Blaze of Light
The Inspiring True Story of Green Beret Medic Gary Beikirch, Medal of Honor Recipient
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Narrated by:
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Ray Porter
About this listen
For fans of Unbroken and Hacksaw Ridge comes the powerful true story of a Medal of Honor recipient who faced more than his fair share of battles - and overcame them through perseverance and faith.
"What Gary Beikirch did to receive his medal is unforgettable - and the story of what he overcame afterward is as big and moving as they come." (Gary Sinise)
After dawn the siege began. It was April 1, 1970, and Army Green Beret medic Gary Beikirch knew the odds were stacked against their survival. Some 10,000 enemy soldiers sought to obliterate the 12 American Special Forces troops and 400 indigenous fighters who stood fast to defend 2,300 women and children inside the village of Dak Seang. For his valor and selflessness during the ruthless siege, Beikirch would be awarded a Medal of Honor, the nation's highest and most prestigious military decoration.
But Gary returned home wounded in body, mind, and soul. To find himself again, Gary retreated to a cave in the mountains of New England, where a redemptive encounter with God allowed Gary to find peace.
New York Times best-selling author Marcus Brotherton chronicles the incredible true story of a person who changed from lost to found. Gripping and unforgettable, and written with a rich and vivid narrative voice, Blaze of Light will inspire you to answer hurt with ingenuity, to reach for faith, and to find clarity and peace within any season of storm.
©2020 Marcus Brotherton (P)2020 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"The Medal of Honor Society is comprised of a highly elite group of American heroes. What Gary Beikirch did to receive his medal is unforgettable - and the story of what he overcame afterward is as big and moving as they come." (Gary Sinise, Oscar-nominated actor)
"From the windblast of landing choppers to the sensory assault of close-quarters battle, Blaze of Light put me right in the middle of the steaming jungles of Vietnam. Gary Beikirch was grievously wounded and facing a ruthless enemy, and his selfless choices made him the rarest of war heroes - one whose valor is measured not in lives taken but in lives saved." (Lynn Vincent, New York Times best-selling author of Indianapolis)
"You will be blessed by this story of amazing courage and selflessness. What happened on April 1, 1970, at Camp Dak Seang in the Kontum Province of South Vietnam forever changed the life of Gary Beikirch. He is a true American hero - a man of humility, faith, and servant leadership. This story is so powerful it could change your life." (Colonel Jim Coy (Ret.), 3rd SFG, Persian Gulf War)
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War in the Air: Sets stage with gripping narrative
- By Nashville Cat on 11-17-18
By: James Holland
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Thunder at Twilight
- Vienna 1913/1914
- By: Frederic Morton
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 135
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 118
It was during the carnival of 1913 that a young Stalin arrived in Vienna on a mission that would launch him into the upper echelon of Russian revolutionaries, and it was here that he first collided with Trotsky. It was in Vienna that the failed artist Adolf Hitler kept daubing watercolors and spouting tirades at fellow drifters in a flophouse. Here, Archduke Franz Ferdinand had a troubled audience with Emperor Franz Joseph - and soon the bullet that killed the archduke would set off the Great War that would kill 10 million more.
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5 out of 5 stars
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great era great book great narrator
- By John on 03-18-16
By: Frederic Morton
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The Many-Headed Hydra
- Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic
- By: Peter Linebaugh
- Narrated by: Cornell Womack
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Long before the American Revolution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man, a motley crew of sailors, slaves, pirates, laborers, market women, and indentured servants had ideas about freedom and equality that would forever change history. The Many Headed-Hydra recounts their stories in a sweeping history of the role of the dispossessed in the making of the modern world.
