On Friday in US History 2, we had the privilege of listening to a pilot from World War II tell of his experiences of flying B-29’s over Japan. It was a very cool experience. It wasn’t just watching the newest in special effects from Hollywood, but we heard live testimony from a man who saw the fighting first hand. He didn’t just do some research and then write a book, he experienced the realities of war and survived to tell about it.
He went on a total of 35 bombing missions over Japan and of the 60 pilots in his squadron he was one of the two that survived the war. He said, “I don’t know why Providence chose for me to live.” They were not only in danger when they were flying over enemy territory as the fighter jets were striking them, but sometimes even when they landed they were in fear of the enemy. On one occasion, they had to land on Iwo Jima and spend the night there, but the island was still crawling with Japanese soldiers who were stabbing men in their tents, so they slept in the fuselages of their planes.
“I’m not a hero. The heroes are those who didn’t come back - and there were a lot of them.”
All that he experienced seemed so distant from what I know, but I connected with him when he told us his age during the war. He was 21 years old when he began flying huge planes on 15-hour missions to drop hundreds of bombs. I’ve heard that the guys who went to war were young guys, but for some reason that fact really hit me this time because I am 21 and couldn’t imagine flying anything. It wasn’t some video game where you could restart if you failed; It was real. Our teacher told us to listen up because this was a real American hero, but he replied, “I’m not a hero. The heroes are those who didn’t come back - and there were a lot of them.”
I felt very weak and pathetic in that moment. I am a student in Southern California and writing papers and reading books are some of my weekly trials. I was not going against an enemy that wanted my life everyday. I realized that the men produced in the middle of the last century were of a different breed than what we have today. Although the majority of the men who fought in WWII were not men of God and probably had a very low standard of morality, they knew how to get the job done. They knew what needed to happen and they took care of business. That is the kind men that we need today. The men of this generation need to step up and be men of action and courage. This is what I struggle for in my own life on a daily basis.
Even though we are not flying B-29 bombers, we can still be men of strength by doing all that the Lord has commanded us. We must resolve, in the face of all spiritual and physical opposition, to stand firm in the truth and fight for it even when the world, our flesh, our friends, or our family tell us different. The temptations against us are strong, but the power in us is stronger. The cost of choosing Christ seems great, but the reward is far greater.
“Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” Joshua 1:7
