Honoring My Father on Father’s Day
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where comes my help, my rescue?
It comes from the Lord, the maker
Of heaven and earth, ever true.
True to His word, always faithful.
He’ll watch over you and will keep
Your feet from slipping or falling
And will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you now.
He is your shade at your right hand.
The sun will not harm you by day,
Nor the moon by night, His command.
The Lord will keep you from all harm.
He’ll watch over all of your life,
Watching your coming and going,
Forever through peace or through strife.
(Based on Psalm 121)
Indiantown Gap was dedicated March 3, 1941, and was officially named Indiantown Gap Military Reservation. It was one of the nation’s busiest Army training camps, serving as the staging area for the New York Port of Embarkation. More than 150,000 troops in eight divisions were given final training at IGMR, prior to being shipped overseas. Once Allied Forces gained a foothold in Europe, IGMR also served as a German prisoner-of-war compound.
My father was sent to New Guinea, one of the most horrific battlegrounds of World War 11. Dense jungles, intense heat, disease, and Japanese battles were fought between March 8, 1942 and the end of the war in 1945. The worst suffering was endured by the indigenous peoples there but they showed remarkable courage as well as kindness and compassion, as you see in this picture of New Guineans carrying the body of an American soldier. I am very thankful to God for keeping my father safe during the dangerous years of World War II.
