During the North African Campaign, a bunch of soldier boys had been on a long hike and they arrived in a little town called Casino. The next morning being Sunday several of the boys went to church. A sergeant commanded the boys in church and after the Chaplain read the prayer the text was taken up next. Those of the boys who had a prayer book took them out. This one boy had only a deck of cards, so he spread them out. The sergeant saw the cards and said, "Soldier, put away those cards. "After the services were over, the soldier was taken prisoner and brought before the Provost Marshal.

The Marshal said, "Sergeant, why have you brought this man here for playing cards in church. Sir, and what have you to say for yourself, son?" "Much sir," replied the soldier. The Marshall said, "I hope so for if not I shall punish you more than any man was ever punished." The soldier said, "Sir, I have been on the march for about six days. I had neither Bible nor prayer book but I hope to satisfy you, sir, with the purity of my conscience." And, with that the soldier started his story.

"You see, sir, when I look at the Ace it reminds me that there is but one God.
And the duce reminds me that the Bible is divided into two parts, the Old and the New Testament.
When I see the 3, I think of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost,
and when I see the 4, I think of the 4 Evangelists who preached the Gospel. There was Matthew, Mark, Lukeand John.
When I see the 5, it reminds me of the 5 wise virgins who trimmed their lamps. There were 10 of them, 5 were wise and were saved, 5 were foolish and were shut out.
When I see the 6, it reminds me that in 6 days God made this great heaven and earth.
When I see the 7, it reminds me that on the 7th day God rested from his great work.
When I see the 8, I think of the 8 righteous persons God saved when he destroyed this earth. There was Noah, his wife, their sons and their wives.
When I see the 9, I think of the lepers our Savior cleansed and nine out of the ten did not even thank Him.
When I see the 10, I think of the 10 Commandments God handed down to Moses on a table of stone.
When I see the King, it reminds me there is but one King, God almighty.
And when I see the Queen, I think of the blessed Virgin Mary who is Queen of Heaven and the Jack of Nave as the devil.
When I count the number of spots on a deck of cards, I find 365, the number of days in a year.
There are 52 cards, the number of weeks in a year.
There are four suits, the number of weeks in a month.
There are 12 picture cards, the number of months in a year.
There are 13 tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter.
So you see, sir, my pack of cards serves me as a bible, an almanac and a prayer book. And friends, the story is true. I know, I was that soldier."