Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II

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. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.

—James 5:10–11

March 18 Staring at a Bomb

The battle off the coast of Norway went on for twenty hours. Seaman Robert Case was firing his anti-aircraft gun at real targets for the first time. He quickly became a veteran. His ship, the SS Steel Worker, had several near-misses as enemy aircraft darted over and through the convoy. Suddenly, two Messerschmitts bore in from an altitude of about 2,000 feet, their wings thin black lines in the distance. As Case stared through his sights, those wings grew thicker and flames began to erupt from them. Keeping his eyes to the sights and hand on the trigger he opened fire. The empty shell casings started clattering over the deck under his feet. Then, time seemed to stand still:

The aftermost plane peeled off… The other kept on, right into our fire, smack for us. Then he dropped it, a 550pounder. He was gone, away from our fire, and… all we could do was look up at that bomb. It fell, slanting with the pull of the plane’s speed. It whirled, screaming and howling in the air directly over-head. We could very clearly see the cylindrical khaki shape, the fins, even the white blur that was the serial markings on the side. This was for us, we thought. This was death… the sound of it seemed to possess all sound.¹⁰³

Then, according to Case, the bomb “veered a bit.” It struck the sea twenty feet astern of the Steel Worker, lifting the ship in the water and splitting deck plates. Case and his shipmates were water-soaked from the blast, but alive.

No one would ever fault a man for looking death in the face and fighting to survive, as Case and his shipmates did. When Christ looked death in the face, however, he didn’t fight. He allowed himself to be crucified, even though he knew the anguish that horrible death would bring. His resurrection spelled victory both for him and for all of us who accept the gift of salvation he offers to us. (JG)

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

—1 Corinthians 15:55

March 19 Evacuated to America

When war came to England, families faced difficult decisions. Concerned about the safety of their children during the bombing, many parents in industrial areas chose to send them to rural towns to keep them from harm. Marion Hunt’s father went to even greater lengths. After considerable effort he was able to arrange for his two children and his wife to go to America to live with relatives in Boston for an indefinite period. They left England in 1940 on a hazardous journey. While crossing the Atlantic in a large convoy, they watched two ships go down after being attacked by U-boats. Eventually, they made their way to Boston and a new life.

George Hunt, Marion’s father, had been a merchant marine since the last days of World War I and had spent most of his life at sea. He knew that in this war he had a very uncertain future. Above all else, he wanted his family to be safe. Marion’s last memory of him was haunting. “I will always remember his leaving, watching him walking down the road and out of sight, and we never saw him again.”¹⁰⁴ He was killed when his ship, the SS Congolian, was sunk in 1944. Her story is another poignant illustration of the tragedy and sacrifice endured by so many families touched by this war. Her father gave up everything, his wife, his children, and his life, trying to do his best for his country and his family.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart.

—Psalm 51:16–17

March 20 Nearer to Thee

After years of declining health, Franklin Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, of a massive cerebral hemorrhage, tragically ending his unprecedented fourth term of office as president. He was buried with full military honors at his home in Hyde Park, New York, with his long-time pastor, the Reverend George Anthony, officiating. After gun salutes, aircraft flyovers, and the final bugle call, the burial ceremony started promptly at 10:30 a.m. The words came from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” There were no words of eulogy. The Reverend Anthony quoted an old hymn:¹⁰⁵

Now the laborer’s task is o’er; now the battle day is past;
Now upon the farther shore lands the voyager at last.
Father, in Thy gracious keeping, leave we now Thy servant sleeping.

Also prominent in the event was another old and familiar hymn, “Nearer My God to Thee,” played at the funeral of President James Garfield and quoted by William McKinley on his deathbed:

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.
There let the way appear, steps unto Heav’n;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy giv’n;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee.
There in my Father’s home, safe and at rest,
There in my Savior’s love, perfectly blest;
Age after age to be, nearer my God to Thee.¹⁰⁶

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.