Band of Brothers
Stories
Contents
“Band of Brothers” by Frank Ramirez
“Yet, Some Are Healed” by John Sumwalt
Band of Brothers
by Frank Ramirez
Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. (v. 11)
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, American and Filipino soldiers stationed in the Philippines were immersed in seven months of brutal fighting, without proper food, munitions, or air support. Their strength was sapped by malaria, and it was impossible for the United States to get them needed supplies.
On April 9, 1942 the remaining 75,000 were ordered to surrender to the Japanese forces. Already weakened by sickness, they were forced to march for days to cover the 65 miles to the prisoner of war camps on what became known as the Bataan Death March. Some dropped in their tracks and died. Others were brutalized and tortured, and often summarily executed for lagging behind. 10,000 did not finish the march.
These prisoners of war were not liberated until 1945, when the Philippines were finally retaken by American forces. In the interim harsh treatment, forced labor, and the endless brutality of their guards were a fact of daily life
Among those captured was a large contingent from New Mexico, members of the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery of the New Mexico National Guard. 829 of the 1,816 members of those units died either in battle, as POWs, or on ships that were sunk while taking them home.
My father Francisco Galvan Ramirez tried three times to join the Navy because his cousin Vince was one of those from New Mexico who were captured. He was only sixteen years old when he finally convinced the authorities he was two years older. Vince was one of the survivors. I met him once when a monument honoring both survivors and the slain was dedicated at a park in Silver City, New Mexico.
Prior to their captivity, Vince recalled that Hispanics and Anglos kept to themselves, and did not mix. Everything changed with captivity. Adversity drew them together as they recognized their common humanity.
In her book Beyond Courage: One Regiment Against Japan, 1941-1945, author and historian Dorothy Cave recorded many acts of resistance by soldiers from New Mexico after their capture. She too noted that prior to the war, Hispanic and Anglo soldiers kept to themselves, not mixing with the others. The nation’s military forces were segregated racially. However, the hardships of their situation drew them together in a way they had never known before, forging bonds that lasted a lifetime.
“We were a cross section of New Mexico,” one of the survivors remembered. “Professors, students, miners, lumberjacks, cowboys, rodeo performers, sheepherders, farmers, bus drivers. We had Navajos, Pueblos, Apaches, Zunis.
Cave wrote, “An initial tendency to clot together in ethnic groups didn’t last long. “We had no Mexicans, no Indians, no Anglos in the 200th. Just Americans.”
In his story about the ten lepers healed by Jesus, we also see that these particular sufferers included both Jews and Samaritans, groups that did not normally mix together, and viewed each other with suspicion. Hardships, however, seem to help people ignore their differences and recognize their common humanity.
Want to know more? Dorothy Cave’s book is out of print but used copies and digital KINDLE copies are available through Amazon.
* * *
Yet, Some Are Healed
by John Sumwalt
2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c
“So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.” (v. 14)
The preacher in our church read the story of Jesus healing the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, one Sunday, and then spoke to the question we all have when we hear about all the people Jesus healed: Why doesn’t Jesus heal people in the same way today? Why doesn’t Jesus heal my loved one who is suffering and dying? We pray and pray. We have faith. Our friends and neighbors join in our prayers. Sometimes prayer chains with thousands of people are praying for healing and people still suffer and die.
As I write this we are praying for the healing of a dear family member who is dying of leukemia. Yes, he is in pain and we know that in one sense our prayers will be answered when Pat “slips into heaven” as he calls the release that he is praying for. But this is not the outcome that we want. And it tests our faith.
And yet some are healed. Why some and not others are healed is the mystery in which we live.
Edgar J. Evans, a retired accountant from Irvine, California sent me an amazing personal healing story which appeared in my book, “Vision Stories.”
Edgar wrote: “As I look back over my relationship with God two events, which I believe were miracles, stand out that demonstrate the love and faithfulness of God.
