Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II

by Larkin Spivey

  “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.

  —Jeremiah 23:23–24

  February 9

  Saved from Drowning

  The USS Arizona and other battleships moored along “Battleship Row” were the primary targets of the first Japanese attack. Within ten minutes a bomb crashed through the Arizona’s armored decks to ignite the magazine. The ship’s sides were ripped out and fire engulfed almost the entire ship. Within minutes the great vessel sank with a loss of thirteen hundred crewmen. Marine Cpl. E. C. Nightingale was preparing to abandon ship:

  Charred bodies were everywhere. I made my way to the quay and started to remove my shoes when I suddenly found myself in the water. I think the concussion of a bomb threw me in. I started swimming for the pipe line which was about one hundred and fifty feet away. I was about half way when my strength gave out entirely. My clothes and shocked condition sapped my strength, and I was about to go under when Major Shapley started to swim by, and seeing my distress, grasped my shirt and told me to hang on to his shoulders while he swam in.

  We were perhaps twenty-five feet from the pipeline when the major’s strength gave out and I saw he was floundering, so I loosened my grip on him and told him to make it alone. He stopped and grabbed me by the shirt and refused to let go. I would have drowned but for the Major. We finally reached the beach.57

  The major undoubtedly knew that continuing to help Nightingale might result in death for them both. He also knew that letting go of him would mean certain drowning for the corporal. Shapley considered the risk to his own life and counted the attempt worth the effort. How often are we faced with situations in which helping someone else poses a risk to ourselves, either in terms of physical health, monetary loss, social status, or reputation? And how often do we consider that risk worth it for the chance to aid someone else in need? (JG)

  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

  —John 15:13

  February 10

  Will Whiskey Do?

  For a few minutes, Lee Soucy, a pharmacist’s mate aboard the USS Utah, and his shipmates thought some kind of crazy bombing practice was going on over the harbor. Then “General Quarters” sounded, sending them to their battle stations. Within minutes the ship was shaken by a series of violent jolts and began to list badly. Over the ship’s PA system, Soucy heard a bugle call followed by the boatswain’s shout, “Abandon ship!” He was soon in the water swimming for Ford Island.

  Ashore, he helped treat the wounded at an emergency first-aid station set up in a nearby Bachelor Officers’ Quarters building. The wounded flooded in, and it did not take long to exhaust the medical supplies on hand. Someone called for more alcohol and heard the reply, “Alcohol? Will Whiskey do?” In a few minutes a case of scotch and other assorted bottles of liquor appeared. These served the purpose of washing off the sticky oil and providing antiseptic for the wounds. There were other uses as well:

  At one point, an exhausted swimmer, covered with a gooey film of black oil, saw me walking around with a washcloth in one hand and a bottle of booze in the other. He hollered, “Hey Doc, could I have a shot of that medicine?” He took a hefty swig… then he spewed it out along with black mucoidal globs of oil. He lay back a minute after he stopped vomiting, then said, “Doc, I lost that medicine. How about another dose?”58

  One of the hallmarks of American military men and women has always been the ability to see humor in tense situations. This probably reflects a degree of optimism in the American culture not seen in many others. We also have biblical encouragement for a light heart in the secure hope of a joyful future, reunited eternally with our Savior.

  He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.

  —Job 8:21

  February 11

  Encouraging a Mother

  The end of the Doolittle raid came a little after midnight for Billy Farrow and the other four members of his crew. They had flown their B-25 off the carrier Hornet, bombed Japan, and continued until they were near Nanchang, China. As the fuel ran out and the engines started to cough, they had no option left except to bail out of their aircraft into the inky darkness. They were captured the next day. A few months later Farrow and two others were put on trial for unspecified charges, found guilty, and sentenced to death.

  B-25 takes off from the USS Hornet. (National Archives)

  A day before his execution, Farrow composed a letter to his mother at home in Darlington, South Carolina. He himself was unshaken and unbowed in his hour of trial, but he knew how devastating his death would be to his mother. He sought to comfort her by reassuring her of his own faith. The final lines of his letter were: “Don’t let this get you down. Just remember God will make everything right and that I’ll see you all again in the hereafter. Read ‘Thanatopsis’ by Bryant if you want to know how I am taking this. My faith in God is complete, so I am unafraid.”59

  Farrow’s letter home was found in the files of the Japanese War Ministry after the war was over. It was given wide circulation in the United States and became the basis for countless sermons and editorials. His concern for his mother and his spiritual strength in the darkest possible circumstance were a witness to the world of the power of his faith. His words brought comfort and encouragement to millions.

  Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

  —Hebrews 11:1

  February 12

  Thanatopsis

  William Cullen Bryant published “Thanatopsis” in 1817 when he was a twenty-three-year-old lawyer.Thanatos is the Greek word for death, and the poem is a meditation on the subject. As he faced his own certain death, Billy Farrow wrote to his mother: “Read ‘Thanatopsis’… if you want to know how I am taking this.”60 The following is the most well-known excerpt:

  As the long train

  Of ages glides away, the sons of men

  The youth in life’s fresh spring, and he who goes

  In the full strength of years, matron and maid,

  The speechless babe, and the gray-headed man

  Shall one by one be gathered to thy side,

  By those, who in their turn, shall follow them.

  So live, that when thy summons comes to join

  The innumerable caravan, which moves

  To that mysterious realm, where each shall take

  His chamber in the silent halls of death,

  Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,

  Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed

  By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave

  Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch

  About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

  Under the tutelage of my high school English teacher, I studied this poem and memorized large portions of it when I was fifteen. I should not have been surprised to learn that a young airman in World War II found comfort in its thought-provoking lines. Bryant, unfortunately, didn’t elaborate on where his “unfaltering trust” lay. However, Billy Farrow did elaborate by clearly stating that, “My faith in God is complete.”61 With a secure faith in the right place he was able to face the worst possible fate with tranquility, bearing witness to the power of his own unfaltering trust.

  O Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare your praises.

  —Psalm 9:13–14

  February 13

  Prisoner of War

  Jake DeShazer was the bombardier on the last of Doolittle’s B-25’s to launch from the Hornet. His aircraft crashed in China where he and others of his crew were captured by the Japanese. He was beaten, half-starved, and subjected to solitary confinement. Three of his buddies were executed by firing squad. He said that at that time, “The bitterness of my heart against my capt
ors seemed more than I could bear.”62 He eventually was taken to Tokyo where he remained imprisoned throughout the war.

  In May 1944 he was given a copy of the Bible, which he began to read feverishly for the first time. The more he read, the more he became convinced that what he was reading was true and relevant to him. He said, “On 8 June 1944, the words in Romans 10:9 stood out boldly before my eyes: ‘If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ In that very moment God gave me grace to confess my sins to Him, and He forgave me all my sins and saved me for Jesus’ sake.”63

  This amazing story is a witness to the power of Scripture to change lives. God’s Word alone penetrated this man’s miserable circumstances to convict him of the true way to salvation. By reading and hearing the Word, he was able to take this step of faith and become a new man. Even though still in prison, his heart changed toward his captors. His bitter hatred became “loving pity” when he realized that the people who were so cruel to him had not even heard of Jesus Christ.

  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

  —1 John 1:9

  February 14

  Evangelist

  After giving his life to Christ, Jake DeShazer’s physical circumstances as a prisoner of war did not change. In fact, sickness brought him close to death, and his suffering grew worse. Spiritually, however, he began to grow stronger. His attitude toward his captors changed in a profound way:

  I realized that these Japanese did not know anything about my Saviour and that if Christ is not in your heart, it is natural to be cruel. I read in my Bible that while those who crucified Jesus on the cross had beaten Him and spit upon Him before He was nailed to the cross, He tenderly prayed in His moment of excruciating suffering, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” And now from the depths of my heart, I too prayed for God to forgive my torturers, and I determined by the aid of Christ to do my best to acquaint the Japanese people with the message of salvation that they might become as other believing Christians.64

  Freedom came at last to Jake DeShazer on August 20, 1945, when American troops parachuted into his compound to ensure that he and the other prisoners were protected. After returning to the States and recovering his strength, he heard God’s call to take Christ’s message to the Japanese people. He attended a Christian college and returned to Japan a missionary, starting churches throughout the country. Of the many that he influenced, one of the most notable was Mitsuo Fuchida, the lead pilot in the attack on Pearl Harbor and the subject of another story. Jake DeShazer’s life became a testament to the fact that his heart was truly changed by Christ’s message. Love, as defined in 1 Corinthians, became the foundation of his work and his relationships.

  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

  —1 Corinthians 13:4–7

  February 15

  Fuchida

  Early on December 7, 1941, Cdr. Mitsuo Fuchida looked down on the ships of the U.S. fleet peacefully moored at their Pearl Harbor berths. As air group commander and leader of the first attack wave he wanted to make sure that the battleships were there. They were neatly lined up alongside Ford Island as expected. Excitedly he shouted over his radio the codeword to attack, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” and then led the Japanese aircraft to their target. He later described this moment as “the most thrilling exploit of my career.”

  Fuchida was severely injured at the battle of Midway in 1942 and served for the remainder of the war as a high-level staff officer. As the end of the war neared he did not want to surrender, but favored fighting to the last man. He did as the emperor directed, however, and left the service a bitter and disillusioned man.

