October 25
In June 1944 Arnold Brown took command of Company G of the 358th Infantry Regiment fighting in France. His company had seen a lot of action and had suffered fifty percent casualties in recent engagements. He had three days to reorganize for the next attack on the Island of Seves. On the day of the battle he learned a lesson:
There was one sergeant, I couldn’t get him out of his foxhole to join us for the attack. He was squatted down below ground level, and he was frozen with fear. After this attack, which was also a failure, I went back to check on him. There he was, crouched down in that foxhole in the same position I’d last seen him. The only difference was, he had a hole in his steel helmet. For him to get killed like that it took a treeburst artillery shell, and a piece of shrapnel had to go straight down into that foxhole. The lesson I learned was, if it’s your time you cannot hide. I decided that I may get it, but I’m going to be doing my job when I do. If he had joined us in the attack, he might be alive today.447
I had a similar experience in Vietnam that haunted me for a long time. Due to a premonition, one of my men refused to go with his unit on an operation. I sent him back to a rear area intending to deal with him on our return. Unfortunately, the man was killed by a rare rocket attack on the base. My feelings then were similar to those of the officer in this story. As a Christian, however, I have come to see a different lesson in these incidents. I believe that these men did not meet some preordained “fate.” They were killed by random and senseless acts of war. In any dangerous situation we can take measures to minimize our risks, and we can pray for God’s protection. Our actions and prayers can make a difference. One thing is for certain: our prayers will always bring us closer to God, our ultimate source of comfort and peace.
Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.
October 26
Machine-gun fire from a German pillbox had stopped their advance. Myron Eberle moved forward to try to get the attack moving, when enemy mortar shells started falling all around him. He described his experience in the next few moments as, “the most vivid of my entire life”:
While issuing orders, the thought popped into my mind with no preliminary warning, that “I was going to die, right now!” My response was not spoken, but it was none the less a response, and it was, “Well, all right God, if it is time.” And with my response came over me the most peaceful, serene, joyous feeling that everything was going to be wonderful and death was going to be a marvelous experience.448
Almost in the same instant, a mortar shell struck right beside the awestruck soldier. Eberle himself was unhurt by the blast and survived the battle with the belief that God had given him a special message. He felt that he had received assurance for the rest of his life that “death will not be very frightening when we actually get there… God does indeed want us for his own.”449
As Christians we know the truth of this soldier’s revelation. Our Savior conquered death for us and waits to receive us in a wonderful place. Even though we understand this, we are still inspired by this story and find our faith strengthened by this soldier’s experience. One man’s reassurance from God is reassuring to us all. Death is truly nothing to fear. God does want us for his own.
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
October 27
In the spring of 1944 Barbara Sanz started writing to Lester McClannen, a good friend of her brother. At that time she was a divorced mother of two, and he was an Army cryptographer stationed in England. On June 6th Barbara learned of the D-Day invasion and heard the president’s radio address that night. She was profoundly moved by this news and wrote an emotional letter to Lester:
Now I understand why I have not heard from you. The “Day” has come. I can’t explain the feeling I had when I first heard of the Invasion. I heard it when I walked in the (beauty) shop this morning, I was stunned. We all knew it was coming and were happy that it is started, so it can all end soon. When it actually happens it’s a shock. It was such a gloomy day, rained all day. That didn’t help much. We had the radio going all day.
The President gave a prayer tonite that the nation was to join. Believe me, when I say I put my whole heart and soul in that prayer and will continue to pray knowing that you and the other boys have help and come out on top.450
I believe that Barbara Sanz’s response to the president’s prayer was representative of the vast majority of Americans on that fateful day in 1944. It was natural to hear a call to God in a time of such crisis, and it was natural to respond. I believe that God heard and answered those prayers. If America were called to prayer in that manner today, I believe that millions would respond in the same way. We can only pray that God will continue to hear our prayers and that our nation will continue to be worthy of his blessing.
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
October 28
On June 6, 1944, Flora Southwick of Marietta, Ohio, wrote her husband, Erman, after learning of the invasion
