Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II

by Larkin Spivey

  When gale force winds struck the Normandy coast on June 1920, General Eisenhower sent his chief meteorologist a note saying how thankful he was that they went when they did. He would not have had a second chance. Thanks to this miraculous weather pattern, the greatest invasion in history succeeded.

  Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.

  —Jonah 1:4

  October 30

  In Case of Failure

  Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.

  —Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, July 5, 1944455

  This message, if broadcast, would have announced one of the greatest disasters in history: the failure of the Allied invasion of Normandy. It is difficult to imagine the ramifications of such a scenario. Would Germany have had time to fully develop its jet aircraft, missile, and nuclear technologies and to ultimately prevail in “Fortress Europe?” Would the Soviets have conquered more or even all of Europe? Would the United States have eventually used nuclear weapons against Germany?

  None of these questions can be answered and, fortunately, don’t have to be. General Eisenhower’s message was a handwritten note found in his belongings by an aide weeks after the invasion. He never had to deliver it to the public.

  Although never used, Eisenhower’s “in case of failure” message provides two great insights into the events of D-Day. First, we see into the character of the Supreme Commander himself, with more evidence that he was a decent man. He would never have considered pointing a finger at subordinate commanders or the weather. Second, we have another reminder of just how uncertain success was on D-Day. In retrospect, many events of history may seem inevitable. Only when we go back and look at the details do we see how precarious those events were. The “in case of failure” message fully documents that success on this momentous day was not inevitable.

  We should obviously be thankful for the skill of the commanders and the bravery of the troops who achieved this great victory. We should also be thankful for a God whose merciful providence made it possible.

  No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.

  —1 Corinthians 2:9

  October 31

  D-Day Remembered

  On June 6, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave a speech commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the D-Day invasion. He spoke to a group of veterans assembled at Pointe du Hoc, overlooking the beaches of Normandy. In his moving talk, he asked rhetorically why men like these would put aside their instinct for self-preservation and risk their lives to overcome such overwhelming obstacles. What inspired them?

  We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.

  The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge and pray God we have not lost it that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.

  You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One’s country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man…

  Something else helped the men of D-Day: their rock-hard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. And so, the night before the invasion… General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listen(ed) in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.”

  These are the things that impelled them; these are the things that shaped the unity of the Allies.456

  We pray that what inspired our heroes of D-Day will continue to inspire and unify our nation during the troubled times that will inevitably come in the future. We hope and pray that America will continue to put God’s will and his guidance ahead of all other worldly concerns.

  The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

  —Deuteronomy 31:8

  President Reagan speaks at the 40th Anniversary of D-Day. (National Archives)

  November

  VICTORY IN EUROPE

  By the end of June 1944, one million Allied troops had crossed the Normandy beaches onto French soil. After weeks of hard fighting, the port of Cherbourg was taken, followed by a massive air and land assault centered on the town of St. Lo, enabling the first decisive Allied breakout from the beachhead in late July. Progress eastward was rapid from this point, as other American and French units landed on the Mediterranean coast and began advancing from the south. By early September Paris was liberated, and a continuous Allied line was soon established from the Swiss border to the English Channel.

  With Soviet armies closing from the east and almost continuous bombing of industrial sites from the air, the Nazi high command concluded that the defense of France was futile. German forces were pulled back and consolidated behind the natural barrier of the Rhine River network. Although the first German city, Aachen, was captured in October, the Allied advance slowed almost to a standstill due to bad weather and mounting supply problems.

  As freezing temperatures and cloudy weather started to settle over central Europe in late 1944, Hitler conceived a bold offensive campaign to relieve the pressure on his reeling army. On December 16 his generals launched an eleven-division assault through the Ardennes Forest aimed at Brussels and Antwerp. In a stroke, Hitler sought to split the Allied armies and to deny the Allies the vital port facilities at Antwerp. This desperate move had little chance of ultimate success, but still caught the Allies by surprise and seriously disrupted their planned offensive operations. The ensuing Battle of the Bulge was fought bitterly over a two-week period. The focal point was at Bastogne, where the 101st Airborne Division held out even though cut off and surrounded. When the weather cleared just before Christmas Day and Patton’s 3rd Army advance units arrived, the issue was decided. By early January all German forces were eliminated from the “bulge,” with the loss of two panzer armies and eight hundred tanks. There would be no further offensive efforts by the German army.

