pilot had been killed moments before and the aircraft damaged by an attacking Messerschmitt-109. Crewmen were still trying to remove the dead pilot from the controls as Mazza fought to avoid colliding with other ships nearby. Somehow he kept the battered B-24 in formation, lumbering toward the target: Misburg, Germany.
Suddenly, a 20mm cannon shell exploded in the forward section of the aircraft, destroying the nose turret and blowing out the plexiglass around it. Through this gaping hole a 200 mile-per-hour wind whipped through the interior of the B-24 at minus sixty-seven degrees. Wounded and frostbitten crewmen moved back in the ship to get out of the blast. The pilot stayed at the controls but had increasing difficulty seeing. He felt like his eyes were freezing. He couldn’t go down to a warmer altitude because that would further expose his aircraft to fighter attack. Groping around the cockpit, his hand touched a pair of plastic goggles, which he put on over his eyes. He could finally see again to fly the airplane. Vince Mazza forever felt that this fifty-cent item saved his life and the lives of his crew.265
That pair of goggles was probably on someone’s checklist, and, even though such gear had little intrinsic value, someone had to make sure it was all there. This faithful attention to detail is what saved these men. A Marine 1st sergeant once told me, “If you take care of the details, the big picture will take care of itself.” Some who pride themselves on being “big picture” people might disagree with this assertion. However, I believe it is valid in the sense that any big task can be broken down into detailed action steps. Success comes in faithfully attending to those small steps. Long ago a little boy took five barley loaves and two small fish with him on an outing to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee. This boy’s faithful attention to detail was glorified by Jesus in one of his greatest miracles.
Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.
July 5
In September 1943 more than four hundred B-17 bombers flew more than five hundred miles against heavy opposition to reach targets near Stuttgart, Germany. On the way, the flight crew of
Less than one hundred miles to the south lay neutral Switzerland. Under international law combat crews landing there were interned for the duration of the war. It was well known that living conditions were excellent, not to mention a guaranteed safe return after the war. The navigator of
After a harrowing flight and crash landing in the English Channel, one of the crewmen later explained his vote:
The only thought in my mind was of returning to England and our base. The idea of going to Switzerland and being interned for the war’s duration did not take root at all. I had a simplicity of thought and purpose in those days which stood me well. For 45 years I have lived with a triumphant conscience because we made it back to fight again, which was the duty and purpose for which we were pledged.267
This is an inspiring testimony to the long-range benefit of making a good, but difficult, choice. We especially need a perspective like this when we wrestle with the problems of family and marriage. Our decisions today can have everlasting consequences to our spouses, children, and ourselves. Doing the right thing may be difficult now, but think of the countless blessings of a “triumphant conscience” in the years ahead.
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
July 6
Jim Goodson was taken prisoner when his P-51 was shot down over Germany. On the way to a Luftwaffe interrogation center in Frankfurt he was taken off the train in Berlin to change to another line. He learned from a guard that he was at the Friederichstrasse Bahnhof. He was shocked to realize that he was at the site of a major raid scheduled for that day he had helped plan. He also remembered that the Bahnhof was the main aiming point for one thousand bombers. When the air raid warnings sounded at noon he knew what was coming.
We took refuge in bomb shelters. Because I had taken part in planning the raid, I knew who would be leading the different boxes of bombers and my own fighters would be escorting. It’s a very different view of the war, when you’re up there at 30,000 feet and you see only little flashes and puffs of smoke. You don’t think of people. Sitting in an air raid shelter with Germans all around you, and the crashing, deafening noise above you is something else… It brought home a war pilots very seldom see. Digging women and children out of the rubble we had caused was profoundly affecting.268
Few of us ever have an epiphany of this magnitude. We continue through life without realizing how our actions are affecting others. This can be an especially acute problem for men. We often spend years dedicated to careers and causes before looking closely at the effect on our families. Too often it takes a crisis to wake us up to important things we’re neglecting. It would be far better to hone our listening skills every day with wives, children, and friends, making sure we know as we go along what our bombs are doing at ground level.
Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
July 7
After surviving a crash landing at sea, several crewmembers of
