Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II

since childhood. He grew up in the small village of Tillicoultry, Scotland, where godly parents and a warm church profoundly influenced his life. He described the process of spiritual awakening in simple terms:

My conversion was unspectacular. There were no emotional experiences, no blinding lights, but looking back over my life one can see God’s hand leading in definite steps toward conversion. I believe that my Sunday School teachers played a big part… Gospel texts were greatly used in gently leading me to Christ; they were as nails in a sure place.¹⁹⁸

A day eventually came when someone in his church that he knew and respected asked him, “What will you do with Jesus, Dan? ” His friend quoted John 3:16 to him.

I was expecting this: somehow I knew it would happen. I knew those words by heart, but somehow they were different that night, the meaning was clear and from the depth of my young heart I said, “I will take Christ as my Savior now.” Immediately a great peace filled my heart, my joy knew no bounds. I had to tell my dad and mom, my grandparents, everybody. As I look back on that day I consider it the greatest in my life.¹⁹⁹

Dan Snaddon ended his story with a comment meant for all of us privileged to read it: “ Dear reader, as you eagerly press on into the contents of this book, may I urge you to pause for a moment’s reflection? Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Before another minute passes, why not trust Him and be saved.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

—John 3:16

May 23 To Die Is Gain

Dan Snaddon was taken prisoner when Singapore fell to the Japanese early in the war. Cruel guards, scarce food, and hard labor made his life one of total misery. It somehow got even worse when he was sent deep into the jungle of Thailand to build the so-called ”Railway of Death.” There, dejected and broken men labored in tropical heat in spite of being naked, sick, and crazed by hunger and thirst. The guards were quick to become enraged over any apparent rule violation.

Snaddon became the focus of the guards’ attention after being caught giving aid to a Chinese prisoner. He was beaten into unconsciousness, revived, and beaten again. At this point he could only lean on his childhood faith:

Being brought back to consciousness for the second time, I felt that I was living my last few moments on earth. Strange as it may seem I was not loathe to let go the strings of life. The words of Paul were my constant inspiration, “To die is gain.” Lifting my heart to the Lord I prayed, “Dear Father I am ready to go or stay at your command.” The presence of my precious Savior was so real, His love in which He had enclosed me was impregnable and impervious to the threats of my barbaric assailants. Thus fortified, the inner peace and radiance burst through the filth, the scars and the coagulated blood, and formed a smile the onlookers said that it was a heavenly smile. The furious Japanese soldiers stared in disbelief; there was some Power here which they had never encountered before and could not understand.²⁰⁰

From this point the guards seemed powerless to continue with the beatings. Dan was left alone to be cared for by his comrades, who were deeply impressed by this incident. He heard them say: “ This is a faith worth having,” and “ This is a God worth trusting.” As Snaddon himself said, “ Eternity alone will reveal the work of God that was done in the hearts of many of these men.”²⁰¹

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

—Deuteronomy 31:6

May 24 Shipboard Communion

During the Pacific campaign the Marines became very familiar with troopships, or attack transports as they were designated by the

Navy. The President Adams was typical of the class, converted from civilian cargo use in 1941. Capt. Felix Johnson took command in early 1943 in time to move troops to Guadalcanal and Bougainville. His crew of sixty-five officers and six hundred enlisted contained only one career Navy man: himself. His executive officer was a New York broker, the 1^st lieutenant was a Sears Roebuck salesman, the engineer was a power plant worker from California, and the navigator was an ROTC graduate from Yale.

In darkness on November 1, 1943, the President Adams entered Empress Augusta Bay on Bougainville with twelve other attack transports and eleven destroyers. Her troops were to go ashore at 7:30 a.m. the next day with the rest of the 3^rd Marine Division. Knowing the island was heavily defended there was a lot of apprehension among the Marines. Captain Johnson described the actions of the Navy chaplain during the night:

I had a wonderful young Baptist chaplain from Texas on board, a junior lieutenant. Before the men landed he had something like twelve hundred men to give communion to, so he was up the whole night before they debarked. I remember that he came up on the bridge about four o’clock saying, “Captain, would you like to have communion? I can give you four minutes’ worth.” That was the most impressive communion I ever had.²⁰²

We know that the purpose of communion is to strengthen our union with Jesus Christ. Bread and wine are taken as symbols of his body and blood, in accordance with the tradition established by Jesus himself at the “Last Supper” with his disciples. Countless young Marines on this night received this reassurance through a Navy chaplain. For some, it would be their own “last supper.” We should all approach this sacrament with the same sense of urgent necessity.

Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”

—Mark 14:22–24

^{Marine jungle fighters on Bougainville. (National Archives)}

May 25