(upbeat music)

- Passed over twice for promotion

and involuntarily discharged,

that's what happened toan Air Force Chaplain

after almost 30 years of service.

- Not only did it cost him his job,

he lost more than a million dollars

in pension and health benefits.

So why was he dismissed from the military?

Eric Phillips has more.

- Former Air Force Chaplain,Curt Cizek tells me,

his military career started going downhill

after his sermon that included scriptures

about sexual immorality.

He says never before had hebeen punished for preaching.

Now, he's hoping Christianswill stand with him.

Former Air Force Chaplain,Curt Cizek is unapologetic

about preaching the word.

One Sunday in 2013 atLackland Air Force Base

in San Antonio, he saysthat stance led to trouble.

- The message was about sinthat we don't think is that bad.

If you're having sex with somebody

that you're not married to,

then you need to stop, I said.

You know sometimes the Christian church

has gotten a reputationfor being prejudice.

Because we look at one sin, homosexuality,

and then we turn a blind eye

and don't say anythingabout heterosexual sin.

And that's hypocritical.

- [Eric] What happened nextturned into a domino effect

that ended with his involuntary discharge.

- Well, former Air ForceChaplain, Curt Cizek,

joins us now via Skype.

Chaplain, thanks somuch for being with us.

- Thank you.- Let's follow your career.

You went to West Point.

So how does somebody from West Point

then end up in seminary?

- So God called me out of the military

and ended up going back to my hometown,

to my home congregation.

And pastor there said, "Ithink you should be a pastor."

So I enrolled and absolutely enjoyed it.

And after planting a church,

God called me back into themilitary to serve those people

who are the bravest menand women in America.

- Okay.

What got you into the air force then?

- So I had been in the army.

It was basically theadministrative armed forces

for our church body.

The secretary was thereand she convinced me

to go back into the Air Force.

- Okay.

Well, let's take it fast forward then

to the complaints.

So somebody complained about your sermon

and what did they allege that you said.

- Yes, so since she misquoted me,

I'm gonna quote her directly.

She wrote in her complaint that I said,

"If you are homosexual,you're going to hell."

Now, a friend of mine,

her unit chaplain explainedthat chaplains preach

and teach according totheir religious beliefs.

And so she understood.

The problem was that we alsohad a lesbian commander working

in basic training andhere's what she is quoted

as saying about me.

She quoted me as saying that"Homosexuality was a sin

and that homosexuals would burn in hell."

So she didn't actually hear the sermon

but I don't know where either of them

are getting what I said,

because that's not what I said.

The story clip that you're already showed

basically says what I already said.

- The old Mark Twain adage,

"The lie gets to go around the world

before the truth gets its pants on."

So that seems to have happened to you.

And it's one of those thatas soon as this is out there

you start getting poorperformance reviews.

You then get passed over for promotion.

Were you ever told that itwas because of that sermon?

- Well, starting three daysafter I preached the sermon

all of the chaplainsin my chain of command,

my boss, his boss, his bossand his boss verbally counseled

me about the sermon.

So clearly they had anissue with the subject

that I was talking about.

Sexual immorality, basicallydo not commit adultery.

And then when I was in Afghanistan

a few weeks after I wasremoved from working

in basic training that'swhen the first time

that I really connected the dots.

I received a phone callfrom a First Sergeant

who was removed fromworking in basic training

by the lesbian commanderbecause he would not agree

with her on disciplining amilitary training instructor.

And then when I got back from Afghanistan,

I went and talked to mynew supervisor's boss,

Chaplain McCain.

Who let the cat out ofthe bag that the reason

for my removal was the sermon.

And another chaplain had been removed

for the same thing whileI was in Afghanistan.

- Did it cross your mind thatthe writing was on the wall

and you might wanna startlooking at leaving the service,

at least walking away with your pension.

I assume at this point intime you already had 20 years.

Did that ever cross your mind?

- So I assumed that whenthe military has said

that we can preach and teach according

to our religious beliefs.

Which has not onlyconstitutional amendment

but is also laid out forus in Air Force Regulations

that they actually meant itand that I would be exonerated.

There's a lot of administrative remedies

and I've gone through all of them now.

I thought for sure thatsomebody would say,

well, what was done to him was wrong.

Obviously that hasn't happened.

But I'm thankful that

at least Department ofDefense Inspector General

is re-looking into everythingthat happened to me.

- Well, when it finally came down to it

you weren't permitted to retire.

And so it seems like thisis some kind of vengeance

that they want to deny your pension,

they wanna deny your health benefits,

they wanna claim involuntary discharge

so that you don't get any of that.

Is that your view, is thissome kind of vengeance?

- Absolutely.

When the Obama Biden administration

had repealed Don't Ask, Don't Tell,

they assured us thatconservative Christians,

conservative other religionchaplains would be protected.