  After the war Fuchida became a farmer so that he could feed his family. Living a life of isolation and poverty, he went through an intense period of introspection and questioning. Before, he had not been a religious man. Now he began to see God in his surroundings and in the working of the seasons. He said, “There on my farm, God began to come into my heart… I began to realize slowly that all things were dependent upon a divine Creator, and that I was living under the grace of God. I could sow the seeds; I could plant the saplings; I could draw water with my hands. But they all came from the benevolence of a kind and far-seeing Creator.”65 Mitsuo Fuchida’s long spiritual journey began with a sense of wonder about the natural beauty of the world around him.

  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

  —Psalm 29:2

  February 16

  Forgiveness

  The war crimes trials after the war were a source of bitterness and frustration for Mitsuo Fuchida. Although he himself was not accused, he could not understand the moral basis for the victors putting the defeated on trial. The Japanese military code allowed for no mercy toward a fallen foe and abhorred the idea of any form of surrender. He was convinced that atrocities toward prisoners must have been committed on both sides. He eagerly sought out returning Japanese prisoners to confirm his feelings.

  In the spring of 1947 he met an old acquaintance, Sublieutenant Kazuo Kanegasaki, who had been a survivor of the aircraft carrier Hiryu’s sinking during the Battle of Midway. Kanegasaki had eventually been held in a Colorado POW camp. He told Fuchida the remarkable story of an eighteen-year-old American girl named Margaret Covell who came to the camp as a volunteer worker.

  Over time, Covell’s unusual compassion aroused the curiosity of the prisoners. One of them asked her, “Why are you so kind to us?” She answered,“Because Japanese soldiers killed my parents.”66 As the prisoners stared at her in astonishment, she explained that her parents were missionaries before the war at a mission school in Yokohama. When she learned they had been arrested and beheaded, she was choked with hatred at first. But gradually, she became convinced in her heart that her parents would have forgiven her captors. Could she do less? As a sign of her sincerity, she volunteered to serve the Japanese prisoners.

  On hearing this story, Fuchida was thunderstruck. The concept of forgiveness was foreign to his “code.” A teenaged American girl seemed to have an answer to the problem of hatred and suspicion in the world. Fuchida knew that such towering goodness could not have a human source. He wondered, “Where did this great love come from this love that could forgive enemies their cruelest deeds?”67

  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

  —Ephesians 4:32

  February 17

  The Second Day to Remember

  As he was passing through a train station in early October 1948, a stranger handed Mitsuo Fuchida a pamphlet entitled “I Was a Prisoner of Japan,” by Jacob DeShazer. The story of the American airman’s ordeal and life-changing experience greatly affected the Japanese airman. The parallel between DeShazer’s experience and that of Margaret Covell was amazing. Here was another story of love overcoming hatred, only from a more convincing source. DeShazer was a fellow warrior who had suffered even more than he had because of war. Fuchida purchased a Bible, not to pursue Christianity, but to better understand someone like DeShazer. Fuchida reflected:

  His story… was something I could not explain. Neither could I forget it. The peaceful motivation I had read about was exactly what I was seeking. Since the American had found it in the Bible, I decided to purchase one myself, despite my traditionally Buddhist heritage. I read this book eagerly. I came to the climactic drama—the Crucifixion. I read in Luke 23:34 the prayer of Jesus Christ at His death… I was impressed that I was certainly one of those for whom He had prayed. Right at that moment I seemed to meet Jesus for the firs
t time. That date, April 14, 1950—became the second “day to remember” of my life. On that day, I became a new person.68

  Fuchida’s life did not become easier because of his conversion. Many of his countrymen accused him of currying favor with the occupation forces. Despite such criticism he joined a Christian evangelical group dedicated to spreading the gospel. Instead of growing bitter and resigned to the cynical attitudes of his fellow countrymen, he spoke boldly before large audiences in Japan and America and, through his faithful service, influenced countless others to meet Jesus for the first time.

  Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

  —Luke 23:34

  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

  —Colossians 3:13

  February 18

  The Miracle before the Battle

  In May 1942 the USS Yorktown represented one-third of American combat power in the Pacific. Unfortunately, she was severely damaged early in May at the Battle of the Coral Sea. Two bombs had ruptured fuel tanks and damaged the hull. Worse still, an eight-hundred-pound bomb had penetrated three decks and exploded deep within the ship. In addition to massive casualties, whole compartments were wiped out, bulkheads were warped, and large areas were charred by fire. Many of the casualties were incurred fighting the widespread fires and keeping the ship afloat.