Stories of Faith and Courage From World War II (48 page)

S
EPTEMBER 1

War of Attrition

In a 2004 speech to 1
^st
Marine Division veterans, Secretary of the Navy Gordon England drew some interesting comparisons between the Marines’ foes in World War II and today’s conflict in the Middle East:

There is a parallel between 9/11 and the island and battle of Peleliu. By 1944, the Japanese recognized that they could not match American firepower and tactics in the air, on the sea, or in land warfare. Therefore, at Peleliu, they shifted their strategy from a war for victory to a war of attrition. Japanese commanders had orders to seek a ‘stalemate’ in which they would inflict the highest possible cost to Americans in blood and time…

What makes Peleliu so significant is that in the face of this new strategy and warfare, the 1
^st
Marine Division did not hesitate or lose its will. The Marines pressed on until the Japanese were defeated. Despite heavy losses, the Marines would not be deterred.
³⁵¹

The secretary pointed out that he was four years old when America fought the first ‘ism’ of his lifetime: fascism. His granddaughter was four years old on September 11, 2001, when America went to war against terrorism. Once again Marines face foes seeking to spill as much blood as possible. This time the targets are civilians as well as soldiers.

In both these wars, Secretary England asserted that the decisive factor has been and continues to be the courage and sacrifice of American men and women in uniform: The raw courage and determination that prevailed in the caves and jungles of Peleliu continues today in Kandahar, Baghdad, Al Kut, Tikrit, Najaf… and other places where the 1
^st
Marine Division carries on. It’s still about our people… God bless each of you, God bless this magnificent Corps, and God Bless America.
³⁵²

Our Armed Forces continue to serve us heroically today, and we continue to pray the same prayer expressed by Secretary England: “May God bless our men and women in uniform, and may God always bless America.”

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship.

—Romans 12:1

S
EPTEMBER 2

The Spiritual Campaign

The war was closing in on the Christian missionaries of the Dutch East Indies. Dr. Robert Jaffrey, the Head of Mission, knew that in the short run his work would be interrupted. However, like a great general, his vision for a greater campaign in the future inspired optimism. To one of his fellow missionaries he outlined his strategy for “conquests” ahead:

With a steady hand and the voice of one assured of victory, he traced upon the map our coming campaign: the Natuna and Anambas Islands; Sumatra ferreting out and mopping up those pockets of satanic resistance in the central and southern districts; the final liberation of the Punans of Borneo’s hinterland; Bali, firmly held in the grip of the enemy, would be freed, its iron gates yielding under the onslaught of faith and prayer. He paused to give praise to our Commander in Chief for spiritual battles fought and won in some of the smaller islands, then moved on to Misool, the Isle of Demons, the Bird’s Head of New Guinea, the Wissel Lakes area, the Zwart and Memberamo River Valleys, down either side of the Carstenz backbone and at last his finger came to rest over the Grand Valley of the Baliem.
³⁵³

The person hearing these words was awed at this magnificent display of “a faith that never staggers at the promise of God… of a burning love that counts not life dear unto itself, but is expendable for God; and of a vision that is never dimmed.”
³⁵⁴
We also are inspired by this insight into the heart of a great missionary. We know that no significant works can be accomplished without a vision. When God gave Moses one of the greatest missions in history, he also gave him a magnificent vision of what he was going to accomplish:

The L
ORD
said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

—Exodus 3:78

S
EPTEMBER 3

Our Faith Is Complete

George Syer was a staff sergeant with the 96
^th

Division. He had only ten days with his newborn son, John Paul, before shipping out to the Pacific in July 1944. Trying to be optimistic, but fearing the worst, he wrote a letter to John Paul to tell his son that he loved him and to give him a future understanding of his father’s beliefs:

Two months have gone now since you were born. Mother has since sent pictures that I treasure… Yes two months, and tonight I am on the threshold of another adventure of life. Tomorrow we board ship to go overseas. I do not fear to go knowing that I too must share the responsibility of fighting for my country. I have no desire to kill, son, only to save life, but there are times like these that one can’t understand, but seek to serve God and also my country seems the only true course to take.

I go with faith that the Lord shall bring me back safe from the conflict. However should the Lord decide that my service has ended, and I fall on foreign soil, my faith will be satisfied to its fullest by Him who is wise and better than I could ask or expect.

The answer to our faith is always complete, even though the answer is not according to your own will. A paradox, yes but that is God’s privilege and power.
³⁵⁵

Fortunately, John Paul was reunited with his father after the war and, so, had more than this letter to guide him through his formative years. The letter is nevertheless a powerful insight into one man’s beliefs. The phrase, “answer to our faith” is thought-provoking and worth pondering in itself. I take it to mean the final realization of the truth of what we believe, that is, the realization we receive when we actually meet our Savior in heaven. How and when this occurs is not up to us, although we know that the answer we receive when that time comes will certainly be full and complete, even beyond what we expect. The paradox lies in the fact that we who are worth so little ultimately receive so much.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

—Hebrews 11:1

S
EPTEMBER 4

How to Pray

The thirty-ship convoy left Guadalcanal on September 4, 1944, headed north slowly at seven knots. The speed was dictated by the tank landing ships (LSTs), with their clamshell bow doors and cargoes of amphibious tractors. Four assault waves were embarked for the ten-day journey to Peleliu, a small island six hundred miles east of the Philippines. Bruce Watkins was one of the Marines aboard who had never heard of this remote little island. He had a lot of time to think about what he had left behind and to pray about what lay ahead:

I remember leaning on the ship’s rail, alone for once, my thoughts on my much-loved wife of 14 months. I knew she would be praying for me, although she could not know the hour of our peril. Brought up in a Christian home, it was natural for me to turn to God and ask for His help. I asked for sharpness of mind to make the right decisions quickly for those who depended on me. Somehow I felt it was wrong to ask for my personal safety, but I asked for strength to fight no matter how badly I might be wounded. And so the last hours passed. Soon there would be no time for reflection.
³⁵⁶

This was a thoughtful man who was able to turn to God as he faced an unknown and dangerous future. I found it very intriguing that he would not pray for his own safety. Perhaps he was conscious of the fact that many would die in the upcoming invasion, and he did not want to selfishly put himself ahead of others. Or perhaps he thought that God’s plan might include his death and to pray otherwise would be futile. I’ve had similar thoughts to these and questions about what to ask of God. I have come to believe that I can ask God for anything, after prefacing my request with a heartfelt “Thy will be done, Lord.”

Then the word of the L
ORD
Almighty came to me: “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?’”

—Zechariah 7:46

Marines assaulting a bunker on Tarawa. (National Archives)

Religious service behind the lines. (National Archives)

S
EPTEMBER 5

Thirty-Second Prayers

They called it the “night of the mortars.” The Japanese defenders on Peleliu found the range to the Marines’ position and kept firing round after round all through the night. Incoming mortar fire is especially unnerving because it comes in from an almost vertical angle with only a quiet, whistling sound. Open foxholes offer little protection, and there weren’t even many of those due to the hard coral surface. Many of the rounds detonated in the trees, showering shrapnel on the men huddled below.

Bruce Watkins was a platoon leader with 1
^st
Marine Regiment, landing with the first wave at Peleliu. Contrary to expectations, the resistance was well organized and fanatical. He and his men fought for every foot of terrain and, over two days, suffered many casualties. On the second night the mortar fire started, and Watkins moved among his men as best he could, giving first aid and encouragement. At one point he heard a comforting sound:

A Catholic Marine in the next hole was praying with his rosary and it inspired me to employ what I had come to call my 30second prayers. I’m sure that God received a great deal of communication that night. Mine went something like, “Father, let me do my job and do it well. I don’t ask You to save me, but help me to be a good leader. If I must be hit, give me the strength to carry on and Your will always be done.”
³⁵⁷

I’ve always felt that God would rather hear frequent thirty-second prayers than have us wait for “suitable” occasions to pray longer. In fact, so long as it is heartfelt, this kind of prayer is the perfect way to bring God into our daily lives. We can always manage a short prayer before a meeting, an important phone call, or a trip. I believe that this is what the apostle Paul meant by his advice to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

—Luke 18:1

S
EPTEMBER 6

Time to Think