Stories of Faith and Courage From World War II (32 page)

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

—Philippians 1:20

Infantry advancing with tanks. (National Archives)

Soldiers making friends during campaign on Sicily. (National Archives)

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UNE 5

To Stay and Fight

Cpl. Ray Sadoski was a rifleman with the 1
^st
Ranger Battalion during the fight for Sicily. At one point he was guarding a group of Italian prisoners near Messina. One of the prisoners who spoke English said to him, “ Hey, how about this we’re going to the States, and you’re going to stay here and fight.”
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None of us would want to be a prisoner of war, but the irony of this little quip makes us stop and think. Who gets the better deal the “captive” sent to safety, or the “free man” who has to go on facing hardship and danger? If we could choose, it might be a difficult choice.

There is a parallel here to our view of dying. None of us wants to die. We are programmed instinctively to survive, no matter the circumstance. The thought of our own death is bad enough, but the loss of a loved one is the greatest tragedy that we can imagine. But, here again, we can ask the question, “ Who gets the better deal?” As Christians, we know where we are going after we die, and we know that a new and better life awaits us there. Is it better to “stay here and fight” or to go to that glorious place where we will be with our Savior?

The apostle Paul wrestled with this question regarding his own life and ministry and described it for us in one of the most eloquent passages in Scripture:

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

—Philippians 1:20–24

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UNE 6

Frontline Service

During World War II the number of Armed Forces chaplains grew thirtyfold from pre-war years. The Army Chaplain Corps expanded to eight thousand, and the Navy to three thousand. Ministers and rabbis from more than forty denominations answered the call to serve their country. These patriotic young men were more than religious leaders. They were counselors, confidants, and friends to their fellow soldiers.

In 1942, each chaplain conducted an average of 53 personal conferences with troubled soldiers each day. Often serving as morale officers, chaplains umpired ball games, organized orchestras, showed films, taught classes and lectured on sex and morality. And of course, they prayed and conducted regular services, typically using available areas like an aircraft flight deck, an apple orchard, a hand-cut hole in a Pacific-island jungle or a makeshift tent for a church; a jeep, packing case or ammunition box for an altar, or a helmet for a yarmulke, the top of a mess kit for a paten or a canteen cup for a chalice.
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Typical of these religious leaders who answered their nation’s call was the Reverend Paschal Fowlkes, a twenty-six-year-old Episcopal minister from Washington, D.C. He enlisted in the Army and served as a chaplain to a paratrooper regiment. He felt it his duty to join “ the battle for the preservation of democracy and freedom and justice.”
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Francis Sayre became a Navy chaplain, serving for four years on the USS
San Francisco
. He said that he enlisted “ because the war was on. I wanted to do my part.”
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These young men earned a special place in the history of our nation and in the hearts of the men and women they served. During this time of national peril, they combined service to God with service to their nation. Today men and women of faith continue to respond to God’s call to help those in trouble, carrying this tradition forward. They include not only those who minister to our Armed Forces, but also those who go out from our churches to inner cities, schools, and third world countries. All these people doing God’s work on the “front lines” deserve our admiration, prayers, and financial support.

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

—1 Peter 4:10

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UNE 7

A Greater Fellowship

As the hour for the invasion of Italy drew near, life on a troopship made vivid impressions on Cpl. William “Bicky” Kiessel. The compartments were dark, hot, and smelly, with crowded, unwashed bodies. The heavy air was mixed with other foul odors. The folding cots were stacked four high with almost no room to walk. Fortunately, religious services were also memorable in a more positive way:

The energetic chaplains are busy holding services all hours of the day on the various deck levels. Fellows are trying to catch up on years of neglected religion in a few days. And it can be done and is! The Catholics have Mass, Communion and Confessions while the Protestants preach little, pray much, and sing the favorite hymns of the Church… At all these sacred gatherings there is a sincerity and informality that makes for a better and greater fellowship and gives a deeper sense of the intangible value of friends, home, and the eternal verities of life… In those services we all wish we’d lived better, been more complimentary and less critical, written home more lovingly and more often, etc. We are finally face to face with life…
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Kissel ended his letter with the statement, “ Christians never say goodbye. Sooner or later we all meet again.” This eloquent young soldier obviously was sustained by his faith through difficult times. In his letter, however, he alludes to another aspect of religious worship. Participation in services not only strengthened him personally, but also strengthened the bonds of fellowship with the other soldiers in his unit. This is a great testimony to the power of the body of Christ, which manifests itself whenever Christians come together. We are each able to lead a more victorious life when we are supported and surrounded by our brothers and sisters in Christ.

So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

—Romans 12:5

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UNE 8

Abide with Me

The troops learned that the regiment would lead the attack next morning on a strongly held enemy position. Worried men stood close together in the makeshift church, a dusty and battered old commercial building about a mile behind the front lines. Stan Scislowski remembered the scene vividly and marveled at how much closer to God he felt in this rustic setting than in the “regular” churches of his past.

When it came time in the service to sing, the words of the old familiar hymn had never been so meaningful. “ The expressions of faith that made up this beautiful hymn crossed my mind, and as we sang, I found myself inserting my own feelings between the lines, feelings that harboured the fear that perhaps I might not be coming back at battle’s end. ”
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The lyrics of “Abide with Me” are meaningful no matter what our own situation may be.

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day; Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away.
Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
Come not in terrors, as the King of kings, But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless; Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory? I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and the earth’s vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord,
Abide with me.
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And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.

—John 14:16 (KJV)

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UNE 9

Family Roots

During the campaign through Italy, Frank Palilla had an enviable advantage. He spoke fluent Italian. Getting along easily with the natives, he was well supplied with fresh eggs, bread, and other food items. He also had a full canteen of wine most of the time. He shared all this bounty with his comrades, who repaid the favor by keeping him as safe as possible.

The highlight of his military service came when his unit was in a holding area near Bologna, and he was able to hitch a plane ride to Sicily. There he was able to visit Naro, the small Sicilian town where his parents grew up:

When I announced myself at the barbershop in the piazza the entire town turned out in minutes for a fantastic welcome. It was nothing but overwhelming festivity from there on. We stayed with my mother’s identical twin sister for the five days that we were there. The most emotional moments came when I visited the homes in which my parents had lived. In particular, in my father’s case not only was I in the room in which he was born, but I was in the presence of the very bed in which he was born. I experienced an unbelievable and everlastingly memorable emotion.
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This story is a great testament to the strength of family bonds that transcend time, distance, and even war. God ordained the importance of marriage and made family the foundational unit of society. He exhorted us to “ Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters”(Jeremiah 29:6). There are few activities more important to God than strengthening and sustaining the family unit.

[Jesus replied], “At the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

—Mark 10:69

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UNE 10

For Soldiers and Sailors

In 1941 the Episcopal Church of the United States published a small booklet for soldiers and sailors that could be carried in their pockets wherever they went. It included an Order of Worship, Holy Communion, prayers, psalms, readings, and hymns. All these were selected to meet the needs of military men and women of that time, and continue to be relevant and uplifting today:
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For the Army