Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II

liberated from Japanese prison camps. At nine o’clock General MacArthur stepped to the microphone to open the proceedings:

We are gathered here, representative of the major warring Powers, to conclude a solemn agreement whereby peace may be restored. The issues, involving divergent ideals and ideologies, have been determined on the battlefields of the world and hence are not for our discussion or debate. Nor is it for us here to meet, representing as we do a majority of the peoples of the earth, in a spirit of distrust, malice, or hatred. But rather it is for us, both victors and vanquished, to rise to that higher dignity which alone befits the sacred purposes we are about to serve.⁵⁴⁶

Each representative was called to sign the peace accords, and General MacArthur then concluded the short ceremony reverently: “Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world, and that God will preserve it always. These proceedings are closed.”⁵⁴⁷ At that moment an armada of two hundred fifty aircraft flew over the Missouri, and the sun broke out from behind the clouds, shining on a world at peace. World War II was over.

Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them… They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

—Isaiah 11:5–6, 9

December 31 Going Home

Denton Dabbs spent three years in military service and moved seventeen times. His assigned bases were often dull and drab places, as he put it, “devoid of heart and soul.” Late in 1945, after the war was over, he was sent to Shreveport, Louisiana, to process out of the Army Air Corps. He finally boarded a train for his hometown, Chattanooga, Tennessee. As he got nearer to home, it was as if he were approaching the Promised Land:

As the train came out of the tunnel through Lookout Mountain, I could see the city nestled there in the valley on the banks of the Tennessee River. Down below was the bend in the river, known as Moccasin Bend, and in the distance was Signal Mountain. I thought it was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. It was familiar territory for my eyes and I was floating on air. The war was really over—I was heading home. It was not just a dream— there was the river and mountains and the city I knew so well. I grew up there and it was home.

Going home—that was what it was all about. Going home to Ann—to mom and dad, my brothers…the people I loved and who loved me. The valley had never seemed so beautiful before, but on that day it was the most beautiful place in all the world.⁵⁴⁸

Denton Dabbs describes an almost heavenly picture: a place of scenic beauty, the presence of loved ones, and a time of blessed peace in the world. In Revelation, John describes his vision of heaven, and it includes some of these same qualities. There is one important difference, however, and that is the everlasting presence of God the Father. John’s vision forms the basis of our hope for eternal peace in God’s kingdom:

Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

—Revelation 21:3–4

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