They Will Know We Are Catholics By Our . . . Selfless Actions, Prayers & Courage

At the age of 20, my Dad left college and entered the U.S. Military in World War II. After training as a Navigator-Bombardier in the Army Air Corps, he was assigned to the Army Air Corps 8^th Air Force 401^st Bomb Group (Heavy) that flew out of Deenethorpe, England. The “Heavy” indicated he was part of a B-17 crew, the planes known as the “Flying Fortress.” The little village is no longer there, but there is a road marker to mark the place where they lived and a nearby chapel has a stained glass window, relocated from the 401^st’s on-base chapel, with a B-17 in flight. As so many Brits said, they were “overpaid, oversexed and, Thank God, over here.”

Although it was unusual, if any B-17 crew member survived 25 missions over Nazi-occupied Europe, he could come home. The movie Memphis Belle tells the story of the first crew that made it to 25 missions and got to come home where they were celebrated as heroes. With the losses in some raids being as high as half the planes sent out, making 25 missions was a miracle. At a point in the war when fighters with longer range came into service, the bombers had effective fighter protection for all or most of a bombing mission, coming and going – and many more airmen came home.

In the early morn of June 6, 1944, my Dad’s bomb group hit targets inland from the Normandy beaches. Other missions included runs to a tiny out-of-the-way place called Peenemunde, Le Bourget airport in Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Leipzig,  and the city of Schweinfurt with its ball bearing factories. When my Dad hit the 25-mission mark, even though he could have stopped flying, he continued. There is some discussion about how many total missions he flew. This is due to some missions being top secret; some missions being counted as two; and questionable record keeping. In his case, it was most probably either 32 or 35 missions in total.

Therefore, I urge you, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2). 

For every mission past 25, he literally was laying down his own life for others. It is interesting to imagine folks alive today because some husbands or fathers did not fly one of those days when my Dad did after he had done his 25 missions. While he was there, he converted to Catholicism. Often, once he had flown the plane on its last miles to target and had released the bombs, he would see if there was a gun in the plane at which no one was stationed and he would begin shooting at attacking German fighters.

At some point two of his crew’s gunners completed their 25 missions and went home. They were replaced by two young Jewish men who were very pleased to get on “Lucky Mac”s” plane. Mac always came back. For their first mission, once it was “bombs away,” my Dad got on a gun and was yelling out prayers as he shot at the incoming Focke Wulfe 190s and the Messerschmidt ME 109s.

Upon landing the new crew members asked him if he was praying. He told them he was. They told him they wanted to learn his prayer so they could pray it too. He chuckled his laconic laugh and let them know it was a prayer to Jesus’s mom and since he was the messiah they missed, they probably did not want to be saying, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” They assured him that they really did want to learn the prayer since it was a prayer he said.

I have forever treasured this image – based solely on what my aunt Joan, his dear sister, told me since he never once spoke about World War II or his role in it to me – of three young men firing away at German fighter planes, all yelling out “Holy Mary, mother of God . . .”

A group of us were praying [some years ago now] outside the last operational abortion business (of four) in Corpus Christi, Texas, when a car drove up and screeched to a sudden stop right by us. We did not know what to think, but often someone would rant and rave at us about girls’ and womens’ “right” to kill babies. But this time a man got out and approached us, trying to speak through his tears. “You have no idea of the good you do here,” he said to us. “Thirteen years ago my pregnant girlfriend and I drove up here and you all were praying here. This was for her scheduled abortion. We went inside and we felt the evil. I thought about you all on the outside praying. We left. And now, because of you, she is my wife and, because of you, we have beautiful twin teenage daughters. Never stop this, keep praying here.”

Our actions in being there and our praying, publicly witnessing for the unborn children and their mothers, and often their fathers changed this man and his girlfriend and altered all of human history forever in the persons of their children.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:34-35).

Once in Bryan/College-Station, Texas a group of us prayed most of the day outside a Planned Parenthood abortion business as 17 girls and women went in for abortions, with no “saves.” Gloomy and despondent, once the “business” day was over late in the afternoon, we went to a local restaurant. A woman came up to us and asked if we were “the people praying at Planned Parenthood.” We told her we were, and she said, “Thank you, I saw you praying and because of you I did not go in for the abortion.”

That Planned Parenthood franchise location is now shut down.

Undoubtedly, there are many, many persons who have witnessed people praying to try to save unborn babies, and some of these prayers and actions had a saving, holy, glorious effect of which no one is aware.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Mt 5:14-16).

I have some particular personal heroes in my life – people who by their public actions and public prayer provide a witness and an example no one else can about the infinite value of every unborn child and the availability of God’s love and mercy for their mothers. These are the women who stand with signs that say “Silent No More,” and “I Regret My Abortion.” I have seen these women kneeling with heads bowed near the curb of a busy street as cars pass by, some drivers honking in support, and some cars with men and women leaning out and cursing as they make violent obscene gestures. Nothing fazes these women. They are truly brave and heroic.

Brethren, if any of you do stray from the truth, and one convert him, let him know, that he who converts  the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins (James 5:19, 20).

Wouldn’t it be beyond amazing if we arrive at the judgment and find out that, without knowing it, some of our actions and prayers played a  role in bringing someone home to God – and covered some of our sins (in my case, a multitude of sins)?

Note: A church at Weldon, England, near where the Deenethorpe base was located, includes three stained glass panels. The panel on the left has the British Union Jack and the U.S. Stars and Stripes above two hands in a handshake. Three B17 bombers are in the center panel.  The insignia of the 401st Bomb Group is on the right panel. The window was removed from the chapel at Deenethorpe airbase and relocated at Weldon –  about 3 miles to the west of  Deenethorpe – after the war ended.