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Posted on 03/20/2008 5:02:02 PM PDT by jazusamo
The Rev. Jacob Daniel "Jake" DeShazer, who was the oldest survivor of World War II's historic Doolittle Raid on Japan, died Saturday, March 15, 2008, at his home in Salem. He was 95.
DeShazer stood out among the 80 Doolittle Raiders, 11 of whom are still alive. After spending 40 months post-raid as a prisoner of war, he returned to Japan intent on forgiving his former captors and converting them to Christianity. Over 30 years, he helped start 23 churches in Japan.
Born Nov. 15, 1912, in Madras to a wheat-farming family, DeShazer graduated from Madras High School in 1931. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps at 27, two years before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. A month after the attack, he volunteered for a secret mission. He was the bombardier aboard the "Bat Out of Hell," one of 16 bombers that launched a surprise attack on Tokyo and other Japanese targets on April 18, 1942.
DeShazer's plane dropped bombs on a Nagoya, Japan, oil refinery before heading toward the safety of China. But when the fuel depleted, the crew bailed out, parachuting into a dark, foggy night.
Many of his experiences were recounted in a 1950 biography, "The Amazing Story of Sgt. Jacob DeShazer" by C. Hoyt Watson, first published by Light and Life Press.
Some Raiders died. Others made it to safety that night. But DeShazer was among those the Japanese captured and dealt a life-in-prison sentence.
After he'd suffered months of torture and hunger, a prison guard handed him a Bible. Though he'd been raised in a Christian home, DeShazer didn't embrace the faith until he read that prison Bible. He vowed that if he ever was freed, he'd share what he learned -- what he believed -- with the Japanese.
In August 1945, 10 days after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, DeShazer's captors freed him. Back in the Northwest, he attended Seattle Pacific College, now Seattle Pacific University, a Christian school.
He met Florence Matheny there and the two married in 1946. After he graduated in 1948, the couple moved to Japan as Free Methodist missionaries. He returned for a Masters of Divinity degree at Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky before moving to Japan again to evangelize and help establish churches throughout the country.
Among those he influenced was Mitsuo Fuchida, who had commanded the Japanese force that attacked Pearl Harbor. Fuchida wrote that DeShazer's words inspired him to read the Bible, which led him to convert to Christianity.
Florence DeShazer survives her husband of 61 years, as do his sister, Helen Hindman of Iowa City, Iowa; five children; 10 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Visitation is planned from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, March 29, at Restlawn Funeral Home in Salem. A graveside service will follow. At 2 p.m. that day, a memorial service will be conducted at Salem First Free Methodist Church.
His family suggests donations toward world missionary work, in care of the Salem First Free Methodist Church, 4455 Silverton Rd. N.E., Salem 97305.
Ping!
he returned to Japan intent on forgiving his former captors and converting them to Christianity.
Did he know that the Japs executed a few of his mates after they captured them?
I’m asking because for some reason that was hidden a bit from general knowledge at that time.
I would think he knew that being a prisoner himself.
Farewell to a great and true American hero! May he rest in peace today and forever. God bless his soul. Thanks be to him for what he did to secure peace and security for US!
Other recent posts:
Member of famed ‘Doolittle Raiders’ dies
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987328/posts
June 2001 Book Review: Beyond Pearl Harbor (Sgt. J. DeShazer, the rest of the story)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987370/posts
And for historical background:
The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Doolittle Raid (4/18/1942) - Apr. 18th, 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/895648/posts
The FReeper Foxhole Profiles General “Jimmy” Doolittle - Mar 8th, 2004
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/1092931/posts
Thanks for that. I did a search on title words and name so I must have done something wrong.
What a powerful testimony, ‘Welcome, Good and Faithful Servant’, Reverend DeShazer is a better man than I am, I don’t know if I could be that forgiving, but I’d like to think I could.
I saw a documentary on him just a few months ago. What a wonderful man, Christian, and patriot.
RIP.
RIP, sir.
A truly great man.
Thank you Jake. That was quite a mission you guys pulled off there. I am still amazed.
You know, there was a time when the nation actually followed Ann Coulter’s advice: “Invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.” And guess what...it works!
I once read in a book about the raid written by Carroll Glines that several of the prisoners, I think one being DeShazer, were to held in secret for life by order of the Emperor. They were only found by chance when the Allies were securing an airfield days after the war was over.
I did not know Fuchida became a Christian, and that a Doolittle survivor witnessed to him. Amazing.
>>>Did he know that the Japs executed a few of his mates after they captured them? I’m asking because for some reason that was hidden a bit from general knowledge at that time.
It may not have been told to POWs held by the Japanese but the American public knew for a “fact” Doolittle Raiders had been executed. The wartime movie Purple Heart ended with Dana Andrews, cowboy hero The Red Ryder, and their brave comrades being led away to their execution after resisting torture and defying Japanese efforts to learn if they flew off the Hornet.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037197/
Thanks for the ping. Blessings to his family!
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