And so they made my case go away.

Senior Master Sergeant Philip Monk

and another chaplain Rashandra Singleton,

they made all of our cases go away.

That's three people in one unit

in six months that all got removed

for basically the same thing.

So the Obama Bidenadministration made it clear

that they didn't want theirDon't Ask, Don't Tell repeal,

they wanted it to go off without a hitch.

So they swept everythingunderneath the rug.

- Are they trying to makean example out of you

so that other chaplains sort of toe

this new party line,

don't speak against sexual sin.

Is that your view?

You're the shining example.

Here's what's going to happenif you cross this line.

- Yes, so there are some strong forces

in former administrationand in the Pentagon.

President talks about draining the swamp.

He doesn't just mean Washington D.C,

he means the Pentagon as well.

So he has fought back againstsome of their transgender

and homosexual agenda push

and the preventing of freespeech that has occurred

under the previousadministration, Obama Biden.

- Do you think there's any thought

that this might actually hurt recruitment

and specifically hurt trying to have

more chaplains come into the service?

- Well, they're trying to get rid

of all of the conservative chaplains.

I think that's a clear or to silence them.

And so, yeah.

so it's gonna hurt recruitmentfor conservative Christians,

conservative other religions as well

for coming in the military.

Because it's clear that wedon't stand on equal footing

when it comes to ourfirst amendment rights.

- We've got a viewer question.

This one comes in from YouTube.

"Were you aware of thepushback you would receive

from speaking the truth?

How has this situation changed your view

on the Lord, yourselfand the church today?

- I didn't expect thereto be any pushback there.

The Air Force's guidance to us

was absolutely perfectly clearthat we would not be censored

in any way when we're inspeaking in a religious service

or in religious instruction.

The experiences I've gonethrough have got me closer

I would say to some figures in the Bible

that went through some difficult times.

People like Job, story of Joseph,

have been really near and dear to my heart

as well as the story of Estherstanding up for the truth

when sometimes, we call itspeaking truth to power.

Sometimes it doesn't always gowell for the prophets of old

and also Christians today.

- Well thank you for standing, Curt Cizek.

Thank you also for being with us.

I know your case is up on appeal.

And so as viewers, if youwant to know how you can stand

with Curt and make your voice heard

and help him in his appeal,

you can go to our websiteCBNNEWS.com for more information.

We also have it on theCBN News Channel app,

so download that.

And again, Chaplain Cizek,

thank you for standing and thank you

for being with us today.

- Thank you so much.

- Terry.

- Well, coming up.

His plane went down in a ballof fire over enemy territory,

and no one knew if he was dead or alive.

(upbeat music)

- Of course I worried, I cried.

And the children, we prayevery night for daddy.

- So how did her husbandsurvive eight years

in the Vietnamese prison?

Find out, that's next.

(upbeat music)

Air Force Captain Carlyle Harris went down

in a blaze of fire.

His plane had been hit by the enemy

and Smitty as he was called,

had to eject deep intoNorth Vietnamese territory.

Thousands of miles away,

his wife and children didn'tknow if he lived or died.

(jet engine roaring)

- They wanted me to lead inthe first run at the target.

An exploding round hit my airplane.

(airplane exploding)

- They said, Mrs. Harris,Smitty has been shot down.

His plane was seen in a ball of fire

and there was no chute sighted.

- [Terry] For ColonelCarlisle Smitty Harris,

a childhood dream of beinga pilot became a reality

when he enlisted in theU.S Air Force in 1951

during the Korean war.

- I thought it was importantas support of our country.

And I really wanted to be a part of it.

- [Terry] The war endedbefore Smitty was able

to fly in Korea.

However, he earned his wings

and went on to advanced training.

And in 1959, whileassigned as a check pilot

at Bainbridge air base in Georgia

he met Louise who hemarried the same year.

- When we took our vows, we meant them.

- [Terry] Smitty and Louisehad no idea to what extent

those vows would be tested.

It was now the 60s

and the U.S conflict inVietnam was escalating.

- [Announcer] Continuing Viet-con attacks

on America installationtrigger a further escalation

of U.S involvement.

- I was hoping I would go to Vietnam.

I really wanted to be a part of it.

That was my training, andwe trained and trained

and trained to do that job very well.

- [Terry] Smitty got his wish

and he and his family shipped to Okinawa.

By this time he and Louisehad two young daughters

and a baby on the way.

- It was a pretty big move,

but I knew that he would bethere and we would be fine.

- [Terry] On April 4th, 1965,not long after settling,

Smitty received an order tobomb a bridge in North Vietnam.

- There was just allkinds of guns down there.

And so every gun onthe ground is shooting.

I dropped my bomb, an explodinground hit my airplane.

Immediately, I lost my engine.

