This Month… in France…

My grandfather was part of the United State Army during World War II. He drove a tank across France and into Germany. He never really spoke of what he experienced over there, but we all knew it must have been horrible because the sound of gunshots or explosions on a television program could reduce him to tears. The following story was told to me by his wife, my grandmother:

It was late June 1944. The Americans were battling their way across the French countryside. Bombs were raining down upon the town, and the Americans were answering with a barrage of their own. It was the middle of the day and war had come suddenly to this small corner of the world. Where just hours before there had been peace, now seemed to be the darkest corner of Hell.

My grandfather had gotten out of his tank, I don’t know why. In the midst of the battle, he saw a nun and a group of school children running right toward him. Their school had been hit by a German bomb, and they were lucky to have escaped.

The nun was frantic to get her charges to safety. She was frightened of everyone around her until my grandfather showed her his rosary. That was all it took for her to trust him. Here they were in Hell, and the sight of those beads brought instant recognition and trust.

Where could they go? she asked him. The fighting was all around them. There were no safe streets to run down. “Go into the church,” he told her. “From what I’ve seen so far, the Germans don’t bomb churches, and we try to leave them alone. Go into the church and say a prayer for me.”

She held his hand for a brief moment and then led the children inside. He and his tank-mates covered their dash to safety. The doors closed behind them just as the bombs hit and the church exploded.

I don’t know the exact date in June that it happened, but I know it haunted my grandfather for the whole of his life.

If you have a moment this month, pray for this valiant nun and the children she protected, and pray for the men who unknowingly sent them to their deaths. Only one of my grandfather’s tank-mates is still alive. Please pray for his peace of mind, and that he finds the strength to forgive himself. Pray for the peace of my grandfather’s soul. Then take a moment and pray for the valiant men and women who are at war today, who will be called upon to make life and death decisions for other people. Pray that the decisions they make are the ones which ensure the safety and well-being of those for whom they are responsible. Pray for and end to war, that little children the world over may grow up in peace and safety.