Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II

sailors accused of breaking regulations stand before the captain for judgment. One is unrepentant and defensive. He argues about the regulation itself and cites how often others break it. He will not admit a mistake. The other sailor has little to say, except to confess his guilt and express his remorse. Looking at each man’s similar service record, the captain makes the same decision you or I would make, and confirms the point made by Jesus in his great parable: the humble and remorseful are treated mercifully and justified by their earthly superiors and God. Jesus has little to offer those who justify themselves.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

—Luke 18:14

September 24 The Seagull

They ate the fourth and last orange on the sixth day. It was their last source of nourishment. An even deeper sense of doom settled over the men packed together in the three small life rafts, adrift on the Pacific Ocean. Hunger, thirst, sunburn, open sores, and untreated wounds magnified their sense of despair.

All the odds seemed stacked against this little group, except for one thing in their favor. Among them was the famous airman and World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker. The ex-military man considered himself the senior of the group, based on his experience, and felt that it was his role to hold the rest together. He became a lonely voice of encouragement. When the food ran out and discouragement seemed to peak, he started prayer meetings twice a day, with Scripture readings from a New Testament belonging to one of the men. The procedure was for each man to read a passage fitting to the occasion, even if some had never read from the Bible before. Rickenbacker found new meaning and a special beauty in the words of Psalm 23 and Matthew 6:31–34.³⁹⁵

There were a few cynics in the group at first, until the afternoon of the eighth day. After a Scripture reading and prayer for deliverance, what Rickenbacker termed “a small miracle” occurred. As he was dozing, a seagull landed on his head. With great care he slowly reached up and somehow grasped the bird’s legs. They finally had a little food, but, more importantly, had bait for the fishhooks, which had been useless up until then. Their survival was insured. Rickenbacker said later: “There was not a one of us who was not aware of the fact that our gull had appeared just after we had finished our prayer service. Some may call it coincidence. I call it a gift from heaven.”³⁹⁶

So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom.

—Matthew 6:31–33

September 25 Mama Planted the Seeds

Eddie Rickenbacker was a great man. He was a hero of two wars, a pioneer of aviation, and a highly successful businessman. He seemed blessed with boundless energy and an ingrained optimism. He endured suffering and faced death more than once. After a disastrous airline crash he literally willed himself back from death, which he described as, “the sweetest, tenderest, most sensuous sensation. Death comes disguised as a sympathetic friend. It is easy to die. You have to fight to live.”³⁹⁷ He fought this fight more than most men.

The source of this man’s amazing strength of character was a deep religious belief that he acquired as a boy and strengthened during his eventful life:

Never, even during my most mischievous escapades, had I lost faith in God. Mama had planted the seeds of religion too deeply in all of us for that. All through my childhood there was a warm, continuing family ritual. After supper… Mother would ask one of us to bring in the Bible… [She] would open it and begin to read. Her favorite passages were the Sermon on the Mount and the 23^rd Psalm, and they are the ones I remember best. She would often stop reading to discuss the meanings behind the Scriptures and how we could apply the principles of Christianity to everyday life.

It was my mother who taught us to pray… But formal prayer was only the beginning. Mama taught us that the Lord above was a friendly God, a Presence who was interested in our problems and sympathetic to them. Thanks to her influence, I have always talked to God in my prayers… full of confidence that He listens and responds.³⁹⁸

This passage presents a perfect prescription for the spiritual development of children. A warm and secure family atmosphere provides the foundation. Reading Scripture together teaches biblical knowledge, and also serves to bring the family closer together. Finally, the parent who explains the power of prayer and leads his or her children by example into a deeper appreciation of it gives them a lifelong resource and path to their own relationship with God. Scripture, prayer, and family form a powerful basis for spiritual growth.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

—2 Timothy 3:14–15

September 26 Payback

Fred Hargesheimer bailed out of his P-38 fighter over New Britain, an enemy-held island seven hundred miles north of Australia. For seemingly unending days and nights he struggled through the mountainous terrain and dense jungle. Fighting exhaustion and discouragement, he recalled his youthful days as an Episcopalian lay reader and recited the 23^rd Psalm over and over every day: “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me…”³⁹⁹ On the thirty-first day a group of natives found him in wretched condition and took him to their little village of Ea Ea, on the north coast of the island. There they nursed him back to health and hid him from frequent Japanese patrols. Eight months later, he was rescued by submarine.

After the war, Fred returned to Ohio where he started work, married, and had children. As time went by, he kept thinking of Ea Ea and the people who had saved him. In 1960, with his family’s blessing, he used their vacation money to make the eleven thousand-mile trip back to New Britain. There he got the sense that maybe a simple “thank you” wasn’t enough for these wonderful, but extremely poor people.

During the next ten years Fred raised money at home and made several trips back to New Britain to build a school, a library, and a clinic. He started a small oil palm farm, which proved a valuable source of revenue to the village. In 1970 he and his wife moved there to teach in the school. He explained, “These people were responsible for saving my life. How could I ever repay it?”⁴⁰⁰

Fred Hargesheimer didn’t just repay a debt. He demonstrated a Christ-like love for these people whom he came to know so intimately. He gave more to them of his time and his money than they had any reason to expect.