Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II

by Larkin Spivey

  During the Guadalcanal campaign, however, it was not so easy for the Marines to laugh off Tokyo Rose’s insidious effort to make them feel isolated and abandoned. The Marines could see for themselves that they were undersupplied and, at times, seemingly forgotten in their prolonged struggle. A Navy chaplain explained:

  The Mata Hari of the airwaves had no competition for our attention or our interest. Though we naturally discounted most of what she told us, some of it couldn’t help sinking in. There was a gnawing fear among us that the home front was incapable of giving us the help we desperately needed. “You are forgotten like the men of Bataan and Corregidor were forgotten,” Tokyo Rose would purr at us. I was worried about the spirit of valorous men who were beginning to feel that they, too, were expendable.187

  Discerning the truth in what we hear is often difficult. Unfortunately, Satan’s voice can be very soothing and plausible, with just enough “truth” to deceive us. As we filter what we hear, our own self-serving inner voice can also override our objectivity. We have to remember that God normally speaks to us in a quiet voice that we must diligently seek to hear and to understand through our prayers, Scripture, and Christian friends.

  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

  —John 10:27

  May 16

  Jungle Fighting

  Fighting a determined and fanatical enemy should have been challenge enough. However, the jungles of New Guinea added unimaginable suffering to the ordeal. The equatorial climate inflicted torrential rains, high humidity, and insufferable heat on those unfortunates who had to live and fight in it. Wet clothing, rusting equipment, omnivorous insects, and an endless variety of tropical maladies were the constant companions of every soldier.

  As the battles raged on and around Guadalcanal in late 1942, U.S. Army forces were committed on the north coast of the Papuan Peninsula to take the port of Buna and to relieve another threat against Australia. As the campaign wore on, the Japanese defenders and the jungle took their toll:

  The track is now knee deep in thick, black mud. For the last ten days no man’s clothing has been dry and they have slept when sleep was possible in pouring rain under sodden blankets… Every hour is a nightmare.188

  …The troops were riddled with malaria, dengue fever, tropical dysentery, and were covered with jungle ulcers.189

  …It was a sly and sneaky kind of combat which never resembled the massive and thunderous operations in Europe… In New Guinea, when the rains came, wounded men might drown before the litter bearers found them. Many did. No war is a good war, and death ignores geography. But out here I was convinced, as were my soldiers, that death was pleasanter in the Temperate Zone.190

  There truly has never been a good place for a war. However, these heroes of the early days of World War II in the Pacific endured more hardship than most. With tenuous supply lines and great uncertainty about the outcome, they fought on for interminable months. During the darkest days of the war, they not only survived they also turned the tide of battle and gave a glimmer of hope to an Allied cause that had up until then seen only defeat.

  Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus… If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him.

  —2 Timothy 2:3, 1112

  Battleships and cruisers in formation. (National Archives)

  May 17

  Savo Island

  By the evening of the second day the invasion of Guadalcanal was progressing successfully. More than ten thousand Marines had landed and were in the process of securing their major objectives. Nineteen cargo vessels were beginning to move their stores of food, ammunition, and equipment ashore.

  Although taken by surprise, the Japanese responded aggressively to this challenge. Within hours Vice Adm. Gunichi Mikawa launched a naval counterstrike from Rabaul, six hundred miles away. He personally led a task force of five heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and one destroyer south to destroy the invasion force off the beaches. Unfortunately, this threat was not detected by air search as it approached.

  At 1:42 a.m. on August 8, 1942, Mikawa’s fleet passed Savo Island and made contact with the U.S. screening force, deployed about thirty miles north of the invasion beaches. In half an hour the U.S. Navy suffered one of the worse defeats in its history. Surprised and outmatched in night gunnery tactics, the U.S. force lost four heavy cruisers and more than one thousand men. At 2:20 a.m. Mikawa reassembled his largely unscathed but scattered ships, and pondered briefly what to do next. The now undefended transport fleet lay exposed only miles away.

  At this moment, Admiral Mikawa made one of the most fateful decisions of the war. Considering his “victory” and the possibility of air attacks after daybreak, he turned north, away from the invasion beaches. The transport fleet and the 1st Marine Division that it sustained were spared. The most perilous moment of the Guadalcanal campaign had passed.

  This decision, made in darkness and under the stress of combat, saved America’s first offensive effort in the Pacific. This is another moment when we can see evidence of God’s providential hand moving to change the odds in a desperate struggle.

  Daniel answered, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight.”

  —Daniel 6:21–22

  May 18

  The Parson

  Radm. Robert Mills tells the story of an unnamed Kansas divinity student who enlisted in the Navy in 1941. Seeing an opportunity to serve his country and the Lord, the young man brought one hundred miniature Bibles with him when he reported aboard his first ship, the destroyer USS Ralph Talbot. Since storage on the ship was extremely limited, the Bibles had to go in his own locker. Also, no chaplains were assigned to destroyers, so he started holding worship services himself. The rough-talking crew attended sparingly and showed little interest in the Bibles. They did start calling the young man “Parson.”

