Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II

by Larkin Spivey

  As U.S. forces captured the Marshall Islands in February 1944, the Japanese were forced to a new inner perimeter stretching from the Mariana Islands to the Palaus and western New Guinea. The garrisons east of this line were given the suicidal mission of sacrificing themselves to make the U.S. advance as slow and costly as possible. The assaults on Saipan and Peleliu were accordingly contested to almost the last man. D-Day on Saipan was June 15, 1944, nine days after the invasion of France. Marine and Army units sustained more than sixteen thousand casualties overcoming the thirty-two thousand defenders. The attack on Peleliu in September proved to be the costliest amphibious operation in history, with forty percent casualties.350

  In conjunction with these land operations the Pacific Fleet fought a series of important naval engagements that further reduced Japanese military strength in the Pacific. In one two-day period U.S. carrier aircraft and submarines inflicted a crippling blow to Japanese naval air power, destroying three hundred aircraft and three carriers in the Philippine Sea. These operations in the Central Pacific in 1944 brought the war ever closer to mainland Japan. Air bases in the Marianas enabled long-range bombers to reach Tokyo, while new naval bases prepared the way for the long-awaited U.S. return to the Philippines.

  September 1

  War of Attrition

  In a 2004 speech to 1st Marine Division veterans, Secretary of the Navy Gordon England drew some interesting comparisons between the Marines’ foes in World War II and today’s conflict in the Middle East:

  There is a parallel between 9/11 and the island and battle of Peleliu. By 1944, the Japanese recognized that they could not match American firepower and tactics in the air, on the sea, or in land warfare. Therefore, at Peleliu, they shifted their strategy from a war for victory to a war of attrition. Japanese commanders had orders to seek a ‘stalemate’ in which they would inflict the highest possible cost to Americans in blood and time…

  What makes Peleliu so significant is that in the face of this new strategy and warfare, the 1st Marine Division did not hesitate or lose its will. The Marines pressed on until the Japanese were defeated. Despite heavy losses, the Marines would not be deterred.351

  The secretary pointed out that he was four years old when America fought the first ‘ism’ of his lifetime: fascism. His granddaughter was four years old on September 11, 2001, when America went to war against terrorism. Once again Marines face foes seeking to spill as much blood as possible. This time the targets are civilians as well as soldiers.

  In both these wars, Secretary England asserted that the decisive factor has been and continues to be the courage and sacrifice of American men and women in uniform: The raw courage and determination that prevailed in the caves and jungles of Peleliu continues today in Kandahar, Baghdad, Al Kut, Tikrit, Najaf… and other places where the 1st Marine Division carries on. It’s still about our people… God bless each of you, God bless this magnificent Corps, and God Bless America.352

  Our Armed Forces continue to serve us heroically today, and we continue to pray the same prayer expressed by Secretary England: “May God bless our men and women in uniform, and may God always bless America.”

  Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship.

  —Romans 12:1

  September 2

  The Spiritual Campaign

  The war was closing in on the Christian missionaries of the Dutch East Indies. Dr. Robert Jaffrey, the Head of Mission, knew that in the short run his work would be interrupted. However, like a great general, his vision for a greater campaign in the future inspired optimism. To one of his fellow missionaries he outlined his strategy for “conquests” ahead:

  With a steady hand and the voice of one assured of victory, he traced upon the map our coming campaign: the Natuna and Anambas Islands; Sumatra ferreting out and mopping up those pockets of satanic resistance in the central and southern districts; the final liberation of the Punans of Borneo’s hinterland; Bali, firmly held in the grip of the enemy, would be freed, its iron gates yielding under the onslaught of faith and prayer. He paused to give praise to our Commander in Chief for spiritual battles fought and won in some of the smaller islands, then moved on to Misool, the Isle of Demons, the Bird’s Head of New Guinea, the Wissel Lakes area, the Zwart and Memberamo River Valleys, down either side of the Carstenz backbone and at last his finger came to rest over the Grand Valley of the Baliem.353

  The person hearing these words was awed at this magnificent display of “a faith that never staggers at the promise of God… of a burning love that counts not life dear unto itself, but is expendable for God; and of a vision that is never dimmed.”354 We also are inspired by this insight into the heart of a great missionary. We know that no significant works can be accomplished without a vision. When God gave Moses one of the greatest missions in history, he also gave him a magnificent vision of what he was going to accomplish:

  The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

  —Exodus 3:78

  September 3

  Our Faith Is Complete

  George Syer was a staff sergeant with the 96th Division. He had only ten days with his newborn son, John Paul, before shipping out to the Pacific in July 1944. Trying to be optimistic, but fearing the worst, he wrote a letter to John Paul to tell his son that he loved him and to give him a future understanding of his father’s beliefs:

  Two months have gone now since you were born. Mother has since sent pictures that I treasure… Yes two months, and tonight I am on the threshold of another adventure of life. Tomorrow we board ship to go overseas. I do not fear to go knowing that I too must share the responsibility of fighting for my country. I have no desire to kill, son, only to save life, but there are times like these that one can’t understand, but seek to serve God and also my country seems the only true course to take.

