The B-17 Gunner

The B-17 Gunner

We don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

2 Corinthians 4:18

Dr. Paul Stevens was a chaplain at a military base during World War II when a man from the control tower burst through the door. “Chaplain, we’ve got an emergency!”

As they ran across the tarmac, the tower worker explained a B-17 had been damaged in battle. The crew couldn’t get the landing gear down, nor could they get the ball turret on the underside of the plane rotated back into the position that would allow their gunner to crawl out. Still strapped in the turret, he would be crushed when they made their emergency belly landing. The plane had been circling continuously as the crew tried to get the landing gear down manually, but the plane was too damaged.

“They’ve got two minutes of fuel left,” the worker said. “They’re coming in now. You gotta talk to the gunner. He’s only nineteen.”

At the tower, the chaplain grabbed the microphone. The crew had rigged the communication system to allow the gunner to talk to the tower.

The chaplain didn’t waste time: “Son, do you know the trouble you’re in?”

“Yes, sir!” the lad replied.

“Son, are you ready to meet God?”

Only then did the gunner’s voice waver. “Yes, sir. When I was a boy, Mama took me to a little church where I heard about Jesus dying for me.”

The chaplain could see the crippled plane coming in low toward the runway. He swallowed hard and then said, “Son, close your eyes. We’re going to pray. And when you open your eyes, you’ll see Jesus.”

The man had barely started his prayer when the sickening sound of metal on asphalt came through the radio. The plane had made its deadly emergency landing.

All of us are in the drama of that plane, either as the tower manager, who knows the danger; the gunner, who is moments away from eternity; or the chaplain, who knows the only hope is faith in Jesus Christ.

With whom do you identify? —SANDRA

Lord, help me to be ready to tell how you died, were buried, and rose again to give us eternal life.

I remember two things; that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.

—JOHN NEWTON (1725–1807), ANGLICAN CLERGYMAN AND FORMER SLAVE-SHIP CAPTAIN