Both incidents happened about twenty years ago when my wife found a lump the size of acorn in her breast. A mammogram indicated that, on a scale of one to five, the result was about a four and one-half, which would most certainly be malignant. The doctor explained to Marjorie that he would probably would have to perform radical mastectomy. So a date was set for her to enter the hospital for a biopsy.
But it turned out that she had a chest infection that had to be cleared up before she could be given an anesthetic. So, for three weeks many relatives, friends and people on prayer chains at several churches all interceded for her with prayer.
On the afternoon before the scheduled biopsy, I took Marjorie to the hospital. The next morning, while shaving, I was extremely nervous and felt as if I was coming apart. As I contemplated a worst-case scenario, my hands began to shake and I had to stop shaving.
For three years I had taught the Gospel of John to my eighth grade Sunday School class. I recalled John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
As those words popped into my mind, I said, “Father, where is the peace that your word promises? I have been teaching about it for three years. Help me, Lord!” It was as if someone had turned on a switch, for immediately I was calm and peaceful, and even sang while driving to the hospital.
To me that was the first miracle.
Before the doctor went into surgery, he said to me, “I will be out in about an hour if everything goes well. But I do have another surgeon ready to assist me if we find a malignancy.”
An hour and a half later, my new-found peace was beginning to fray. When the doctor finally came out, he apologized for taking longer than he had told me. He explained that when he made the incision, the acorn-sized lump was no longer there. All that remained was some scar tissue. He sent a sample of it to the lab, and the result was benign. He couldn’t believe it, so he sent two more samples to the lab, and they too were benign. He concluded by saying, “So your wife is fine, Mr. Evans.”
Later Marjorie asked the doctor if he thought what happened was a miracle. He said, “I’ve heard of such things. All I know is that you had a lump which is no longer there. There is no other way to account for it. So, yes, I guess I would say it was a miracle.”
And to me, that was the second miracle. How I praise the Lord for his faithfulness and his love!”
*****************************************
StoryShare, October 9, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
“Band of Brothers” by Frank Ramirez
“Yet, Some Are Healed” by John Sumwalt
Band of Brothers
by Frank Ramirez
Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. (v. 11)
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, American and Filipino soldiers stationed in the Philippines were immersed in seven months of brutal fighting, without proper food, munitions, or air support. Their strength was sapped by malaria, and it was impossible for the United States to get them needed supplies.
On April 9, 1942 the remaining 75,000 were ordered to surrender to the Japanese forces. Already weakened by sickness, they were forced to march for days to cover the 65 miles to the prisoner of war camps on what became known as the Bataan Death March. Some dropped in their tracks and died. Others were brutalized and tortured, and often summarily executed for lagging behind. 10,000 did not finish the march.
These prisoners of war were not liberated until 1945, when the Philippines were finally retaken by American forces. In the interim harsh treatment, forced labor, and the endless brutality of their guards were a fact of daily life
Among those captured was a large contingent from New Mexico, members of the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery of the New Mexico National Guard. 829 of the 1,816 members of those units died either in battle, as POWs, or on ships that were sunk while taking them home.
My father Francisco Galvan Ramirez tried three times to join the Navy because his cousin Vince was one of those from New Mexico who were captured. He was only sixteen years old when he finally convinced the authorities he was two years older. Vince was one of the survivors. I met him once when a monument honoring both survivors and the slain was dedicated at a park in Silver City, New Mexico.
Prior to their captivity, Vince recalled that Hispanics and Anglos kept to themselves, and did not mix. Everything changed with captivity. Adversity drew them together as they recognized their common humanity.
In her book Beyond Courage: One Regiment Against Japan, 1941-1945, author and historian Dorothy Cave recorded many acts of resistance by soldiers from New Mexico after their capture. She too noted that prior to the war, Hispanic and Anglo soldiers kept to themselves, not mixing with the others. The nation’s military forces were segregated racially. However, the hardships of their situation drew them together in a way they had never known before, forging bonds that lasted a lifetime.