  After the Battle of the Bulge it was only a matter of weeks before the Allied armies continued to push to the east. In March 1945 the Rhine River barrier was forced at several points, as the German defenses began to collapse all along the front. The British and Canadian armies on the left flank raced for the German North Sea ports. The American 1st and 9th armies advanced on the Ruhr Valley, cutting off Germany’s main industrial region from the rest of the country. Patton’s Third Army, meanwhile, attacked east along the Danube toward Czechoslovakia.

  As the war was nearing an end, General Eisenhower made a controversial strategic decision with long-range consequences for the postwar era. He did not attempt to capture Berlin. Stopping short and directing his forces southward at other objectives, he allowed the Soviets uncontested control of the German capital. As Red Army forces encircled Berlin, Hitler finally committed suicide on April 29. By strange coincidence, Franklin Roosevelt and Benito Mussolini also died within days of the German leader’s death. Shortly thereafter, a German provisional government accepted surrender terms and a cease-fire. At Eisenhower’s headquarters, Marshal Alfred Yodl signed the formal document:

  We, the undersigned… hereby surrender unconditionally to the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force, and simultaneously to the Supreme High Command of the Red
Army, all forces on land, sea, and in the air who are at this date under German control.457

  At 11:01 p.m. on May 8, 1945, World War II in Europe came to an end.

  November 1

  Bonhoeffer

  Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Christian during World War II. He was a Lutheran theologian, pastor, and leader of the Confessing Church, which opposed the anti-Semitic policies of the Nazis. Arrested by the Gestapo in April 1943 and imprisoned in a series of camps, he was finally hanged at Flossenburg on April 9, 1945, a few weeks before that city was liberated. While in prison, he wrote parts of his great work, Ethics, including a treatise on the role of the church in the modern world:

  The way of Jesus Christ, and therefore the way of all Christian thinking, leads not from the world to God but from God to the world. This means that the essence of the gospel does not lie in the solution of human problems, and that the solution of human problems cannot be the essential task of the Church.

  The Church’s word to the world is the word of the incarnation of God, of the love of God for the world in the sending of His Son, and of God’s judgment upon unbelief. The word of the Church is the call to conversion, the call to belief in the love of God in Christ, and the call to preparation for Christ’s second coming and for the future kingdom of God.458

  Bonhoeffer articulated a unique and timeless perspective on the relationship between the Church and God. The church is God’s vehicle for redeeming the world, not the world’s vehicle for bringing its problems to God. This perspective is as vital today as ever.

  This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations.

  —Luke 24:46–47

  November 2

  Bonhoeffer on Freedom

  In 1944 Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote an essay titled, “Stations on the Way to Freedom.” Its message is especially poignant considering his state of imprisonment at the time he wrote it. In this masterful work he addressed the subjects of self-discipline, action, suffering, and death. Each of these will be highlighted over the next several days.

  If you set out to seek freedom, you must learn before all things

  Mastery over sense and soul, lest your wayward desirings,

  Lest your undisciplined members lead you now this way, now that way.

  Chaste be your mind and your body, and subject to you and obedient,

  Serving solely to seek their appointed goal and objective.

  None learns the secret of freedom save only by way of control.459

  Bonhoeffer presents here an apparent paradox. To be free, we must be in control. This seems contradictory, until we realize the extent to which we can be governed by our passions. When our whims and desires rule our behavior, we are truly imprisoned. When we have no firm foundation we are out of control and at the mercy of the world’s expectations and our own uncertain judgment. Only when Jesus Christ controls our lives are we truly free to live as we are intended: with joyful hope in him and a sure purpose in service to his kingdom.

  Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

  —John 8:34–36

  November 3

  Action and Freedom

  In his second station on the way to freedom, Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls us away from the realm of abstract thought and good intentions to the real world of action.

  Do and dare what is right, not swayed by the whim of the moment.

  Bravely take hold of the real, not dallying now with what might be.

