service at home in his honor. The service was conducted on November 25, 1945, at the Statesboro, Georgia, Methodist Church. After the congregation sang “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” The Reverend Charles Jackson prayed and gave a sermon. A series of tributes to Ramsey and poems to comfort the family were then read. Mrs. Sanford Schulert, whose husband had been killed in the same raid, recited a poem with a special message for the grieving family:272
This well-known poem provides a unique insight into our relationship with God. God interacts with us as we pray, study, and work together with him to weave the pattern of our lives. This weaving process presents an issue of perspective. Ours is limited by our human nature as we experience events only as they affect us. God’s perspective is all encompassing and eternal. A tragedy to us may simply be part of God’s plan and even a cause for heavenly celebration. We need to rest in the assurance that God sees the completed tapestry as it unfolds according to his design.
This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call my name and I will answer them; I will say, “They are my people,” and they will say, “The Lord is our God.”
July 11
Their first mission was supposed to be a “milk run.” They were flying in support of ground troops near Caen, and someone had even decided that flak jackets and helmets wouldn’t be needed. Since the flight path was close to the English Channel, Bill Frankhouser looked forward to an easy first day as navigator on his B-17. However, as they approached the target area at an altitude of 14,000 feet, the picture began to change. Bill started to notice tracers coming up from below, although well under his formation. Then a few black puffs appeared closer to their altitude. Suddenly, he found out that he was at war:
I noticed a one to two-inch-diameter hole as it opened in the aluminum hull close to my right-side gun, and small metallic shavings were propelled inward. This was my first realization that we really were in combat. The Germans were shooting big guns and the plane’s hull offered no protection!273
This story brought back memories of my first time under fire in a helicopter. We were hovering over a hillside in Vietnam, hoisting a wounded Marine through jungle canopy. Suddenly, holes began appearing in the skin of the helicopter. The gunfire was unheard because of the engine noise, making the sensation especially eerie and frightening. Those few moments of being utterly defenseless are burned in my memory. I can’t imagine the courage required of these World War II airmen who had to face this extreme vulnerability day after day, week after week. It is gratifying to know that so many of them had a strong faith on which to lean. True comfort during such fearful times can only be found in an eternal perspective and in the assurance of an ultimate safe haven in God’s eternal kingdom.
Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
July 12
The coast of England finally came into view, but they knew they weren’t going to make it. The B-17 was unable to hold its altitude on its one remaining engine, and settled ever closer to the waves below. Expecting to ditch at any moment, the crew assembled in the radio room and braced themselves for a crash landing. Each became lost in his own thoughts as they looked at each other and waited for the inevitable. One of the crewmen, Elmer Brown, started praying. George Hoyt, the radio operator, remained at his console, sending SOS signals in Morse code. Hoyt looked over at his praying friend for reassurance, and he was not disappointed:
Brownie’s faith shone as bright as the very sun itself. I remembered him giving me a smile as big as all outdoors. Out my window I saw the choppy and rough sea coming towards us, closer and closer, and I prayed fervently as I continued to beat out those SOS signals.274 Hoyt and others in the crew went on to describe an amazing peace that settled over the group in this tense moment: As we were waiting to hit the water, a complete calm came over us as if ‘all is well.’ A feeling of absolute calm, just like I was laying under a tree back on the farm… (I felt) a great calm take possession of me which language can’t describe. I experienced a peace that surpasses all imagination as I watched the whitecaps now flicking by under the wing… I called to Brownie and the boys, ‘This is it!’275
This smile for a friend in a moment of extreme stress is a strong witness to the power of faith. The faith of this one airman not only reassured him, but, when he let it show outwardly, brought peace to his friends as well. We should always look to our heavenly Father during times of stress with faith that he will hear our pleas. Then, we should also be ready to share a smile with a friend to bear witness to the reassuring power of our faith.