  I go with faith that the Lord shall bring me back safe from the conflict. However should the Lord decide that my service has ended, and I fall on foreign soil, my faith will be satisfied to its fullest by Him who is wise and better than I could ask or expect.

  The answer to our faith is always complete, even though the answer is not according to your own will. A paradox, yes but that is God’s privilege and power.355

  Fortunately, John Paul was reunited with his father after the war and, so, had more than this letter to guide him through his formative years. The letter is nevertheless a powerful insight into one man’s beliefs. The phrase, “answer to our faith” is thought-provoking and worth pondering in itself. I take it to mean the final realization of the truth of what we believe, that is, the realization we receive when we actually meet our Savior in heaven. How and when this occurs is not up to us, although we know that the answer we receive when that time comes will certainly be full and complete, even beyond what we expect. The paradox lies in the fact that we who are worth so little ultimately receive so much.

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

  —Hebrews 11:1

  September 4

  How to Pray

  The thirty-ship convoy left Guadalcanal on September 4, 1944, headed north slowly at seven knots. The speed was dictated by the tank landing ships (LSTs), with their clamshell bow doors and cargoes of amphibious tractors. Four assault waves were embarked for the ten-day journey to Peleliu, a small island six hundred miles east of the Philippines. Bruce Watkins was one of the Marines aboard who had never heard of this remote little island. He had a lot of time to think about what he had left behind and to pray about what lay ahead:

  I remember leaning on the ship’s rail, alone for once, my thoughts on m
y much-loved wife of 14 months. I knew she would be praying for me, although she could not know the hour of our peril. Brought up in a Christian home, it was natural for me to turn to God and ask for His help. I asked for sharpness of mind to make the right decisions quickly for those who depended on me. Somehow I felt it was wrong to ask for my personal safety, but I asked for strength to fight no matter how badly I might be wounded. And so the last hours passed. Soon there would be no time for reflection.356

  This was a thoughtful man who was able to turn to God as he faced an unknown and dangerous future. I found it very intriguing that he would not pray for his own safety. Perhaps he was conscious of the fact that many would die in the upcoming invasion, and he did not want to selfishly put himself ahead of others. Or perhaps he thought that God’s plan might include his death and to pray otherwise would be futile. I’ve had similar thoughts to these and questions about what to ask of God. I have come to believe that I can ask God for anything, after prefacing my request with a heartfelt “Thy will be done, Lord.”

  Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?’”

  —Zechariah 7:46

  Marines assaulting a bunker on Tarawa. (National Archives)

  Religious service behind the lines. (National Archives)

  September 5

  Thirty-Second Prayers

  They called it the “night of the mortars.” The Japanese defenders on Peleliu found the range to the Marines’ position and kept firing round after round all through the night. Incoming mortar fire is especially unnerving because it comes in from an almost vertical angle with only a quiet, whistling sound. Open foxholes offer little protection, and there weren’t even many of those due to the hard coral surface. Many of the rounds detonated in the trees, showering shrapnel on the men huddled below.

  Bruce Watkins was a platoon leader with 1st Marine Regiment, landing with the first wave at Peleliu. Contrary to expectations, the resistance was well organized and fanatical. He and his men fought for every foot of terrain and, over two days, suffered many casualties. On the second night the mortar fire started, and Watkins moved among his men as best he could, giving first aid and encouragement. At one point he heard a comforting sound:

  A Catholic Marine in the next hole was praying with his rosary and it inspired me to employ what I had come to call my 30second prayers. I’m sure that God received a great deal of communication that night. Mine went something like, “Father, let me do my job and do it well. I don’t ask You to save me, but help me to be a good leader. If I must be hit, give me the strength to carry on and Your will always be done.”357

  I’ve always felt that God would rather hear frequent thirty-second prayers than have us wait for “suitable” occasions to pray longer. In fact, so long as it is heartfelt, this kind of prayer is the perfect way to bring God into our daily lives. We can always manage a short prayer before a meeting, an important phone call, or a trip. I believe that this is what the apostle Paul meant by his advice to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

  Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

  —Luke 18:1

  September 6

  Time to Think

  The second day on Peleliu was another day of intense combat. It started abruptly for the Marines of Bruce Watkins’ battalion with an incoming barrage of heavy-caliber fire on their hilltop position. Large chunks of rock and shrapnel were flying everywhere and casualties were mounting. Watkins realized he couldn’t keep his men in such an exposed position and ordered them back down the hill. He was the last to leave and experienced his most frightening moment of the war when an arm-sized shell fragment whizzed by his head, cutting his helmet strap.

