Eight months into Dave Roever’s tour of duty in Vietnam, a phosphorous grenade he was poised to throw exploded in his hand.

A sniper’s shot had missed his head — but hit the grenade. He was burned beyond recognition and spent the next 14 months in the hospital.

Roever, who is from Texas, spoke to a packed sanctuary Sunday morning at the First Assembly of God Church. His evangelical message, packed with humor, is one of hope.

He used his life as an example, drawing upon his war experience to offer the audience a message of courage and survival.

“Don’t lose your tears, your passion, your hope,” he said as many people sat weeping, listening to his story.

Thirty-four years after the explosion, the U.S. Navy awarded Roever a Purple Heart, along with several other medals. Because of his war-time service his speeches are welcomed by military personal deployed in Iraq and around the world.

“I don’t care what you think of the war,” Roever said. “I care what you think of the troops.”

Bradley Hearon, also of Texas, accompanied Roever, delivering the same message of hope and survival through salvation — but the road he traveled was different.

Hearon became disfigured at 19, when a mobile methamphetamine lab in his 1979 El Camino blew up, burning 80 percent of his body. He spent seven months in the hospital and it took him over a year to learn to walk again.

Hearon, who will turn 25 in three weeks, spends his days speaking to any group that will listen to him warning against the dangers of drugs.

“I preach hell, fire and redemption,” he said. “I’ve been through hell, got burned by the fire and come to redemption. My heart is to speak in every venue in the world and tell people what a testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ I am, because it’s only by his grace I’m still here.”

Roever and Hearon have known each other for many years. Together they take their message to churches, schools, luncheons, professional gatherings and meetings.

“Dave didn’t call me because I’m pretty,” Hearon said. “I’m not a typical drug user. I’m a pastor’s kid raised up in the church to know right from wrong. But experimenting (with drugs) turned me into a junkie with a needle in my arm.”

Hearon asked the congregation to consider if they are leaders or followers.

“If you are leading, how are you leading?” he asked.

Hearon said American society has lost its need for a savior, and suggested that Jesus Christ is the only way to fill the void in the hearts of so many in today’s world.

Hearon hopes to send a message to young people to be thoughtful about who their friends are and how they can be influenced by them.

“Show me you friends and I’ll show you your future,” he said. “The people that are important in your life, who you look at as role models, that is who will influence you the most in life.”

He hopes to raise awareness about what meth use looks like. If people are armed with information, it will help them come together to fight against drugs in their neighborhoods, he said.

“It’s a war we are fighting on America’s turf,” Hearon said. “We fight that by coming together under one name: Jesus.”

He left with this message to young people: “Every time you are tempted to smoke a joint or to drink a beer, remember these hands — this face,” he said. “These scars I bear are exactly what happens to you on the inside every time you use drugs.”

Reporter Alana Listoe:447-4081 or alana.listoe@helenair.com