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April 7, 2026May I share a short Easter’story as told by Liberty Phillips who befriended an elderly gentleman, Fiske Hanley: Last week I had the wonderful privilege of spending the afternoon with my fabulous and rugged friend, World War Two veteran and Japanese POW, Fiske Hanley Mr. Hanley is amazing. At 98, he just goes and goes. During the war, he served in the Army Air Corps flying the new B-29 bombers. A couple of years ago, some friends and I were attending an Iwo Jima Marine reunion out in Wichita Falls, TX. The first day there we ran into Mr. Hanley. "What are you doing here?" We asked him. "You aren't a Marine.""Nope,”he laughed. "But I'm an honorary Marine." Then he pulled out a certificate from his jacket and said, "I bombed Iwo Jima a month before the Marines landed... Most of our bombs missed the target and landed on the beaches and in the water. We killed a lotta fish. But, we did one good thing. The bombs that hit the beach created ready-made foxholes for the Marines when they landed in February. So you see, they made me an Honorary 'Marine Foxhole Builder.'" We all had a good laugh over this.Little did he know at the time of the bombings on Iwo Jima, that within just 2 short months, his entire war would take a drastic change.On March 27, 1945, Fiske Hanley's B-29 was shot down over Japan. He was forced to bail out and parachute onto Japanese soil.Out of his entire 10-man crew, just one other managed to parachute to safety.It was only his 7th mission. Landing in a rice field, Fiske was met by a furious mob of Japanese civilians with farm tools and bamboo spears.
He barelyescaped with his life when the local policearrived and put the twoAmericans in the back of atruck.Then they headed toTokyo for interrogation bythe Japaneseversion of the Gestapo, the Kempeitai. AsanAmerican B-29 Bomber, Fiske was considered bythe Japanese to beacivilian killerand a war criminal. From then on he would receive‘Special Treatment.’This included regular beatings, opening his wounds so theycould not heal, starvation,and solitaryconfinement.A few daysafter his capture, Fiske was lying in asingle cell. He was in pain from untreated wounds he had received from his crash. Everything he had heard about the Japanese treatment of POWs told him to expect the worst. Considering the welcoming committee that had greeted his landing, the rumors weren't far from the truth.The door opened,and a‘peon’came in carrying astipend of food for Fiske. "I called him a peon," he told me, "because he was the lowest of the low in Japanese society. Nobodycared about him." The little man spoke in a whisper, "You Christian?" "Yes,”said Fiske. "Me Christian,”said the little man, and continued,“today Christian day. " Fiske didn't understand and spoke slowly, "what do you mean?" "Today Christian day,”the little man repeated. He still didn't understand,and the man repeated the phraseafew more times.Then it struck Fiske, Easter wasApril 1st. It must be Easter. Over the next few days of his captivitythere, he found out that the little man's family had been converted by Christian missionariesafew generations back. But because of their social status (the neglected), no one ever bothered to enforce the religion of the land on this simple Japanese family.
Fiske was only held at that prison forashort time, butall the while he was there, the little Japanese man brought him whatever extrathings he could sneak into the cell, helping to keep him alive. "Easter is onApril 1st thisyear,”Fiske added, 73 years later (2018). As he told me this story, I couldn't help wondering about the missionaries.The seed they had planted generationsago would continue to grow quietly until one dayit would havea direct (and possibly life-saving) impact on anAmerican POW in 1945. Bythe time he was liberated inAugust of 1945, Fiske had dropped from a healthy 175 pounds to a mere 96. Fiske Hanley would spend 6 monthsasa ‘Special POW,’enduring unending hardships... but this brief encounter wasaspark of hopeamidst all the darkness. You never know what livesyou will touch down the road. “Do not abandon yourselves to despair.We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”(Pope John Paul II) For the manyvolunteers, our musicians, cantors and singers, ushersand greeters,altar servers, lectorsand Eucharistic Ministers, (including those who take Communion to the homebound and residents in our care centers), our Deacons— Verne Burke, David Brown, David LaMar—our faith-filled staff—those who created the joyous Easter environment on our church sanctuaries— and you, our parishioners, who graciouslyshare your presence, faith and blessings within our parish—thank you, thank you sincerely.
Easter Blessings to you, Fr. Tim