Stories of Faith and Courage From World War II (40 page)

I agree with the observation that God doesn’t squint through bombsights or pick targets for destruction in war. The title of the book mentioned doesn’t necessarily imply that either, but is instead intended to convey the idea that God was there with the author, protecting him during his missions. Others, including myself, have also been troubled by the title of this book, but for a different reason. If God is our copilot, then the implication is that he is along for the ride, watching out for us and protecting us during dangerous moments. However, if he is the pilot, then he has the controls. The bumper sticker says it best:

If God Is Your Co-pilot,

YOU ARE IN THE WRONG SEAT

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the L
ORD
, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

—Jeremiah 29:11

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ULY 21

A Prayer of Thanks

Ed Brandt stared up at the German Me-262 diving directly toward him. From the nose compartment of his B-26 bomber, he had a clear view. The yellow-nose jet bore in straight at his aircraft and then passed close in front, without firing his cannon. There was little time to enjoy this “good fortune.” Ahead, another six-plane formation seemed to erupt as a B-26 exploded and crashed into two others. The intercom came alive with shouting gunners calling out enemy aircraft.

On April 26, 1945, the 17
^th
Bombing Group made an all-out effort to destroy the German airbase at Lechfield, home of the new German jet fighter, the Me-262. With an incredible airspeed outclassing Allied fighters, these aircraft were proving a serious threat. This raid was opposed by large numbers of the deadly Me-262s and proved to be the most costly of the war for the 17
^th
. When his ship landed at home base Brandt learned that most of his squadron had not returned. He and his crew said a prayer of thanks for having survived this battle, which turned out to be their last combat mission of the war.

Years later Ed Brandt learned that one of the German pilots involved in the Lechfield battle had written an account of his part in the action. He described how he had dived on a formation of B-26s only to have his 20mm cannon malfunction when he pressed the trigger. This was probably the occurrence that saved Brandt and his fellow crewmen on that day. He could only reiterate his prayer of thanks to God for another miraculous occurrence that had enabled him to survive one of the most dangerous missions of the war.
²⁸⁸

When I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the L
ORD
has been good to you. For you, O L
ORD
, have delivered my soul from death.

—Psalm 116:68

P-51 Mustang fighter. (U. S. Dept. of Defense)

P-47 Thunderbolt fighter. (U. S. Dept. of Defense)

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ULY 22

Repetitive Training

Chip Bork was on his second strafing run trying to knock out a German tank when “all hell broke loose.” Ground fire ripped through his P-47 fighter, wounding him severely and starting a fire in the cockpit. In a state of shock and semiconsciousness, he was only vaguely aware of the next few moments. His first clear recollection was a loud pop as he looked up to see his parachute open above him and himself floating free of his spiraling aircraft.

Later, witnesses helped him piece together what happened. When the fire started he turned his plane upside down, unlatched and opened the canopy. He unfastened his seat belt and pushed the stick forward to safely bail out. Then he pulled the rip cord to deploy his chute. He remembered none of this. He was thankful that he had his Catechism and Prayer Book in his pocket at the time, and felt that it was “a miracle that I survived.” He was also thankful for the training that had prepared him for this moment:

I would quarrel about doing certain things over and over, things that I felt I already knew how to do, but my instructor insisted that I do them again just to make sure that I understood and got it right. I have often thought back to the day when I was shot down over St. Lo, and the sub-conscious actions I took to save my life in that emergency situation. I must give credit to heroes of mine, those very farsighted Pilot Training Instructors, for the grueling and repetitive training they put me through. I shall never forget them.
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This story is a tribute to demanding teachers everywhere. I have the same affectionate respect for my high school algebra teacher, Mr. S. L. Lemmon. He was the toughest teacher I ever had. Under his wary eye generations of students did the hard, repetitive work necessary for a solid grounding in algebra. We are blessed to have educators who set high standards and who have the moral courage to hold themselves and their students to them. Such teachers are surely doing God’s work in this world and richly deserve our appreciation.

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

—James 3:1

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ULY 23

Sixty-two Missions and an Outcast

A World War II pilot told a sad story about a member of his squadron. He called him Captain “Johnson” for sake of anonymity. This man suffered extensive injury from a bad parachute landing when his aircraft was shot down on a bombing mission over Germany. With sixty-two missions to his credit, he only needed three more to go home. However, he refused to fly again. This became a source of great controversy within the squadron where most felt that, “If I have to fly, then he has to fly.” This festered for a while until one day he was gone.

