Story of Christian Love
by Rev. Marshall Stanton, (1960, BD), originally published in the Salina Journal, May 8, 2013
On April 29, the few remaining Jimmy Doolittle Raiders gathered in Florida for their final reunion. The video clip on TV showed a 90-year-old men who seemed bright-eyed and cheerful. I knew Jake DeShazer, who flew with them, but he’s been deceased for several years.
In the fall of 1957 I enrolled in Asbury Theological Seminary and soon learned that one of its most celebrated graduates was De Shazer, bombardier of No. 16 of the B-25s that flew off an aircraft carrier to drop bombs on Japan. The speech he gave in chapel impressed me with the development of his character. Jake’s story was filled with passion and love.
He crashed in China after completing the bombing run over Japan and was captured by the Japanese. One of his jailers treated him humanely, so Jake convinced him to loan him a Bible. As the only material to read, Jake read it again and again. The biblical message touched Jake and he turned his life over to Christ. Eventually, he influenced his jailer. A part of Jake’s Christian commitment was the desire to become a Christian minister, so after his release he enrolled in Seattle Pacific College and then at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Enrollees at Asbury were given a battery of examinations upon their matriculation, one of which was a Bible content examination, which helped academic advisers guide students toward the courses they should take in order to better prepare themselves for the ministry. At that time, De Shazer scored higher in the examination than anyone in the history of the seminary.
After graduation from Asbury Seminary, Jake returned to Japan as a missionary and shared what Christian love can do to the human heart. His message was for those who had bombed Pear Harbor and imprisoned him (and, by the way, it was also for him, one of those who dropped a load of bombs on Japan). While serving as a missionary to Japan, De Shazer became friends with Fuchida, the man who led the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Eventually, Fucido also became a Christian. De Shazer died in 2008 at 95 years of age.
* Jake shared his testimony in Estes Chapel on the eve of his first term of missionary service in Japan. You can listen to it here.
I wish to hear from compatriots who were enrolled at ATS when Jake made his presentation.
Marshal,
I tool sat with Jake in Seminary,and had the privilege of him speaking to our military congregation in Camp Zama,Japan.I also had Mitsuo Fuchia the leader of the Pearl Harbor bombing scheduled to speak at my chapel,but he had a heart attack.He did however keep his commitment later after I rotated back to the states.
I was privilege to sing with you all in the Seminary Singers and always appreciated you solos.
Ch(Col)Curt Bowers,USA,Ret
I would be pleased to hear from those who were in Estes Chapel to witness DeShazer’s presentation