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3 out of 5 stars
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the book forgets it's audience
- By Reue on 01-08-24
By: Peter Linebaugh
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Sowing Crisis
- The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East
- By: Rashid Khalidi
- Narrated by: Ray Grover
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
During the 45 years of the Cold War, policymakers from the US and the Soviet Union vied for primacy in the Middle East. Their motives, long held by historians to have had an ideological thrust, were, in fact, to gain control over access to oil and claim geographic and strategic advantage. In his new audiobook, Rashid Khalidi, considered the foremost US historian of the Middle East, makes the compelling case that the dynamics that played out during the Cold War continue to exert a profound influence even decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
By: Rashid Khalidi
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On Desperate Ground
- The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle
- By: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,990
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,789
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,783
Hampton Sides' superb account of this epic clash in the Korean War relies on years of archival research, unpublished letters, declassified documents, and interviews with scores of marines and Koreans who survived the siege. While expertly detailing the follies of the American leaders, On Desperate Ground is an immediate, grunt's-eye view of history, enthralling in its narrative pace and powerful in its portrayal of what ordinary men are capable of in the most extreme circumstances.
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1 out of 5 stars
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typical armchair critic armed with hign site
- By Brent on 10-03-18
By: Hampton Sides
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The 272
- The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church
- By: Rachel L. Swarns
- Narrated by: Karen Murray
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
In 1838, a group of America’s most prominent Catholic priests sold 272 enslaved people to save their largest mission project, what is now Georgetown University. In this groundbreaking account, journalist, author, and professor Rachel L. Swarns follows one family through nearly two centuries of indentured servitude and enslavement to uncover the harrowing origin story of the Catholic Church in the United States. Through the saga of the Mahoney family, Swarns illustrates how the Church relied on slave labor and slave sales to sustain its operations and to help finance its expansion.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hard, but absolutely worthwhile.
- By Michael S. Henderson on 09-06-23
By: Rachel L. Swarns
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Big Week
- The Biggest Air Battle of World War II
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 756
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 684
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 680
During the third week of February 1944, the combined Allied air forces based in Britain and Italy launched their first round-the-clock bomber offensive against Germany. Their goal: to smash the main factories and production centers of the Luftwaffe while also drawing German planes into an aerial battle of attrition to neutralize the Luftwaffe as a fighting force prior to the cross-channel invasion, planned for a few months later. Officially called Operation ARGUMENT, this aerial offensive quickly became known as “Big Week,” and it was one of the turning-points of World War II.
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5 out of 5 stars
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War in the Air: Sets stage with gripping narrative
- By Nashville Cat on 11-17-18
By: James Holland
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The Big Ones
- How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us (and What We Can Do About Them)
- By: Dr. Lucy Jones
- Narrated by: Dr. Lucy Jones
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 172
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 145
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 145
Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes - they stem from the same forces that give our planet life. Earthquakes give us natural springs; volcanoes produce fertile soil. It is only when these forces exceed our ability to withstand them that they become disasters. Together they have shaped our cities and their architecture; elevated leaders and toppled governments; influenced the way we think, feel, fight, unite, and pray. The history of natural disasters is a history of ourselves.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Interesting, but neither deep nor insightful
- By Tim on 12-29-18
By: Dr. Lucy Jones
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The Ocean of Churn
- By: Sanjeev Sanyal
- Narrated by: Abhishek Sharma
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
In this ambitious audiobook, best-selling author Sanjeev Sanyal chronicles the grand sweep of history from East Africa to Australia, conjuring the great cities of Angkor and Vijayanagar, medieval Arab empires, and Chinese "treasure fleets" in rich, vivid detail. He explores remote archaeological sites, maritime trading networks, and half-forgotten oral tales to challenge established historical narratives with fresh evidence. Shining new light on medieval geopolitics and long-lost cities, The Ocean of Churn is a mesmerizing journey into the heart of a vibrant civilization.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An unputdownable treatise on the history of Indian Ocean
- By Akash Mitra on 06-20-20
By: Sanjeev Sanyal
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Silent Cavalry
- How Union Soldiers from Alabama Helped Sherman Burn Atlanta—and Then Got Written Out of History
- By: Howell Raines
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 25
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 22
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 22
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist reveals the little-known story of the Union soldiers from Alabama who played a decisive role in the Civil War, and how they were scrubbed from the history books.
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5 out of 5 stars
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splendid
- By Amazon Customer on 01-03-24
By: Howell Raines
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Imperial Twilight
- The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age
- By: Stephen R. Platt
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 889
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 754
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 750
As one of the most potent turning points in the country's modern history, the Opium War has since come to stand for everything that today's China seeks to put behind it. In this dramatic, epic story, award-winning historian Stephen Platt sheds new light on the early attempts by Western traders and missionaries to "open" China even as China's imperial rulers were struggling to manage their country's decline and Confucian scholars grappled with how to use foreign trade to China's advantage.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Balanced readable narrative about the Opium Wars
- By Carl A. Gallozzi on 09-05-18
By: Stephen R. Platt
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Flashpoints
- The Emerging Crisis in Europe
- By: George Friedman
- Narrated by: Bruce Turk, George Friedman
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 760
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 656
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 662
George Friedman has forecasted the coming trends (politics, technology, population, and culture) of the next century in The Next 100 Years, and focused his predictions on the coming ten years in The Next Decade. Now, in Flashpoints, Friedman zooms in on the region that has, for 500 years, been the cultural hotbed of the world - Europe - and examines the most basic and fascinating building block of the region: culture.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Important Reading: Old Grievances Do Not Go Away
- By John on 02-21-15
By: George Friedman
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Sugar
- The World Corrupted from Slavery to Obesity
- By: James Walvin
- Narrated by: Roger Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4 out of 5 stars 42
How did a simple commodity, once the prized monopoly of kings and princes, become an essential ingredient in the lives of millions, before mutating yet again into the cause of a global health epidemic? Prior to 1600, sugar was a costly luxury, the domain of the rich. But with the rise of the sugar colonies in the New World over the following century, sugar became cheap, ubiquitous, and an everyday necessity. Less than 50 years ago, few people suggested that sugar posed a global health problem.
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2 out of 5 stars
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I should have listened to the other reviews
- By L. Bergman on 12-31-18
By: James Walvin
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The American Miracle
- Divine Providence in the Rise of the Republic
- By: Michael Medved
- Narrated by: Michael Medved
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 536
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 478
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Story5 out of 5 stars 476
The history of the United States displays an uncanny pattern: At moments of crisis, when the odds against success seem overwhelming and disaster looks imminent, fate intervenes to provide deliverance and progress. Historians may categorize these incidents as happy accidents, callous crimes, or the products of brilliant leadership, but the most notable leaders of the past 400 years have identified this good fortune as something else - a reflection of divine providence.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing Book
- By Larry on 12-01-16
By: Michael Medved
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As Long as Grass Grows
- The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock
- By: Dina Gilio-Whitaker
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 171
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 144
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Story5 out of 5 stars 143
The story of Native peoples’ resistance to environmental injustice and land incursions and a call for environmentalists to learn from the indigenous community’s rich history of activism.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Unbalanced Information
- By J. Scott on 08-30-22
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The Last Palace
- Europe's Turbulent Century in Five Lives and One Legendary House
- By: Norman Eisen
- Narrated by: Jeff Goldblum
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 240
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 212
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 209
When Norman Eisen moved into the US ambassador’s residence in Prague, returning to the land his mother had fled after the Holocaust, he was startled to discover swastikas hidden beneath the furniture in his new home. These symbols of Nazi Germany were remnants of the residence’s forgotten history, and evidence that we never live far from the past. From that discovery unspooled the twisting, captivating tale of four of the remarkable people who had called this palace home. Their story is Europe’s....
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great book despite goldblum’s narration
- By Fernando Ferrante on 01-19-19
By: Norman Eisen
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2020
- One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed
- By: Eric Klinenberg
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller, Eric Klinenberg
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
2020 will go down alongside 1914, 1929, and 1968 as one of the most consequential years in history. This riveting and affecting book is the first attempt to capture the full human experience of that fateful time. At the heart of 2020 are seven vivid profiles of ordinary New Yorkers—including an elementary school principal, a bar manager, a subway custodian, and a local political aide—whose experiences illuminate how Americans, and people across the globe, reckoned with 2020.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Does this reflect 2020 to me?