Fifteen years later the squadron had a reunion, and our storyteller relates what happened when a certain member appeared:

Who should walk in but our old friend Captain Johnson. No one spoke to him. Many just turned their backs on him. I felt sorry for him. But while we were risking our necks over Germany and losing good men, he was curled up and whining under a blanket. He flew with us, but not a single man considered him to be one of us.
²⁹⁰

I understand the attitude of these airmen who served their country so honorably, and I intend no criticism of them. They earned the right to feel how they felt. I relate this story simply to illustrate the contrast between the value systems of our world and that of God’s kingdom. In this world Captain Johnson flew sixty-two missions, fell apart, and became an outcast. In the world of our Savior, Jesus Christ, he could have done the wrong thing sixty-two times and still have had a way to reclaim his status as “one of us.” Repentance would be required, but forgiveness would be certain.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

—Matthew 18:21–22

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ULY 24

The Greatest Compliment

The mission was a navigator’s nightmare. The bombing run to Karlsruhe should have been an eight-hour trip, but bad weather forced the formation to make frequent course changes. Frank Federici was lead navigator for a flight of six B-24s and felt that they were “touring Germany.” By the time they were over the target he was hearing complaints from the other aircraft that fuel and oxygen were in short supply.

At this point Federici recommended a complete departure from the planned route that had been ordered for the mission. He took his lead aircraft down to an altitude of 500 feet and headed straight for home base, ignoring orders. At such low altitude he had to do the navigating job of his life. Cloud formations required constant maneuvering and new sets of calculations for each course change. He said later, “I could have used one hundred twenty seconds in a minute instead of sixty!”
²⁹¹

Federici reached his base in England with ten minutes fuel to spare. However, instead of congratulations, he and his pilot received reprimands for violating their orders. He was almost too tired to care:

I decided that sleep was more important (than eating) and started walking in the snow toward our Quonset hut. As I walked toward the hut, I was tempted numerous times to lie in the snow and go to sleep. However, I continued to walk to the hut, when suddenly I was confronted by another navigator who caught up to me and said, “Thanks a lot, Frank.” He was one of the navigators in an aircraft flying in our six-ship formation back to base. I have considered his “thank you” as the greatest compliment received during my seventy-nine years! He was thanking me for saving his life.
²⁹²

To have your work judged positively by someone you respect is one of life’s great rewards. We should also remember, however, that our work can have eternal consequences as well. Although our salvation in Jesus Christ is guaranteed, when our work for him is judged worthy, we will be rewarded. Someday, every one of us will want to hear our Savior say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21, 23).

The fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

—1 Corinthians 3:13–15

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ULY 25

The Hunters

After the Battle of Britain, Royal Air Force Spitfires and Hurricanes were usually employed as escorts for Allied bombers over Europe. Lt. Johnnie Johnson flew many of these missions in his Spitfire, and by the end of the war was the highest-scoring RAF pilot. He made some interesting observations about his fellow aviators:

It is fascinating to watch the reactions of the various pilots. They fall into two broad categories… the hunters and the hunted. The majority of the pilots, once they have seen their names on the board, walk out to their Spitfires for a pre-flight check and a word or two with their ground crews. They tie on their mae-wests, check their maps, study the weather forecast and have a last-minute chat with their leaders or wingmen. These are the hunters.

The hunted… turned to their escape kits and made quite sure that they were wearing the tunic with the silk maps sewn into a secret hiding-place; that they had at least one oilskin-covered packet of French francs, and two if possible; that they had a compass and a revolver and sometimes specially made clothes to assist their activities once they were shot down.
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Johnnie Johnson obviously put himself in the “hunter” category. He may be implying that he was braver than some of his fellow pilots, or at the very least more optimistic. Maybe he and the other hunters just didn’t have very good imaginations. Whatever the case, I think that we can assume that these pilots were more positive in their actions and more effective in the air.

Focusing on the negative has never been good for pilots or for anyone else. Jesus Christ came into this world to direct our attention in a new and positive direction. He brought the message that we can’t work our way to God by eliminating the negatives in our lives. We will never be good enough on our own. By simply accepting God’s forgiveness through his Son, we take the one positive step necessary to gain a place in his kingdom. We continue this positive focus as we live in the body of Christ and joyfully share the truth of this gospel message.