢向後翻轉時，我知道我完蛋了！然後中間突然出現幾秒鐘的”空白”，確切時間可能長的多。在中間我並沒有意識，它似乎像電影剪輯缺少了一部分。

當我清醒後，奇蹟般地，我在一個完全不會被“Mule”壓到的地方，像貓一樣四肢著地。在這個極小的空間裡要完成這樣的動作是不可能的。因為我根本沒有時間思考剛剛發生的事情及其後果。

這場意外把車輛所有的內容物都壓碎，方向盤卡死在我剛的座位上。車子看起來像一個顛倒的烏龜，它的輪子還在旋轉，汽油不斷湧出。

正常來說我的胸部會承受方向盤向後進入座椅的力量。我的背部可能因撞擊的重量而破裂。裝載滿東西的“Mule”重量為1870磅或850公斤。沒有車頂保護也沒有保護樑柱。

其他士兵站在旁邊，一開始沒看到這個事故，忙著聊天，直到在很多人開始咒罵我的姿勢怎麼如此愚蠢才開始很快的起來把車翻正，卻沒有問我是否沒事。

但是我活了下來！

可能因為某人或某事，也許是我的守護天使，在危險之中把我拉出來，除了我和我的上帝以外，其他所有人都不知道發生了什麼事。
40多年後，我仍然可以清楚地回憶起那一天的事件發生的經過。

應該事因為當時我已將自己的生命獻給了基督，他有任務要給我做，因此倖免了我的罪。

經過了40年，我已經在19個不同的國家工作擔任過志工並完成許多重大任務，目前還在一直增加中...

                                                     

I found on a "Mule"   on  YouTube,, though now these machines are decommissioned and no longer in service.