“We were a cross section of New Mexico,” one of the survivors remembered. “Professors, students, miners, lumberjacks, cowboys, rodeo performers, sheepherders, farmers, bus drivers. We had Navajos, Pueblos, Apaches, Zunis.
Cave wrote, “An initial tendency to clot together in ethnic groups didn’t last long. “We had no Mexicans, no Indians, no Anglos in the 200th. Just Americans.”
In his story about the ten lepers healed by Jesus, we also see that these particular sufferers included both Jews and Samaritans, groups that did not normally mix together, and viewed each other with suspicion. Hardships, however, seem to help people ignore their differences and recognize their common humanity.
Want to know more? Dorothy Cave’s book is out of print but used copies and digital KINDLE copies are available through Amazon.
* * *
Yet, Some Are Healed
by John Sumwalt
2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c
“So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.” (v. 14)
The preacher in our church read the story of Jesus healing the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, one Sunday, and then spoke to the question we all have when we hear about all the people Jesus healed: Why doesn’t Jesus heal people in the same way today? Why doesn’t Jesus heal my loved one who is suffering and dying? We pray and pray. We have faith. Our friends and neighbors join in our prayers. Sometimes prayer chains with thousands of people are praying for healing and people still suffer and die.
As I write this we are praying for the healing of a dear family member who is dying of leukemia. Yes, he is in pain and we know that in one sense our prayers will be answered when Pat “slips into heaven” as he calls the release that he is praying for. But this is not the outcome that we want. And it tests our faith.
And yet some are healed. Why some and not others are healed is the mystery in which we live.
Edgar J. Evans, a retired accountant from Irvine, California sent me an amazing personal healing story which appeared in my book, “Vision Stories.”
Edgar wrote: “As I look back over my relationship with God two events, which I believe were miracles, stand out that demonstrate the love and faithfulness of God.
Both incidents happened about twenty years ago when my wife found a lump the size of acorn in her breast. A mammogram indicated that, on a scale of one to five, the result was about a four and one-half, which would most certainly be malignant. The doctor explained to Marjorie that he would probably would have to perform radical mastectomy. So a date was set for her to enter the hospital for a biopsy.
But it turned out that she had a chest infection that had to be cleared up before she could be given an anesthetic. So, for three weeks many relatives, friends and people on prayer chains at several churches all interceded for her with prayer.
On the afternoon before the scheduled biopsy, I took Marjorie to the hospital. The next morning, while shaving, I was extremely nervous and felt as if I was coming apart. As I contemplated a worst-case scenario, my hands began to shake and I had to stop shaving.
For three years I had taught the Gospel of John to my eighth grade Sunday School class. I recalled John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
As those words popped into my mind, I said, “Father, where is the peace that your word promises? I have been teaching about it for three years. Help me, Lord!” It was as if someone had turned on a switch, for immediately I was calm and peaceful, and even sang while driving to the hospital.
To me that was the first miracle.
Before the doctor went into surgery, he said to me, “I will be out in about an hour if everything goes well. But I do have another surgeon ready to assist me if we find a malignancy.”
An hour and a half later, my new-found peace was beginning to fray. When the doctor finally came out, he apologized for taking longer than he had told me. He explained that when he made the incision, the acorn-sized lump was no longer there. All that remained was some scar tissue. He sent a sample of it to the lab, and the result was benign. He couldn’t believe it, so he sent two more samples to the lab, and they too were benign. He concluded by saying, “So your wife is fine, Mr. Evans.”
Later Marjorie asked the doctor if he thought what happened was a miracle. He said, “I’ve heard of such things. All I know is that you had a lump which is no longer there. There is no other way to account for it. So, yes, I guess I would say it was a miracle.”
And to me, that was the second miracle. How I praise the Lord for his faithfulness and his love!”
*****************************************
StoryShare, October 9, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