  On flat ground below the ridge, Watkins spent the rest of the day dodging sniper fire as he went about the task of reorganizing his men and preparing a new defensive line tied in with the rest of the battalion. Just before nightfall several amphibious tractors brought the first delivery of food. Spam sandwiches and grapefruit juice were the special for the day. As darkness and rain settled in, the Marines experienced their first lull in the action. Watkins recalled:

  This night was relatively quiet and I had more time to think about myself. We were wet, filthy, and our lips were burnt. I had a fungus infection in my crotch and a smashed finger from the night before. I guess it was the first time I had really noticed. I have often thought officers and NCOs with their constant responsibility had an advantage in that there was little time to think about themselves. The private(s), on the other hand, often had time to reflect and wonder what crazy order they would be given next, fearing the worst.358

  Responsibility is sometimes a burden, but seen from this perspective, is always a blessing. Self-absorption is probably the closest we come to hell on Earth, and when we are responsible for someone or something else, our focus is outside ourselves. Fortunately, we don’t have to be commissioned officers to have this change of outlook. Every foot soldier in God’s kingdom has opportunities to tend to the needs of others, serving them at home, in church, and in the workplace.

  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

  —Philippians 2:34

  September 7

  No Atheists

  Father William Cummings became a military chaplain by accident. He was teaching school in Manila when the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1942. When his school was destroyed, he hitched a boat ride across Manila Bay to join the American and Filipino soldiers fighting on the Bataan Peninsula. All through the siege of Bataan and the final days of Corregidor he ministered to the beleaguered troops around him and became a source of comfort and inspiration to many. He felt that spiritual support was more critical than ever in a combat situation, articulating to a war correspondent his belief that, “There are no atheists in foxholes.”359 This now-famous comment took on a life of its own when the correspondent flashed the quote across the seas to America and the rest of the world.

  The ordeal for Cummings and many other U.S. servicemen would follow with the eventual surrender of Corregidor and imprisonment by the Japanese. Under the most inhumane conditions imaginable, he said, “There are so many men here. I cannot help them all, but if I can help a few, then maybe God will feel my life justified. When I worry about their suffering, I don’t have time to think of myself.”360

  Father Cummings’ last days were spent on a Japanese prison ship. He died in the arms of one of his beloved soldiers reciting the Lord’s Prayer. He is memorialized on Chaplains Hill in Arlington National Cemetery.361

  For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

  —1 Corinthians 10:33–11:1

  September 8

  The Voice of a Man Who Believed

  Of all the prisoners held by the Japanese during the war, the worst fate befell those placed on a series of prison ships, called “hell ships” by those who were on them. In 1944, as the Allies advanced on the Philippines, the Japanese began loading thousands of prisoners into the cargo holds of old steamships for relocation to Formosa and Japan. The conditions were unspeakable. The crowding was so severe there wasn’t room for everyone to even sit down at one time. Food and water were almost nonexistent, as temperatures below deck soared above 120 degrees. Buckets were lowered to serve as latrines. Disease and death ravaged the victims of this tribulation.

  On a particularly suffocating night, the cries of anguish on one of these ships grew louder and louder as the tormented prisoners seemed on the verge of a hysterical outbreak. The voice of Chaplain Willia
m Cummings suddenly rang out over the clamor. One of the men recalled an amazing transformation:

  Father Cummings began to speak. The sound was clear and resonant and made me feel he was talking to me alone. The men became quiet.

  “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”… The voice went on. Strength came to me as I listened to the prayer, and a certain calmness of spirit.

  “Have faith,” he continued. “Believe in yourselves and in the goodness of one another. Know that in yourselves and in those that stand near you, you see the image of God. For mankind is in the image of God.”362

  When he spoke these words it completely changed those who heard them, as the witness reported, “For a while sanity returned to the faces around me… some of us continued to be held by the strength of that voice, the voice of a man who believed and who wanted us to believe.”363 It is truly miraculous that a man could see God in a miserable and hysterical mass of humanity such as this. His faith was a powerful witness to God’s love for the men on that prison ship then and for us blessed to read about it today.