  Not in the flight of ideas but only in action is freedom.

  Make up your mind and come out into the tempest of living.

  God’s command is enough and your faith in him to sustain you.

  Then at last freedom will welcome your spirit amid great rejoicing.460

  We have read many stories about men and women who took action during time of war, in spite of their fears and the uncertainty of the times. Wartime seems to present situations requiring practical action rather than abstract ideas. There are times when the same applies in our spiritual lives. We all need times of quiet study and contemplation. However, this kind of activity is not an end in itself. These times are meant to prepare us to take action in service to God’s kingdom. We know that faith without works is dead. We don’t work our way to God, but if he is within us, we will want to do great things for him.

  When we are tempted to feel too ill-equipped to accomplish anything for God, remember that it is not our ability that God is interested in, but our availability. Moses was convinced he was the wrong man for the job of leading the Israelites out of Egypt. But God told him, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). In the same way, the apostle Paul tells us why we should never feel inadequate: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). (JG)

  You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless… As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

  —James 2:20, 26

  November 4

  Suffering and Freedom

  Dietrich Bonhoeffer suffered persecution and imprisonment for his Christian beliefs. For him to consider his suffering an integral step on his way to freedom is one of the most amazing witnesses ever recorded.

  See what a transformation! These hands so active and powerful

  Now are tied, and alone and fainting, you see where your work ends.

  Yet you are confident still, and gladly commit what is rightful

  Into a stronger hand, and say that you are contented.

  You were free from a moment of bliss, then you yielded your freedom

  Into the hand of God, that he might perfect it in glory.461

  Elsewhere in this book are stories of American and Japanese soldiers who suffered in prison and, through this suffering, found freedom in Christ. Out of the depths they discovered a new and better life. While few of us today will experience the tribulation of a prisoner of war camp, there will come a time in each of our lives when we will discover our own suffering. It could be chronic pain or a terminal illness, losing a loved one, battling depression, or simply a gnawing sense of being unfulfilled.

  We need to understand that God uses these experiences to draw us closer to him. Have you noticed that we experience the most growth when times are difficult? When circumstances are easy, we have no reason to rely fully on the Lord. In the Psalms we see how David handled suffering. Psalm 10 begins with a cry of desperation: “Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?”(v. 1). But by the end of the same chapter, David comes to rely on his knowledge of God’s character. May our own trials be times of honestly seeking the Lord. (JG)

  You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; You encourage them, and you listen to their cry, Defending the fatherless and the oppressed, In order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

  —Psalms 10:17–18

  November 5

  Death and Freedom

  After exploring the subjects of discipline, action, and suffering, Dietrich Bonhoeffer came to the final and ultimate step toward freedom death itself.

  Come now, highest of feasts on the way to freedom eternal,

  Death, strike off the fetters, break down the walls that oppress us,

  Our bedazzled soul and our ephemeral body,

  That we may see at last the sight which here was not vouchsafed us.

  Freedom, we sought you long in discipline, action, suffering.

  Now as we die we see you and know you at last, face to face.462

  Throughout this devotional are stories of miraculous survival and answered prayers. However, we know that many prayers, from our human perspective, were not answered. During World War II thousands of soldiers and sailors paid the ultimate price and did not return home. Bonhoeffer here speaks for the
se brave men and women, revealing the ultimate survival that was theirs as Christians: eternal life with their Lord and Savior. Only a Christian can face death with this joyful hope. We know what waits for us. And only when we part with this temporary dwelling place of earth can we enjoy our homecoming reunion with the Lord and all his saints who have gone before us.

  The apostle Paul eagerly anticipated meeting Jesus again face to face: “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). And yet, he did not allow himself to dwell on that heavenly future so much that he neglected his earthly tasks: “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it”(2 Corinthians 5:9). We should also anticipate death with confidence, knowing it is the passage to heaven; and yet continue in the good works God has given us to do here on Earth until he calls us home. (JG)

  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

  —Philippians 1:21

  November 6

  The Church Must Confess

  Before he was executed, Dietrich Bonhoeffer voiced criticism of the German Lutheran Church for its compromises with the Nazi government: