READ: HEBREWS 6: 17-20
This confidence is like a strong trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain of heaven into God’s inner sanctuary. (V. 19)
He swept ashore with the third wave of troops onto Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944. He was an Army Medic in an epic battle that saw one out of every six men killed on the beach. Later he became trapped in Belgium when the Germans launched their last great offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge. Through it all, by the grace of God Almighty, he returned home at the end of WW II. He never shrank from his duties, no matter the conditions, as he accepted his country’s call to overcome a darkness that was threatening to engulf the world. He was my father—Sergeant Bingham John Ailes.
He was a direct witness to the death and destruction unleased on Peral Harbor on December 7, 1944. He was assigned to the Army Air Force as a Crew Chief and stationed at Wheeler Field during the attack. God saw him through this horrendous day. A certified pilot, he returned stateside to train future bomber pilots. During a flight where his B-25 bomber was serving as a target for fighter aircraft, his plane was struck. The following day, while searching the Texas fields for survivors, they found him alive under his parachute–a blessing from the protective hand of God. Although he truly desired to fly in combat, he accepted his role and trained countless pilots. He was my father-in-law—Corporal H. Charles Sharbaugh.
Both men returned to their home in Johnstown, Pennsylvania after the war. Dad Ailes went to work for Bethlehem Steel for 43 years and Dad Sharbaugh for Conrail for 44 years. Each man accepted their role as family providers and worked through many cold winters and hot summers. Following careers that were marked by the peaks and valleys of Johnstown’s steel and coal industries, they each retired on modest pensions. Unfortunately, Dad Sharbaugh died from cancer and passed at age 69. While he courageously accepted God’s ending for his earthly life, he maintained his dignity and outgoing personality. Dad Ailes went through major back and heart surgeries without complaint. He lost his sight to macular degermation and his cognitive abilities to dementia, five years before his death at 93. I had the heart wrenching duty of wheeling Dad into a memory care facility when he could no longer live at home with his wife of 71 years! Through the fog of dementia, he would tell me he was going to be alright and he confidently “made his prayers” knowing God was watching over him and his family.
PAUSE FOR REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Memorial Days find me honoring my “Two Dad’s”–men who accepted their country’s call to duty; men who accepted the responsibility to care and provide for their families; and men who accepted God as the anchor of their lives! Two men from “America’s Greatest Generation,” one who helped save lives during combat and one who trained men to safely fly and return from combat missions. Ordinary men doing extraordinary things—but isn’t that how God works for those who accept his leading!
Dear Lord, help us to accept you as the anchor for our souls that we may follow your lead for our lives.