In the mid-1950s, before I was born, my parents went to Europe. My Uncle Wesley, my dad’s youngest brother, was stationed in Germany and my parents visited him and Aunt Jean. My parents traveled on to Switzerland to see the place where my father was held prisoner after his plane was shot down during WWII.
They went to the little town of Adelboden and had their picture made in front of the Interned American Soldiers Gate. They found the old hotel high above Adelboden where my father and other detainees were held captive.
While a picturesque hotel in the Swiss alps sounds like something straight out of the pages of Heidi, the time of my father’s imprisonment was anything but idyllic. The hotel was unheated, showers were cold and infrequent, food was sparse, news from home and about the war was minimal, and emotional damage occurred. While they didn’t suffer the brutality of German POW camps, my father and his comrades were prisoners, nonetheless.
Unknowns
My father was in the U.S. Army Air Corps, stationed in Italy and North Africa. He flew bombing missions over Germany and occupied territory. On one mission, the bomb bay doors failed to open all the way. In a daring move, my father walked the catwalk between the partially opened doors, manually forcing the bombs to drop. For this heroic maneuver, he earned an air medal.
Tension, anxiety, and uncertainty accompanied each mission. Which mission would result in death or capture?
On the day my father’s plane was shot down, he and his crew bailed out. Once on the ground, they walked until they came to a border and were faced with the decision of whether to cross over. Were they safe where they stood, or in eminent danger? They crossed the border and were later captured by the Swiss.
Stateside, my father’s father came home from his lumber yard one day and noticed my grandmother had circled a date on the calendar in red. When he questioned her about the date, she said she didn’t know the significance, but the Lord told her to circle that date and pray.
“I circled that same date today on my calendar at the yard,” said my grandfather. Believing they had received a message from God, my grandparents prayed for my father and whatever that circled date would bring.
The date they circled on their calendars came and went. Weeks later, news came that my father was missing in action. The date his parents circled on their calendars was the date of my father’s last mission.
Freedom
Occasionally, my father and other prisoners were taken into the town of Adelboden and allowed to receive Red Cross packages and make a purchase. My father noticed that each time he saw a certain man in town one of his fellow prisoners disappeared.
Finally, my father approached the man. Speaking to him in Swiss-German, my father said simply, “I want you to get me out of here.” The man shrugged and said, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” My father pulled up his sleeve and showed several watches he had accumulated during the war. “Does this help you understand?” he asked the man. Those watches bought my father’s freedom.
Weeks later, the man gave my father instructions and helped him escape through the Underground.
Perspective
Today, most of us don’t have any idea the level of suffering all war veterans endured. All our complaints about government and inconveniences pale in comparison to the physical and emotional damage veterans sustained. Current generations have little knowledge of, or gratitude for, veterans and their sacrifices, and even less appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy, yet often take for granted.
It’s time for a perspective adjustment. Instead of fault-finding, blame-placing, criticizing, ranting, and demonstrations, it’s time for a focus shift to gratitude, thankfulness, and acknowledgment of freedoms and those who fought to ensure them.
Let’s rekindle forward motion by remembering, respecting, and reaffirming. The freedoms we enjoy today rest on the sacrifices of the past. Let us never forget those who gave so much to guarantee our freedom.
“Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government” (1 Peter 2:16-17 MSG).
©CandyArrington
Candy Arrington is an award-winning writer, blogger, and speaker. She often writes on tough topics with a focus on moving through, and beyond, difficult life circumstances. Candy has written hundreds of articles, stories, and devotions published by numerous outlets including: Inspiration.org, Arisedaily.com, CBN.com, Healthgrades.com, Care.com, Focus on the Family, NextAvenue.org, CountryLiving.com, and Writer’s Digest. Candy’s books include Life on Pause: Learning to Wait Well (Bold Vision Books), When Your Aging Parent Needs Care (Harvest House), and AFTERSHOCK: Help, Hope, and Healing in the Wake of Suicide (B&H Publishing Group).
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