Stories of Faith and Courage From World War II (49 page)

The second day on Peleliu was another day of intense combat. It started abruptly for the Marines of Bruce Watkins’ battalion with an incoming barrage of heavy-caliber fire on their hilltop position. Large chunks of rock and shrapnel were flying everywhere and casualties were mounting. Watkins realized he couldn’t keep his men in such an exposed position and ordered them back down the hill. He was the last to leave and experienced his most frightening moment of the war when an arm-sized shell fragment whizzed by his head, cutting his helmet strap.

On flat ground below the ridge, Watkins spent the rest of the day dodging sniper fire as he went about the task of reorganizing his men and preparing a new defensive line tied in with the rest of the battalion. Just before nightfall several amphibious tractors brought the first delivery of food. Spam sandwiches and grapefruit juice were the special for the day. As darkness and rain settled in, the Marines experienced their first lull in the action. Watkins recalled:

This night was relatively quiet and I had more time to think about myself. We were wet, filthy, and our lips were burnt. I had a fungus infection in my crotch and a smashed finger from the night before. I guess it was the first time I had really noticed. I have often thought officers and NCOs with their constant responsibility had an advantage in that there was little time to think about themselves. The private(s), on the other hand, often had time to reflect and wonder what crazy order they would be given next, fearing the worst.
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Responsibility is sometimes a burden, but seen from this perspective, is always a blessing. Self-absorption is probably the closest we come to hell on Earth, and when we are responsible for someone or something else, our focus is outside ourselves. Fortunately, we don’t have to be commissioned officers to have this change of outlook. Every foot soldier in God’s kingdom has opportunities to tend to the needs of others, serving them at home, in church, and in the workplace.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

—Philippians 2:34

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EPTEMBER 7

No Atheists

Father William Cummings became a military chaplain by accident. He was teaching school in Manila when the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1942. When his school was destroyed, he hitched a boat ride across Manila Bay to join the American and Filipino soldiers fighting on the Bataan Peninsula. All through the siege of Bataan and the final days of Corregidor he ministered to the beleaguered troops around him and became a source of comfort and inspiration to many. He felt that spiritual support was more critical than ever in a combat situation, articulating to a war correspondent his belief that, “There are no atheists in foxholes.”
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This now-famous comment took on a life of its own when the correspondent flashed the quote across the seas to America and the rest of the world.

The ordeal for Cummings and many other U.S. servicemen would follow with the eventual surrender of Corregidor and imprisonment by the Japanese. Under the most inhumane conditions imaginable, he said, “There are so many men here. I cannot help them all, but if I can help a few, then maybe God will feel my life justified. When I worry about their suffering, I don’t have time to think of myself.”
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Father Cummings’ last days were spent on a Japanese prison ship. He died in the arms of one of his beloved soldiers reciting the Lord’s Prayer. He is memorialized on Chaplains Hill in Arlington National Cemetery.
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For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

—1 Corinthians 10:33–11:1

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EPTEMBER 8

The Voice of a Man Who Believed

Of all the prisoners held by the Japanese during the war, the worst fate befell those placed on a series of prison ships, called “hell ships” by those who were on them. In 1944, as the Allies advanced on the Philippines, the Japanese began loading thousands of prisoners into the cargo holds of old steamships for relocation to Formosa and Japan. The conditions were unspeakable. The crowding was so severe there wasn’t room for everyone to even sit down at one time. Food and water were almost nonexistent, as temperatures below deck soared above 120 degrees. Buckets were lowered to serve as latrines. Disease and death ravaged the victims of this tribulation.

On a particularly suffocating night, the cries of anguish on one of these ships grew louder and louder as the tormented prisoners seemed on the verge of a hysterical outbreak. The voice of Chaplain William Cummings suddenly rang out over the clamor. One of the men recalled an amazing transformation:

Father Cummings began to speak. The sound was clear and resonant and made me feel he was talking to me alone. The men became quiet.

“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”… The voice went on. Strength came to me as I listened to the prayer, and a certain calmness of spirit.

“Have faith,” he continued. “Believe in yourselves and in the goodness of one another. Know that in yourselves and in those that stand near you, you see the image of God. For mankind is in the image of God.”
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When he spoke these words it completely changed those who heard them, as the witness reported, “For a while sanity returned to the faces around me… some of us continued to be held by the strength of that voice, the voice of a man who believed and who wanted us to believe.”
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It is truly miraculous that a man could see God in a miserable and hysterical mass of humanity such as this. His faith was a powerful witness to God’s love for the men on that prison ship then and for us blessed to read about it today.

Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered.

