Larkin Spivey - Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,

And I will meditate on your wonderful works.

The Luftwaffe staged numerous devastating raids on the port, beaches, and areas around Dunkirk. However, their effectiveness was mercifully limited by frequent low clouds, rain, fog, and smoke. Even though the sun shone brightly at the Luftwaffe bases, flying conditions were impossible over Dunkirk on May 28 and 30, and for parts of May 27, 29, and 31.

Henry Bond was an engineer with the 700 thConstruction Company. His unit reached the outskirts of Dunkirk on May 27, and for two days they waited anxiously for instructions to embark, all the while under frequent artillery and air attack. When the call finally came, no vehicles were available, so the move had to be on foot, the slow and dangerous way. Bond wrote:

Rain commenced falling heavily and in answer to our fervent prayers it increased and continued for the whole of our 4 mile trek along the wide promenade of Malo-les-Bains to the jetty at Dunkerque. Thanks to the providential rain and I feel that only, we were spared a bombing and machine gun attack along the prom where there was little or no cover. 18

In addition to the beneficial changes in surf conditions, the “providential” rain over Dunkirk was an equally amazing manifestation of God’s miraculous intervention. During biblical times there were many examples of God bringing changes in the weather. On the catastrophic level he brought the Flood, ultimately to give mankind a new beginning. On another occasion, he brought drought to Israel under the misguided reign of Ahab. He has often intervened in history, just as he does in our lives, to fulfill his own plans for mankind and for us individually.

I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens.

Now Elijah… said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

Nineteen-year-old Bill Towey was a medic with the 11 thCasualty Clearing Station whose unit treated casualties throughout the campaign in Belgium and during the long retreat toward Dunkirk. Early on May 31 his commander announced that the time had come to pull back to the beaches. However, five volunteers were needed to stay behind with the wounded. The command was given, “Volunteers, one step forward, march!” More than half the unit responded. The process was repeated until, on the third try, Bill Towey found himself standing with four other men. They remained to care for the wounded until the end. 19Their thoughts are not recorded as they watched their comrades depart for the beaches and safety.

Every modern recruit hears the age-old barracks advice, “Don’t volunteer for anything!” I have heard great Marines and selfless leaders repeat this advice. In military service you face inevitable risks. Why expose yourself to ones you can avoid? Everyone understands this logic and even pays lip service to it. However, in times of need, I have seen many unlikely men step forward in response to the call. God has given each of us gifts, and he expects us to put them to good use. However, he seldom commands. He waits patiently for us to volunteer. We each have to carefully discern our own call to action and take our own “step forward.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

On June 1, Bill Towey was still caring for his wounded comrades. He was now with the last British forces defending the shrinking beachhead at Dunkirk. To honor fallen comrades, an officer in his unit held a hurried and informal funeral service for a score of soldiers laid out in rows in the darkness of the night. With no hope of conducting a proper Christian service, the officer gave his best effort, reading by flashlight. He chose a reassuring passage from Revelation:

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

At this point in the long and harrowing campaign, these men had begun to feel as if hope was gone. Weeks of pain, sorrow, and death had begun to eat into their souls. John’s vision of a New Jerusalem brought hope and a spiritual uplift to those gathered in the darkness. In Towey’s words: “It would be difficult to convey the great impact of those words, in those special circumstances, made upon a very impressionable and religious 19 year old lad, but the scene has remained indelibly impressed on my memory in the 63 years and more since it happened and, no doubt, will continue to do so until my dying day.” 20

God doesn’t promise to shield us from trouble. He does promise that he will be with us through every trial. There is always comfort and hope to be found in his Word, no matter how dire our crisis might be.

After the 2:00 a.m. funeral service, Bill Towey waited through another long, dark night of uncertainty. He and his comrades continued to seek out the wounded and to get them to their makeshift aid station. Just before first light on June 1, an officer called the remaining medics together and told them that the Germans were just down the road and would soon overrun their position. He didn’t want them all to be killed or captured, but, again, they couldn’t abandon the wounded. To make a terrible decision, he put twenty pieces of paper in his hat. Eight had numbers, representing those who would stay behind. The men drew their lots. Towey drew a blank lot and was immediately dispatched with the others to the beach. He made it off the beach with the last of the survivors. 21

I believe that God blessed this officer’s attempt to be fair to all his men under the extreme conditions of the Dunkirk beaches. There are even biblical examples of the Israelites resorting to the casting of lots for certain decisions. In normal circumstances, however, God would not be pleased if we made our decisions by drawing lots or flipping coins. He expects us to go to great lengths to discern his will, including prayer, Bible study, and consultation with other Christians. We need to incorporate this thoughtful approach into our decision making and make every effort to hear God’s voice and his guidance for choices that we have to make.

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

Only the men could be rescued at Dunkirk. Everything else had to be abandoned and, to the extent possible, destroyed. Thousands of vehicles were drained of oil and left running until the engines seized. Mountains of uniforms, blankets, and equipment of every description went up in flames in the fields around the beaches. The voluminous smoke actually was a blessing as it helped screen activity on the beaches from air attack. One officer was observed trying to board the Brighton Belle, an old paddle steamer, with his golf clubs. A bearded sailor remedied this situation by dispatching the clubs into the surf. Arthur May suffered with the destruction of his battery’s howitzers. He was with the 3 rdMedium Regiment, the same unit his father served with during World War I. As bad as times were then the 3 rdnever had to destroy its own guns. May’s conscience plagued him that he had “let the old man down.” 22