and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.44
We know from the outcome of this great struggle the effectiveness of a few good men. There are other examples of this phenomenon from previous wars. In biblical times, Gideon faced the army of Midian with thirty thousand of his own troops. God told him that he had too many men. Twenty thousand were dismissed, and, still, God told Gideon that he had too many men. Finally, three hundred were selected to battle the powerful Midianites. God did this to ensure that Israel would know that he had saved them, and not their military might. God also knew that a few good men could be more effective than a nervous horde.
The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’”
February
TURNING THE TIDE IN THE PACIFIC
On December 7, 1941, six Japanese aircraft carriers launched a massive air strike against the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. All eight American battleships were moored in port and were caught totally unprepared. Four were sunk and four were severely damaged. More than three hundred aircraft were destroyed, mostly on the ground. There were thousands of American casualties. By crippling the U.S. Pacific Fleet with one stroke, Japan hoped to achieve clear dominance in the Pacific for years to come. They came tantalizingly close to total success. Unfortunately for them, all three American aircraft carriers were away from Pearl Harbor on the day of the attack.
On December 8th the United States declared war on Japan. Japan’s allies, Germany and Italy, immediately declared war on the United States. America found herself facing adversaries with powerful and effective military forces, victorious so far on all fronts. In the Pacific the Japanese Fleet was superior in every category. Three American aircraft carriers faced an overwhelming naval force of ten carriers, well-trained veteran aircrews, and superior aircraft. The United States Army, numbering only one hundred ninety thousand in 1939, was frantically expanding for war.
Almost simultaneously with the Pearl Harbor strike, Japanese attacks were launched against Wake Island, Guam, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaya, and the Gilbert Islands. All fell before the onslaught. In early March 1942 the conquest of Java and the Dutch East Indies was complete. Japan had accomplished all her immediate war aims in half the planned time and with virtually no naval losses.
Desperate for some success, the U.S. Navy carried out a daring strike of its own on April 18. The carrier Hornet took sixteen B-25 bombers into Japanese waters. Led by Jimmy Doolittle, the American airmen bombed Tokyo and other Japanese cities. The minimal damage inflicted caused a furor within the Japanese high command, which was disgraced for allowing such a strike against the homeland. Strategically, the Japanese had to face the need for defense of their home waters for the first time.
In June a vast Japanese armada of more than two hundred ships and seven hundred aircraft returned to the central Pacific to finish the job started at Pearl Harbor. The objective was destruction of America’s three remaining aircraft carriers, the last vestige of U.S. naval power in the Pacific. The stark contrast in forces made victory in this engagement as close to a sure thing as it is possible to achieve in war. The Japanese again came very close to achieving their aim.
On the morning of June 4 the opposing forces came within striking distance of each other north of Midway Island. Both sides employed heightened air search efforts to find the other side, but the Americans got the earliest sighting and launched their attacks. After an amazing sequence of events, U.S. dive-bombers found the Japanese carrier strike group and delivered fatal blows to four enemy carriers. Even though he still had superior forces on the scene, the Japanese commander ordered a full retirement. Japanese expansion in the Pacific had reached its limit.
February 1
In his first inaugural address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to provide reassurance and spiritual comfort to a troubled nation facing economic depression at home and military conflict abroad:
We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of national unity; with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values; with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike. We aim at the assurance of a rounded, a permanent national life.
We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift I take it.
In this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come.45
Roosevelt was a lifelong Episcopalian, baptized in St. James Church at Hyde Park, New York. He served as a vestryman and senior warden. Like many Episcopalians he was very personal in his faith. He once said, “I can do almost anything in the ‘Goldfish Bowl’ of the president’s life, but I’ll be hanged if I can say my prayers in it…”46 Nevertheless, in crucial times he turned the focus of the nation toward God, his own ultimate source of guidance and protection. While none of us may ever confront the weight of responsibility carried by Franklin Roosevelt, we have equal access to God and the same source of strength that sustained the president and America during the dark days before and during World War II.
I lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, The Maker of heaven and earth.
February 2
War came suddenly and unexpectedly in the Pacific. Pearl Harbor was an attack without warning launched