—James 5:10–11

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EPTEMBER 9

God’s Timing

Robert Taylor was pastor of the Fort Worth Baptist Church when he joined the Army in 1940. He was sent to the Philippines where he was assigned as chaplain to the 31
^st

Infantry Regiment. Immediately after war was declared, Taylor’s unit went into action against the Japanese on the Bataan Peninsula. During this campaign he earned the Silver Star for rescuing wounded soldiers under enemy fire. When the Philippines surrendered, he became a prisoner of war and ministered to thousands of fellow captives in the Cabanatuan camp hospital. In 1944 he spent fourteen weeks in solitary confinement for smuggling food and medicine to patients.
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One prisoner, known to be an atheist, called Taylor a “tower of strength.”
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Another prisoner observed a dying soldier ask Taylor how to have a relationship with God:

The young man, cognizant of his spiritual indifference in the past, asked if it was all right to straighten things out with God just because one was about to die. Taylor responded to the young soldier by telling him that God’s response to our need is not based on our timing but on his great love for us. On that day, by the power of God, that young man gave his life to Christ. Afterwards, the young man reached up, took his dog tags, and with a jerk broke the chain and handed them to Taylor. As he placed them in the chaplain’s hand, he squeezed it gently and a wide smile crept over his face.
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This is a story of one man’s faithfulness and God’s timing. By his faithful service, Robert Taylor earned the respect of the soldiers around him and became an effective witness to the power of the gospel. He was the right person at the right time for this soldier, who was able with Taylor’s gentle guidance to put his faith in Christ at the time and place that God intended. We are called to be equally faithful in his service. We must gently share the gospel when appropriate and patiently wait for God’s timing to bring about the hoped-for result.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

—1 Peter 5:10

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EPTEMBER 10

Droplets on a Parched Heart

When the Marines invaded Saipan, Saburo Arakaki was an eighteen-year-old student at the local vocational school. Forced into the hills by the fighting, he evaded the Americans for months. He finally surrendered to one of the detention camps where he found great tension between those who favored continued resistance and those who were convinced the war was over. The young and idealistic Arakaki was persuaded to murder two Japanese civilians who were leaders of the “defeatist” group. The teenaged assassin was soon caught, tried, and sentenced to death. Months later, while awaiting his execution, he learned that his sentence had been commuted to life in prison.

With no hope for the future, Arakaki was sullen and hateful toward his captors. About a year into his sentence, someone gave him a small booklet written in Japanese. He saw it was a short course in Christianity and knew he wanted nothing to do with anything western, much less religion. Yet his longing to read anything in his own language temporarily overcame his intense antagonism. He was soon reading about the Bible and amazingly found the words being absorbed into his heart. He described his feelings:

[The Bible] is truly an ancient book, but it has continued to be read even today. In it is something precious that captivates the hearts of people. In it is hidden the profound wisdom of God… No matter how many times one reads the Bible, there is always fresh meaning in its words words that will satisfy the longings of the heart.
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The effect of Scripture on this young man was profound, as one who knew him observed: “These words sank into Saburo’s heart like precious droplets of water soaking into the arid desert sands. He read on, brushing aside the thought that this was the Christian Bible he was reading about.”
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By God’s written Word alone, a transformation was begun in the heart of this bitter young man.

The secret things belong to the L
ORD
our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever.

—Deuteronomy 29:29

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EPTEMBER 11

I Do

As Saburo Arakaki read through his booklet on Christianity while imprisoned in Hawaii, he began to learn about Jesus Christ. He identified with the fact that this man had been falsely accused and executed for something he did not do, and yet taught about mercy and offered forgiveness of sins to the world. As Arakaki’s resistance seemed to melt, he longed to read more about this intriguing figure. He got his wish when he unexpectedly received a Japanese language New Testament that he began reading under a single light bulb in a dark basement of the prison. One passage from John, chapter 12, penetrated deeply into his heart, as he thought to himself,

Jesus says that… He came not to judge, but to save the world. A sinner can be saved. The agony that I suffered fighting against approaching death as a convict on death row can’t possibly compare with the final agony of those two men that I killed. Now the only thing I can do is to ask for forgiveness from God and pray that they rest in peace.
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A deep emotion overcame him as the tears flowed down his face. On his knees, he looked up and cried out, “God, thank You so much.”
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The words of another verse also seemed to propel him further in this new direction: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation”(2 Corinthians 5:17). At that moment he knew that Jesus was in his heart, and he knew that he wanted to be baptized. Not long after, he received permission to go to a local church where the pastor asked him the all-important question, “Saburo, do you believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is your personal Savior?” The convicted assassin responded passionately: “I do.”
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I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

—John 12:46 47

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EPTEMBER 12

Corpsman

The Medal of Honor citation for Fred Faulkner Lester reads in part: