BBD 03.24.03 A POW's Story
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
(Over 8,000 subscribers in 75 countries)
03.24.03
A POW's Story
"But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much
patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in
IMPRISONMENTS, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by
purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by
sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of
righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by
evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet
well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed;
as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having
nothing, and yet possessing all things."
- II Corinthians 6:4-10.
E.L. Fowler was born and grew up on a farm at Sweetwater, Oklahoma. He was
drafted into the Armed Forces in October of 1943 at the age of 18. He was a
Browning Automatic Rifleman with the 29th Division on Omaha Beach during WW
II. Once the beach was cleared they fought across the "hedgerows" of
Normandy. EL's platoon was the scout platoon for the company and this meant
they were to search out and find where the enemy was hiding.
EL tells his story: We were attached to General Patton's 3rd Armor
Division. The five tanks we were supporting got too far ahead of our front
lines and were knocked out. Only 50 left in our company some wounded
including myself, and the German Panzer Tank Division cut us off from our
troops--we were "Prisoners of War" until after the end of the war (He was
captured 20 KM. South St Lo (Percy) Normandy France on July 31, 1944. He
was liberated on May 20, 1945.)
As "Prisoners of War" we were moved to East Germany and into Poland. There
we dug air raid shelters and water lines with picks and shovels and then
when the snow began to fly it was to the railroads to shovel snow off the
railroad tracks. This was the worst winter in 40 years as far as being cold
and the depth of the snow. Our clothing had begun to wear thin and the soles
of our shoes were worn out and many of us had frost bite. We lived on less
than 700 calories a day of watery soup, we ate it slowly savoring each bite
so as to make it last longer, making it seem more than it actually was. We
were infested with lice; they fed on every part of the body. Dysentery was
the order of the day along with sores breaking out on the feet and legs.
As the war wound down in Europe we were marched into Czechoslovakia and
there the Russian Army liberated us. After the war was officially over, we
were still dodging bullets and bombs as result of SS Troopers still holding
out in pockets of resistance. We stayed in a vacated Nazi's apartment until
time for us to get on top of boxcars and ride out to the American lines.
When imprisonment occurs with the terrible things happening around you, you
put your mind into another world, you design, you build, make plans, in your
mind, trying to keep it as far removed from the circumstances around you,
trying to forget the surroundings or the environment you are in. Above all
you talk to God a lot!
We must never forget that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who owns life.
He is the one who created, and He is the one who sustains. He is the one
that is coming again, and He owns our lives, and we must recognize His
ownership. There is an old saying, that the only thing required for evil to
prevail is for good men and women to do nothing. To paraphrase another
verity, if you do not stand against evil, you stand for it; you are either
with Him, or you are against Him. He must be first in our lives (Matthew
6:33), and I believe second will come our families. It is my firm belief,
that family had a lot to do with my coming back to relate to you this story,
as I know there were a lot of prayers to God by my wife, parents, and
family.
(E. L. Fowler received for his service among other medals the Purple Heart
and Bronze Star. He is retired rural mail carrier and farmer and has served
as the national chaplain of the Rural Mail Carrier's Association. He has
been an avid ham radio operator for many years. EL still lives on the farm
at Sweetwater, Oklahoma and is an active member of the First Baptist Church
of Sweetwater. You may contact him at w5cml@logixonline.net)
Copyright © 2003. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
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