And with no power and it on fire,

I ejected from the airplane.

- [Terry] Meanwhile,Louise received the news

that every military spouse dreads.

- Of course I worried, I cried.

And the children we'd prayevery night for daddy.

- [Terry] Smitty was quickly captured

and taken as a prisoner of war.

The interrogations were brutal as he

and other prisoners wouldendure all manner of torture.

But Smitty found the strength to resist.

- You don't have a choice.

Training was part of it.

We knew deep down,

you had to believe insomething bigger than yourself.

We believe that was God.

And we prayed

- [Terry] Several months passed.

Still not knowing the fate of Smitty,

Louise and the childrenwere sent back home

to Tupelo, Mississippi.

Then one day she got a phone call

- The postmaster called me and he said

"Mrs. Harris, I may be crazybut I think I have a letter

from your husband here."

And it was like manna from heaven.

- [Terry] Louise finally hadproof that Smitty was alive.

His letters would continue to trickle

in as the years passedand he still wasn't home.

- He always tried toreassure me that he was well

and that he was being well-treated,which I knew wasn't so.

When I would pray everynight, take care of him.

And that if he was hurtingto help soothe him,

and it made me feel a connection to him.

- [Terry] Meanwhile, Smittyknew that in order to survive

they needed to somehowencourage each other.

So he introduced themto a World War II form

of communication, using tapping sounds.

- So I taught them the tap code

and the people in the other cells.

And then couple of new POW'scame in a couple of left,

and wherever any pow wentand had communication

with another POW they wouldteach them the tap code.

- [Terry] Because hope was kept alive,

hundreds of POW's liveswere strengthened and saved.

- [Announcer] For thePOWs and their loved ones,

the long and lonely times are ended

as the men boardevacuation planes in Hanoi.

- [Terry] On January 27th, 1973,

eight years after Smittyhad been captured,

the Paris Peace Accord was signed

and Smitty and thousandsof POW's went home.

- Thank you God.

(laughing)

Yeah, I was just overcome really.

- I always believed he'd come home.

I had never dreamed in my wildest dreams

that it would be that long.

- [Terry] Smitty went on towrite about his experience

as a Vietnam POW in his book, "Tap Code."

It's been almost 50 yearssince the Harris family

was reunited and they havenever dwelled on the negative,

choosing instead toembrace the optimism Smitty

has always clung to.

- Every day is such a blessing to us

and we enjoy every day so much.

- More by example thananything else I guess,

we try to instill the same kind of values

in our children and grandchildren.

That is going to be a greatinfluence in their lives.

- That war took sucha toll on our country,

and certainly as you can see on the people

who served in the military.

Gordon was just saying thatvery often in those scenarios,

the people who surviveare those who simply

can tenaciously hang on to hope.

- It's one of the great lessons,

if there are great lessons belearned from The Holocaust.

But you read the survivors stories

and it's pretty universal.

Those who can have hope in the middle

of horrific circumstances.

If you can maintain hope, thenthat's the key to survival.

That's the key to keeping hope alive.

And for Smitty, you lookat his life and you go,

how did you make it through all of that?

And the hope of learning a tap code

and the ability to teacha tap code to others

so that you could keep hope alive.

- And the ability to berelational with others

in the same situation, I think is--

- And establish community.

- Well, you can learnmore about Smitty's story

by getting his book,it's called "Tap Code,"

and you can pick up a copy nationwide.

- Well still to come.

It can help your marriage,your faith and more.

- It's also been shownto be helpful with people

who are having somekind of physical ailment

actually reduce negative healthsymptoms and increase sleep.

- The amazing benefits of gratitude.

That's next, stay with us.

(upbeat music)

Thanksgiving is happening this week.

And if you're like me,2020 has not been a year

for a whole lot of thanksgiving,but let's look at this.

Gratefulness is something we can practice,

not just for Thanksgivingand not just in 2020,

but we can practice allyear long, all our life.

Well, studies show thatan attitude of gratitude

builds better relationshipsand makes you healthier.

Take a look

- [Lorie] For thousands of years scripture

has been very clear, "Give thanks."

And now health expertsare saying the same thing.

- Studies have shown that people

with a more gratefuldisposition actually engage

in more exercise, they eat healthier.

They take care of themselves better

by getting regular physical examinations.

It's also been shown to be helpful

with people who are havingsome kind of physical ailment

actually reduce negative healthsymptoms and increase sleep.

- [Lorie] The research is clear.

Grateful people handle adversity better,

experience less PTSD, clinicaldepression and anxiety.

- Gratitude has been shownto actually help cope

with stress and negative life events.

Which of course stresscan be a major contributor

to physical problems.

Stress certainly tends todepress our immune system,

makes us more vulnerableto disease, to sickness.

- [Lorie] As a bonus,taking this extra step

can help your family and friends.

