Stories of Faith and Courage From World War II (29 page)

Very few people in any walk of life have ever been so directly rewarded for faithfulness in doing their job.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

—Colossians 3:23 24

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AY 20

Thanksgiving

In November 1942 the USS
San Francisco
was part of an American fleet engaged in one of several bitterly fought night actions in the waters off Guadalcanal. Lt. Cdr. Herbert Schonland was performing his duties as Damage Control Officer at his battle station below decks when the ship received a series of devastating hits. Holes were ripped in the hull causing flooding and fires in the boiler and engine rooms. One shell demolished the bridge, killing the admiral, captain, executive officer, and many others.

Schonland was soon informed that he was senior officer aboard and in command of the ship. Deciding that his most important duty was keeping the ship afloat, he remained below decks, systematically making repairs and extinguishing fires. Communicating with the bridge by messenger, he steered the ship and operated the engines from below. His nightlong struggle succeeded in saving the
San Francisco
and her crew. For his “ extreme heroism and courage above and beyond the call of duty ” he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Roosevelt.
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Commander Schonland later wrote a prayer for the
Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Prayer Book
, which he described in this way: “ I addressed the crew after engaging superior enemy Japanese forces on November 1213, 1942, and I consider this a prayer of thanksgiving for all of us who came through ”:

Most merciful Father, our humble and gracious thanks for the safe deliverance through the raging inferno of battle when mere boys turned veterans, hard and sturdy, in brief moments. Our hearts are heavy with grief for those who have fallen during the “Call of Duty;” shipmates and friends whose loss can never be replaced. Our sympathy is extended to the loved ones whose suffering can only be relieved with the thought that: “He could do no more than give his life for his country in a cause that is just.” They, forever, shall be an inspiration to all fighting men and their spirit and deeds shall never die. We who have come through can say: Thank God for the U.S.S. San Francisco and the crew that made her great. Amen.
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Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

—Psalm 50:14–15 (KJV)

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AY 21

Love Your Enemy

Enemy resistance on Guadalcanal ended when the last Japanese troops left the island on February 9, 1943, during a nighttime evacuation. A few days later Father Frederic Gehring accompanied a patrol to Cape Esperance, the sight of the last Japanese withdrawal. During their search for maps and documents the group was surprised by the appearance of four ragged, half-starved Japanese soldiers. Under the watchful eyes of the Americans, three of them raised their hands, submitting themselves to capture. The fourth collapsed on the beach.

Gehring moved to help the man up, but someone said, “Let him die there, Padre. Who needs him?” The chaplain had a different agenda:

I shook my head, bent over and picked him up. Then I carried him gingerly to the boat. Lieutenant Merson smiled thoughtfully at me. “For six months, the Japs have soaked this island in blood,” he said. “Not only did they kill so many of your boys, but they massacred missionaries, women, and harmless natives, and nearly massacred your little Patsy Li (an orphan girl rescued by the chaplain). Yet when one of their poor devils falls on his face in front of you, you pick him up lice and all and tote him like a baby. I salute you, Padre. You really do love your enemies!”
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We might expect this kind of tender mercy from a “man of God.” However, few of us have experienced the trauma of Guadalcanal. What we see in Chaplain Gehring surely is not of human origin. An attitude and action such as this flow from one source: the indwelling spirit of Jesus Christ. From this inexhaustible fountain we see mercy pour out of a man exposed to months of fear, despair, and anger. There has to be a divine origin for this kind of love.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

—Romans 12:21

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AY 22

Nails in a Sure Place

Dan Snaddon spent most of World War II as a prisoner of war doing forced labor in Japanese work camps. Throughout his ordeal he was sustained by a powerful faith in Jesus Christ that had been an integral part of his life since childhood. He grew up in the small village of Tillicoultry, Scotland, where godly parents and a warm church profoundly influenced his life. He described the process of spiritual awakening in simple terms:

My conversion was unspectacular. There were no emotional experiences, no blinding lights, but looking back over my life one can see God’s hand leading in definite steps toward conversion. I believe that my Sunday School teachers played a big part… Gospel texts were greatly used in gently leading me to Christ; they were as nails in a sure place.
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A day eventually came when someone in his church that he knew and respected asked him, “What will you do with Jesus, Dan? ” His friend quoted John 3:16 to him.