- By Donald Bullard on 05-26-24
By: Eric Klinenberg
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Metaphysical Animals
- How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life
- By: Clare Mac Cumhaill, Rachae Wiseman
- Narrated by: Alex Dunmore
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
The history of European philosophy is usually constructed from the work of men. In Metaphysical Animals, a pioneering group biography, Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman offer a compelling alternative. In the mid-twentieth century Elizabeth Anscombe, Mary Midgley, Philippa Foot, and Iris Murdoch were philosophy students at Oxford when most male undergraduates and many tutors were conscripted away to fight in the Second World War. Together, these young women, all friends, developed a philosophy that could respond to the war’s darkest revelations.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Book about nothing
- By Gerardo Naranjo Gonzalez on 06-14-22
By: Clare Mac Cumhaill, and others
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A Woman I Know
- Female Spies, Double Identities, and a New Story of the Kennedy Assassination
- By: Mary Haverstick
- Narrated by: Mary Haverstick
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
Independent filmmaker Mary Haverstick thought she’d stumbled onto the project of a lifetime—a biopic of aviation pioneer Jerrie Cobb, the key figure in a group of extraordinary women who in 1960 passed the same tests as the legendary male astronauts of the Mercury 7 but never went to space. Just as casting was set to begin, Haverstick received a mysterious warning from a government agent; soon she began to suspect that there was more to Jerrie’s story than what met the eye. As she dug deeper, she discovered that Jerrie’s life shadowed that of a mysterious CIA agent named June Cobb.
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5 out of 5 stars
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WOW!
- By Denise Freeman on 11-27-23
By: Mary Haverstick
What listeners say about Blaze of Light
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sean W. Egmon
- 02-03-21
Great lesson on facing adversity
I found this story very uplifting in a difficult time. I would thank Gary for sharing his story and making a difference in so many lives.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steve McAlpin
- 06-03-20
So Inspirational!
This book is helping me deal with demons from my own war. Thank you so much for sharing your story Gary and Lolly.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Wesley
- 03-26-20
Incredible story
I felt I was in Vietnam or in a cave or a hospital. People need to know the story of Gary Beikirch and he fellow Vietnam Veterans. His struggle was real and shows how faith can overcome the strongest of lifes heartaches.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- R. Frost
- 12-19-23
Amazing Story
I had heard of Gary Beikirch from YouTube documentaries, but never knew the full story of what he had endured. This is a biography, not an autobiography, like most of the books that I read. I can't imagine having to live through his post Vietnam experiences
I wish that all of the war protesters would read this story and reassess how they treated our vets.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Canlyn62
- 01-27-22
JUST WOW!
Thank you, to Gary, and ALL VETS! Regardless of the Branch, regardless of the War/Conflict, you deserve respect for doing the job others can't/won't do. THANK YOU!
THANK you Marcus for putting Gary's words to paper. His story..... words fail me.... it brought tears to my eyes.
Thank you Ray Porter, for bringing this book to life!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Travis
- 02-26-24
Easy listen
I liked the voice of the reader and the story of Gary wanting just to help people
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 7a2942
- 11-22-21
A true inspiration of service to our country!
A perfect story of how God works our life for the good of this world.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dave
- 11-29-23
Through God he was able to get his life in order.
All that he went through without giving up and that a lot of other people might gain something from this story
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- PJ
- 01-17-24
Great insight into PTSD
Being a Viet Nam era person I know that most veterans who saw horrific action don't talk about it except with other vets. This story gives others insight into what their loved ones went though. I remember the awful reception they got when they returned home. Being spit on and called baby killers. To go through the horror of war and come home to that had to be doubly difficult. Thank you, Gary Beikirch, for sharing your story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael L. Jernigan
- 04-09-20
Hope for the future
As a veteran of Iraq who was severely wounded this book gives me hope for the future of my own life.
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4 people found this helpful