Inside a concrete schoolhouse that once echoed with children’s laughter, an elderly woman sits against painted yellow walls, tears streaming down her weathered face. Her family members can’t walk, she explains through sobs to the American missionary-soldier kneeling beside her. They need help evacuating before the bombs start falling again.
This heartbreaking scene unfolded yesterday in southern Shan State, Myanmar, as thousands of civilians fled their homes after Burma Army forces launched a systematic assault on villages east of Pekhon Lake. Leading the rescue efforts is retired U.S. Army Major David Eubank, founder of Free Burma Rangers, whose teams of American/international volunteers and ethnic resistance fighters fare risking their lives to evacuate the wounded and displaced.
Outside the school, two trucks full of Rangers stand ready—a mix of American veterans, second-generation missionaries, and local ethnic graduates of ranger training, acting as translators. These vehicles will evacuate as many wounded as possible, even if it means some Rangers must walk out on foot. It’s this kind of sacrificial commitment that defines the organization Eubank founded in 1997 after tribal leaders specifically requested “a warrior following Jesus” to help their people.
One of the primary rules of FBR is “A Ranger cannot run if the people he is helping cannot run.”
The Rangers represent a unique coalition: roughly half American military veterans, half second-generation missionaries (with significant overlap between the two), working alongside nearly 1,000 trained ethnic Rangers from across Myanmar’s diverse communities. Though faith-driven with the motto “do this for love,” the organization requires no religious conversion—many ethnic Rangers are Buddhist, united only by their commitment to save lives under fire.
What makes this crisis particularly relevant to Americans is the growing role of Communist China in perpetuating Myanmar’s suffering while advancing its own strategic interests. China has dramatically increased military support to Myanmar’s junta, delivering advanced FTC-2000G fighter jets, providing pilot training, and supplying drone technology specifically designed to crush resistance movements. Beijing has gotten off the fence to shore up a faltering junta and marginalize what it sees as a too pro-American National Unity Government.
Myanmar has become China’s biggest supplier of heavy rare earths, providing about 40% of supplies including dysprosium, yttrium and terbium—critical minerals worth $1.4 billion annually that power electric vehicles, wind turbines, and military equipment. Since April, China has weaponized this dependence by halting rare earth exports to pressure President Trump, demonstrating how Beijing uses Myanmar’s resources as bargaining chips against America. This gives China leverage over U.S. manufacturing and undermines American competitiveness in critical technologies.
The strategic implications extend to maritime dominance. China’s Myanmar Economic Corridor includes the strategic Kyaukphyu port providing China access to the Bay of Bengal, part of Beijing’s plan to avoid the “Malacca Dilemma” and challenge U.S. Seventh Fleet dominance in the Indo-Pacific. This deep-sea port creates a direct route for Chinese access to the Indian Ocean, potentially disrupting oil shipments from the Middle East while positioning China to threaten key shipping lanes.
The timing is strategic. China is now a primary driver behind the junta’s planned elections for 2025, seeking to legitimize a puppet regime while American influence wanes.
Yesterday’s assault began with intense rocket-assisted 120mm mortar fire, followed by waves of standard 120mm mortar shelling that sent shock waves through peaceful farming communities. Joint forces from the military junta and the Pa-O National Organization launched coordinated ground assaults against several villages, including Saung Nankhe, Lwe Baw, Nam Paw Lon, La He, and Pinne Kone.
The exodus reveals the desperation of families under communist-allied bombardment. Makeshift tractors built for rice paddies now strain under the weight of multiple generations fleeing terror. Motorcycles designed for two riders support entire families of five, with infants strapped to mothers’ backs and elderly relatives clinging for survival. Small pickup trucks sag under impossible loads—rice sacks, cooking pots, and crying children creating miles-long convoys on narrow dirt roads.
“We had 11 wounded yesterday and heavy shelling last night from rocket-assisted 120mm mortars as well as regular 120mm mortars,” reported Eubank from the frontlines. Unlike typical humanitarian organizations that operate from safe distances, the Rangers’ combination of American military expertise and local knowledge enables them to embed directly with resistance forces and civilians, providing emergency medical care while documenting atrocities.
The human cost continues climbing. On June 6, a 19-year-old student from Nam Paw Lon village was killed by an artillery shell fired by the joint military column. The attacks have forced over 1,000 additional residents from Taungpo Kwel and Hopan villages to join the exodus, creating a humanitarian crisis that barely registers in mainstream American media.
What’s remarkable about Eubank’s approach is his Christ-centered philosophy even toward enemies. “We pray for the Burma military as if they were our children,” he explains. “We thank God for the opportunities to treat wounded Burma soldiers and carry them to safety”. This represents authentic Christian witness in action—providing aid without political strings while standing firmly against oppression.
The broader implications extend well beyond Myanmar’s borders. China has sealed its frontier and pressured pro-democracy forces to surrender territory hard-won at great human cost—all to prevent disruptions to its investments and strategic interests. This reflects a broader pattern of Chinese interference that directly threatens American influence and strategic objectives across Southeast Asia.
While China expands its authoritarian influence by supporting brutal regimes, a small handful of Americans—nearly all of them Christians and many of them veterans—continue to show that American values like faith, courage, and sacrificial love remain the world’s most powerful force for freedom. The question now is whether the United States will support these faith-based aid organizations and ethnic resistance forces striving to build a constitutional republic modeled on American principles—or abandon the field to Chinese domination.
“My biggest prayer is Burma Army stopped,” Eubank concluded from the field. “Thanks, brother. In Jesus’ name.”
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