I was expecting this: somehow I knew it would happen. I knew those words by heart, but somehow they were different that night, the meaning was clear and from the depth of my young heart I said, “I will take Christ as my Savior now.” Immediately a great peace filled my heart, my joy knew no bounds. I had to tell my dad and mom, my grandparents, everybody. As I look back on that day I consider it the greatest in my life.
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Dan Snaddon ended his story with a comment meant for all of us privileged to read it: “ Dear reader, as you eagerly press on into the contents of this book, may I urge you to pause for a moment’s reflection? Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Before another minute passes, why not trust Him and be saved.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

—John 3:16

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AY 23

To Die Is Gain

Dan Snaddon was taken prisoner when Singapore fell to the Japanese early in the war. Cruel guards, scarce food, and hard labor made his life one of total misery. It somehow got even worse when he was sent deep into the jungle of Thailand to build the so-called ”Railway of Death.” There, dejected and broken men labored in tropical heat in spite of being naked, sick, and crazed by hunger and thirst. The guards were quick to become enraged over any apparent rule violation.

Snaddon became the focus of the guards’ attention after being caught giving aid to a Chinese prisoner. He was beaten into unconsciousness, revived, and beaten again. At this point he could only lean on his childhood faith:

Being brought back to consciousness for the second time, I felt that I was living my last few moments on earth. Strange as it may seem I was not loathe to let go the strings of life. The words of Paul were my constant inspiration, “To die is gain.” Lifting my heart to the Lord I prayed, “Dear Father I am ready to go or stay at your command.” The presence of my precious Savior was so real, His love in which He had enclosed me was impregnable and impervious to the threats of my barbaric assailants. Thus fortified, the inner peace and radiance burst through the filth, the scars and the coagulated blood, and formed a smile the onlookers said that it was a heavenly smile. The furious Japanese soldiers stared in disbelief; there was some Power here which they had never encountered before and could not understand.
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From this point the guards seemed powerless to continue with the beatings. Dan was left alone to be cared for by his comrades, who were deeply impressed by this incident. He heard them say: “ This is a faith worth having,” and “ This is a God worth trusting.” As Snaddon himself said, “ Eternity alone will reveal the work of God that was done in the hearts of many of these men.”
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Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

—Deuteronomy 31:6

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AY 24

Shipboard Communion

During the Pacific campaign the Marines became very familiar with troopships, or attack transports as they were designated by the

Navy. The President Adams was typical of the class, converted from civilian cargo use in 1941. Capt. Felix Johnson took command in early 1943 in time to move troops to Guadalcanal and Bougainville. His crew of sixty-five officers and six hundred enlisted contained only one career Navy man: himself. His executive officer was a New York broker, the 1
^st
lieutenant was a Sears Roebuck salesman, the engineer was a power plant worker from California, and the navigator was an ROTC graduate from Yale.

In darkness on November 1, 1943, the President Adams entered Empress Augusta Bay on Bougainville with twelve other attack transports and eleven destroyers. Her troops were to go ashore at 7:30 a.m. the next day with the rest of the 3
^rd
Marine Division. Knowing the island was heavily defended there was a lot of apprehension among the Marines. Captain Johnson described the actions of the Navy chaplain during the night:

I had a wonderful young Baptist chaplain from Texas on board, a junior lieutenant. Before the men landed he had something like twelve hundred men to give communion to, so he was up the whole night before they debarked. I remember that he came up on the bridge about four o’clock saying, “Captain, would you like to have communion? I can give you four minutes’ worth.” That was the most impressive communion I ever had.
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We know that the purpose of communion is to strengthen our union with Jesus Christ. Bread and wine are taken as symbols of his body and blood, in accordance with the tradition established by Jesus himself at the “Last Supper” with his disciples. Countless young Marines on this night received this reassurance through a Navy chaplain. For some, it would be their own “last supper.” We should all approach this sacrament with the same sense of urgent necessity.

Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”

—Mark 14:22–24

Marine jungle fighters on Bougainville. (National Archives)

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AY 25

Up to God

Louis Zamperini was one of the war’s most interesting characters. After some troubled teenage years he became a well-known distance runner and made the 1936 Olympic team. During the games he so impressed Adolf Hitler that he was summoned for an audience. In 1941 he volunteered for the Army Air Corps and earned his wings as a navigator on B-24 bombers. His squadron deployed to the Pacific and flew long-range missions out of different island bases.

On May 27, 1943, he was with his crew on a search-and-rescue mission looking for a lost B-25. Flying low due to cloud cover, his B-24 suddenly lost power to one engine. When an inexperienced engineer shut down the other good engine on that wing, the aircraft went out of control. Zamperini described the feeling:

The most frightening experience in life is going down in a plane. Those moments when you fall through the air, waiting for the inevitable impact, are like riding a roller coaster with one important difference. In a plummeting plane there’s only sheer horror, and the idea of your very imminent death is incomprehensible. You think, this is it. It’s over. I’m going to die. You know with 100 per cent of your being that the end is unavoidable. Yet a part of you still believes you can fight and survive no matter what your mind knows. It’s not so strange. Where there’s still life, there’s still hope. What happens is up to God.
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