  In August 1942 the Ralph Talbot was assigned to support the landings on Guadalcanal. The Parson’s battle station was the Number 4 five-inch gun mount on the main deck. This mount was unshielded and ammunition had to be passed hand-to-hand across the deck from the ammunition hoist. The Parson was the last man in the chain and had to hand the sixty-pound shells up to the ever-moving gun mount.

  During the night Battle of Savo Island the Ralph Talbot was heavily engaged, attracting the fire of at least three enemy cruisers. One of several shells hit the crew living compartment, flooding it with a mixture of seawater and oil. Another shell struck the main deck, as the admiral described while telling his story:

  Of more instant concern, one incoming shell hit the underside of #4 five inch gun, bursting just behind the large brass and steel fuse setter, not three feet from where the Parson was busy at his battle station. The explosion and shrapnel killed the man on the Parson’s right, the man on the Parson’s left, and killed or injured nearly every other man in that gun crew. The Parson was untouched.191

  After this incident, the crew regarded the Parson with a sense of awe. His church services on the fantail soon became overcrowded. The hottest items on the ship were salt-water-soaked, fuel-oil-stained miniature Bibles.192 Surely the hand of God was on this man dutifully trying to do God’s work in a difficult place.

  But you, O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.

  —Psalm 22:19–20

  May 19

  Personal Responsibility

  During the naval battle of Savo Island, the USS Astoria was the first Allied cruiser to engage the Japanese fleet, suffering severe damage from accurate Japanese gunfire. At about 2:00 a.m. Signalman 3rd Class Elgin Staples was hurled overboard when an 8-inch gun turret exploded. In the water, he was able to stay afloat thanks to the life belt around his waist that he managed to inflate in the darkness.193

  Four hours later, Sta
ples was rescued by a passing destroyer and returned to the Astoria. The captain was trying to save the fatally wounded ship by grounding her on the beach. When this effort failed, Staples again found himself in the water. He was one of five hundred survivors rescued again later. Once safely aboard a transport ship, he examined the life belt that had saved his life. It had been made by the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio, and had a serial number inscribed on the label.

  Later in the war, Staples was able to return home to Ohio on leave. Since his mother worked for Firestone, he asked her about the number on his life belt. She told him that numbers were assigned to each inspector, so that one individual would be responsible for each piece of equipment sent to the war. Since everything about that life belt was indelibly imprinted on his mind, he told his mother the number. Astonished, she told him that that was her personal code affixed to every item that she was responsible for approving.194

  Very few people in any walk of life have ever been so directly rewarded for faithfulness in doing their job.

  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

  —Colossians 3:23 24

  May 20

  Thanksgiving

  In November 1942 the USS San Francisco was part of an American fleet engaged in one of several bitterly fought night actions in the waters off Guadalcanal. Lt. Cdr. Herbert Schonland was performing his duties as Damage Control Officer at his battle station below decks when the ship received a series of devastating hits. Holes were ripped in the hull causing flooding and fires in the boiler and engine rooms. One shell demolished the bridge, killing the admiral, captain, executive officer, and many others.

  Schonland was soon informed that he was senior officer aboard and in command of the ship. Deciding that his most important duty was keeping the ship afloat, he remained below decks, systematically making repairs and extinguishing fires. Communicating with the bridge by messenger, he steered the ship and operated the engines from below. His nightlong struggle succeeded in saving the San Francisco and her crew. For his “ extreme heroism and courage above and beyond the call of duty ” he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Roosevelt.195

  Commander Schonland later wrote a prayer for the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Prayer Book, which he described in this way: “I addressed the crew after engaging superior enemy Japanese forces on November 1213, 1942, and I consider this a prayer of thanksgiving for all of us who came through”:

  Most merciful Father, our humble and gracious thanks for the safe deliverance through the raging inferno of battle when mere boys turned veterans, hard and sturdy, in brief moments. Our hearts are heavy with grief for those who have fallen during the “Call of Duty;” shipmates and friends whose loss can never be replaced. Our sympathy is extended to the loved ones whose suffering can only be relieved with the thought that: “He could do no more than give his life for his country in a cause that is just.” They, forever, shall be an inspiration to all fighting men and their spirit and deeds shall never die. We who have come through can say: Thank God for the U.S.S. San Francisco and the crew that made her great. Amen.196

  Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

  —Psalm 50:14–15 (KJV)

  May 21

  Love Your Enemy

  Enemy resistance on Guadalcanal ended when the last Japanese troops left the island on February 9, 1943, during a nighttime evacuation. A few days later Father Frederic Gehring accompanied a patrol to Cape Esperance, the sight of the last Japanese withdrawal. During their search for maps and documents the group was surprised by the appearance of four ragged, half-starved Japanese soldiers. Under the watchful eyes of the Americans, three of them raised their hands, submitting themselves to capture. The fourth collapsed on the beach.

