July 19
George McGovern was a famous member of the “Greatest Generation.” During World War II he was a bomber pilot with thirty-five combat missions to his credit. He later became a congressman and senator from South Dakota and the Democratic candidate in the 1972 presidential election.
He expressed one regret about the war. As he pulled away from the target on one of his last missions over Austria he received word that a five-hundred-pound bomb was hung up in the bomb bay. The bomb was armed, making it impossible to land safely. Working feverishly, several crewmen tried to free the deadly projectile. Unfortunately, it came loose as the bomber flew over a small farm. McGovern looked down in horror as the bomb destroyed a cluster of houses on the farm.
For forty years he lived with a sense of guilt over this incident. In 1985 he was lecturing at the University of Innsbruck and, in response to a question from a television reporter, described his regret about the accidental bombing of those farmhouses. That night an elderly Austrian farmer called the television station with a message for the senator:
“Tell the American senator that it was my farm. We saw this low bomber coming, where all the others that had come over earlier were way up above. I got my wife and three daughters out of the house and we hid in the ditch, and no one was hurt. You can tell him that I despised Adolf Hitler, even though my government threw in with him.”285
When he heard these words, George McGovern was finally able to sigh in relief. He said, “After all those years, I got redemption.”286 Every thinking person involved in war comes away with some sense of guilt. I believe that God honors such pangs of conscience and offers each of us a path to our own redemption.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
July 20
George McGovern was the son of a Methodist minister and grew up in a household that took faith and morals seriously. After the war he attended theological seminary to pursue an interest in applying Christian ethics to practical life. He was a student minister for about a year, until he decided on a different career path that took him into teaching and eventually politics. In a 2003 article he talked about his service in the war and his ambivalence about God’s role in it:
As a World War II bomber pilot, I was always troubled by the title of a then-popular book, God is My Co- pilot. My co-pilot was Bill Rounds of Wichita, Kansas, who was anything but godly, but he was a skillful pilot, and he helped me bring our B-24 Liberator through thirty-five combat missions over the most heavily defended targets in Europe. I give thanks to God for our survival, but somehow I could never quite picture God sitting at the controls of a bomber or squinting through a bombsight deciding which of his creatures should survive and which should die.287
I agree with the observation that God doesn’t squint through bombsights or pick targets for destruction in war. The title of the book mentioned doesn’t necessarily imply that either, but is instead intended to convey the idea that God was there with the author, protecting him during his missions. Others, including myself, have also been troubled by the title of this book, but for a different reason. If God is our copilot, then the implication is that he is along for the ride, watching out for us and protecting us during dangerous moments. However, if he is the pilot, then he has the controls. The bumper sticker says it best:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
July 21
Ed Brandt stared up at the German Me-262 diving directly toward him. From the nose compartment of his B-26 bomber, he had a clear view. The yellow-nose jet bore in straight at his aircraft and then passed close in front, without firing his cannon. There was little time to enjoy this “good fortune.” Ahead, another six-plane formation seemed to erupt as a B-26 exploded and crashed into two others. The intercom came alive with shouting gunners calling out enemy aircraft.
On April 26, 1945, the 17th Bombing Group made an all-out effort to destroy the German airbase at Lechfield, home of the new German jet fighter, the Me-262. With an incredible airspeed outclassing Allied fighters, these aircraft were proving a serious threat. This raid was opposed by large numbers of the deadly Me- 262s and proved to be the most costly of the war for the 17th. When his ship landed at home base Brandt learned that most of his squadron had not returned. He and his crew said a prayer of thanks for having survived this battle, which turned out to be their last combat mission of the war.
Years later Ed Brandt learned that one of the German pilots involved in the Lechfield battle had written an account of his part in the action. He described how he had dived on a formation of B-26s only to have his 20mm cannon malfunction when he pressed the trigger. This was probably the occurrence that saved Brandt and his fellow crewmen on that day. He could only reiterate his prayer of thanks to God for another miraculous occurrence that had enabled him to survive one of the most dangerous missions of the war.288
When I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death.
July 22