- Research is showing moreand more that the quality

of our relationshipshas a tremendous impact

on the quality of our health.

And gratitude actually has been shown

to help improve the qualityof one's relationship.

- Most people aren't naturally grateful.

That's why here at ReviveOur Hearts Ministry,

they actually teachpeople how to cultivate

an attitude of gratitude.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss leads the ministry

which includes a nationallybroadcast radio program.

She says, gratitudestarts with telling God

you don't owe me anything good.

- All I deserved was hell.

And you've given me somuch more than that.

You've given me heaven and eternal life

in Christ Jesus and your Holy Spirit.

Oh Lord, if you nevergave me anything else good

in this life than havingsaved me eternally from sin,

I am one blessed woman and I will spend

all of eternity giving you thanks.

- [Lorie] Nancy saysdeveloping this spirit

is like building muscle, it takes work.

- Gratitude is, it'ssupposed to be a lifestyle,

it's a habit.

And unfortunately it getseclipsed by bad habits.

The whining, thecomplaining, the murmuring,

the pointing out thingsthat we wish were different,

but we can change that aswe lift our eyes upward,

off of our circumstances andsay, Lord, you are amazing.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

- [Lorie] In her book,"Choosing Gratitude,"

Nancy recommends makingthanksgiving a priority

for an entire month.

Also keep a journal,writing down all blessings,

big and small.

- And I found that thatdiscipline helped me

to be conscious of, mindful of things

that otherwise I might've forgotten,

I might not have noticed.

And I think that's why Psalm 103 says,

"Forget not all his benefits."

- [Lorie] And while you have your pen out,

write thank you letters topeople who've blessed you.

- It can be emails, it can be texts,

and I do it that way too.

But I try to write some old-fashioned,

long hand thank you notes to say,

I'm so grateful that you thought of me,

for your kindness, forwhat you invested in me.

And you know, you'llfind that if you write

that kind of note,

you'll probably shock some people

because it's so rare today.

- [Lorie] And don't stop there,

express thanksgiving outloud several times a day.

- We're much better atsaying what we wish we had,

what we have that we wish we didn't have

rather than saying thankyou to God and to others

for what we do have.

- [Lorie] So for betterhealth, make a conscious effort

to give thanks.

A lot of it every day.

It's not easy but well worth the effort.

Lorie Johnson, CBN News.

- Well, there's a new thoughtfor you for this Thanksgiving.

Gratitude takes work.

And I know in 2020, there's awhole lot to complain about.

And you look at all thethings that have happened

in weather, in our economy,with this horrible disease,

the turmoil of elections,all of that going on,

the turmoil that's currently in the world.

It's kind of hard to stay with an attitude

of gratitude when you'rereading the newspaper.

But what are the benefits of doing that?

And how can you change things?

So bless the Lord oh my soul,

and forget not all his benefits.

It's tough to bless God

when you're complaining at the same time,

but that's a wonderful scripture.

Bless the Lord oh my soul andforget not all his benefits

who forgives all your iniquities,

who heals all your diseases,

who restores your youth.

Now that's a good one.

(laughing)

I really liked that one.

So if you want restoration,

if you want health, ifyou want all these things,

realize gratitude is work,

but boy, there are benefitslike a lot of benefits to it.

What are you grateful for?

- Well, much but two thingsthat come to mind immediately

are the consistent faithfulness of God

because he is who he says he is.

And boy, don't you like todepend on that today, yes.

And health, because Ithink the older you get

the more you realizethat the ability to be

with those around you and toengage in things in the world

really is a by-product of the fact

that you're healthy enough to do that.

So I'm grateful for that.

- Yes, if you have yourhealth, you have everything.

- Yeah there's some truthto that, how about you?

- I grew up listening tothat from my grandparents.

And I was like, they don't know anything.

Here I am in my 60s going,

yeah, they got something there.

(laughing)

- On the money.

- What do you know?

- So what are you grateful for?

- I'm grateful for my family.

I'm certainly grateful forwhat God has done in my life.

And I'm grateful for CBN.

It's wonderful to be ableto come to work every day

and really enjoy it and saywho else gets the opportunities

that we have to notjust preach the gospel,

but to help people in very tangible ways

and to spend our timeand our energy thinking

of new inventive things and saying,

God, show us a new way.

We wanna help even more people.

So yeah

- And it's not just us, we'vegot Maritsa writes and says,

"I'm thankful for my amazing 86 year old,

prayer warrior mother."

Boy, I guess so.

- Linda says, "I'm thankfulfor my granddaughters."

Lots of people are thankful.

Be thankful this Thanksgiving.

"In everything give thanks,

for this is the will of Godfor you in Christ Jesus."

So give thanks today and God bless.

We'll see you tomorrow.

(upbeat music)