  Gehring moved to help the man up, but someone said, “Let him die there, Padre. Who needs him?” The chaplain had a different agenda:

  I shook my head, bent over and picked him up. Then I carried him gingerly to the boat. Lieutenant Merson smiled thoughtfully at me. “For six months, the Japs have soaked this island in blood,” he said. “Not only did they kill so many of your boys, but they massacred missionaries, women, and harmless natives, and nearly massacred your little Patsy Li (an orphan girl rescued by the chaplain). Yet when one of their poor devils falls on his face in front of you, you pick him up lice and all and tote him like a baby. I salute you, Padre. You really do love your enemies!”197

  We might expect this kind of tender mercy from a “man of God.” However, few of us have experienced the trauma of Guadalcanal. What we see in Chaplain Gehring surely is not of human origin. An attitude and action such as this flow from one source: the indwelling spirit of Jesus Christ. From this inexhaustible fountain we see mercy pour out of a man exposed to months of fear, despair, and anger. There has to be a divine origin for this kind of love.

  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

  —Romans 12:21

  May 22

  Nails in a Sure Place

  Dan Snaddon spent most of World War II as a prisoner of war doing forced labor in Japanese work camps. Throughout his ordeal he was sustained by a powerful faith in Jesus Christ that had been an integral part of his life since childhood. He grew up in the small village of Tillicoultry, Scotland, where godly parents and a warm church profoundly influenced his life. He described the process of spiritual awakening in simple terms:

  My conversion was unspectacular. There were no emotional experiences, no blinding lights, but looking back over my life one can see God’s hand leading in definite steps toward conversion. I believe that my Sunday School teachers played a big part… Gospel texts were greatly used in gently leading me to Christ; they were as nails in a sure place.198

  A day eventually came when someone in his church that he knew and respected asked him, “What will you do with Jesus, Dan? ” His friend quoted John 3:16 to him.

  I was expecting this: somehow I knew it would happen. I knew those words by heart, but somehow they were different that night, the meaning was clear and from the depth of my young heart I said, “I will take Christ as my Savior now.” Immediately a great peace filled my heart, my joy knew no bounds. I had to tell my dad and mom, my grandparents, everybody. As I look back on that day I consider it the greatest in my life.199

  Dan Snaddon ended his story with a comment meant for all of us privileged to read it: “ Dear reader, as you eagerly press on into the contents of this book, may I urge you to pause for a moment’s reflection? Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Before another minute passes, why not trust Him and be saved.”

  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

  —John 3:16

  May 23

  To Die Is Gain

  Dan Snaddon was taken prisoner when Singapore fell to the Japanese early in the war. Cruel guards, scarce food, and hard labor made his life one of total misery. It somehow got even worse when he was sent deep into the jungle of Thailand to build the so-called ”Railway of Death.” There, dejected and broken men labored in tropical heat in spite of being naked, sick, and crazed by hunger and thirst. The guards were quick to become enraged over any apparent rule violation.

  Snaddon became the focus of the guards’ attention after being caught giving aid to a Chinese prisoner. He was beaten into unconsciousness, revived, and beaten again. At this point he could only lean on his childhood faith:

  Being brought back to consciousness for the second time, I felt that I was living my last few moments on earth. Strange as it may seem I was not loathe to let go the strings of life. The words of Paul were my constant inspiration, “To die is gain.” Lifting my heart to the Lord I prayed, “Dear Father I am r
eady to go or stay at your command.” The presence of my precious Savior was so real, His love in which He had enclosed me was impregnable and impervious to the threats of my barbaric assailants. Thus fortified, the inner peace and radiance burst through the filth, the scars and the coagulated blood, and formed a smile the onlookers said that it was a heavenly smile. The furious Japanese soldiers stared in disbelief; there was some Power here which they had never encountered before and could not understand.200

  From this point the guards seemed powerless to continue with the beatings. Dan was left alone to be cared for by his comrades, who were deeply impressed by this incident. He heard them say: “ This is a faith worth having,” and “ This is a God worth trusting.” As Snaddon himself said, “ Eternity alone will reveal the work of God that was done in the hearts of many of these men.”201

  Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

  —Deuteronomy 31:6

  May 24

  Shipboard Communion

  During the Pacific campaign the Marines became very familiar with troopships, or attack transports as they were designated by the

  Navy. The President Adams was typical of the class, converted from civilian cargo use in 1941. Capt. Felix Johnson took command in early 1943 in time to move troops to Guadalcanal and Bougainville. His crew of sixty-five officers and six hundred enlisted contained only one career Navy man: himself. His executive officer was a New York broker, the 1st lieutenant was a Sears Roebuck salesman, the engineer was a power plant worker from California, and the navigator was an ROTC graduate from Yale.