IN THE LINE OF DUTY
(As
submitted it bore no title)
June, 1943, it seems like only last
week. After 41 days aboard the NIEUW AMSTERDAM we witness the
wonder of real, dry dirt. A mile or so
to the east the Kahnka dunes predominate, molded by
the winds into immense golden drifts.
The expanding desert exceeds the capacity of normal vision. Westward the sand and gravel slope away,
maybe six or even eight miles, to a sharp demarcation of darkest green. At the very edge of this belt
we will discover
I have just drawn a swallow from my canteen. I upend the thing, let the screw top dangle
on the chain, and watch the contents gurgle and vanish into the sand. This is
In a very short time, two or three weeks, I find myself at
Tel Litwinski, 250 to 300 miles northeast. The rural aspects remind me so much of the
homeland. Captain Sherwood calls me for
an interview, the duties and general orientation. This should be the strategic moment, Sabbath
observance. I hear the Captain continue,
“Oh yes, Carr, in this camp you report for regular duties on Sunday. Saturdays we all go to the beach or
whatever.” Boy, NO
problem.
By way of organization the
Veterinary Service is a low profile subdivision of the Medical. It in turn is divided two ways, Animal Care,
and of all things, Food Inspection.
Walter Kurtz and I make daily trips to
They are fine young ladies, eager
to practice their English, and pleased when they might teach us a bit of
Hebrew. We pick up the Milk and
transport it back to
One morning Captain Sherwood calls me in. “Carr, while you are around, I want to send
you on a Red Cross Tour. You will be
gone for three days. Just check on the
establishments where our men are fed.” Great!
The second night out we share a room in a beautiful hotel
in
Back in
My spiritual commitment will lead me to search out our
work and it proves to be the Adventist Auditorium on the
These people know all about
We now cross over into the past tense. I have always been more or less withdrawn,
shy at making friends. I never the less
learned to feel very close to the
As for being a Sabbath Keeper in the American Army, I was
usually alone, except for the last few weeks of my two and a half years in
these ancient lands, when a half dozen Adventist men arrived from the States to
be stationed at nearby Payne Field, our Air Force Base. There had also been a handful of us together
during our eight weeks Basic Training - good old
I could find it to some extent with boys from other
denominations, but that was never quite the same. They were firmly fixed
in their own ideas, and as my Dad used to tell me, I was sure set in my
ways. But there
were always a number of Adventist boys from Allied Forces in attendance at the
Auditorium. They were friendly, outgoing
young men of real maturity and stature, and gathering in the newly arrived missionaries home was just what we needed.
I was amazed. Our
entire group was encouraged to spend all possible of our Sabbath hours with
them. I could sense it
and the feeling must have been shared by the others. Strangers were certainly welcome. When workers would stop over the attitude
never appeared to change - plenty of room for everyone.
There seemed to be an endless stream of these guests. Gordon and Evelyn Zytkoskee
were on their way to Teheran. There was
W. H. Anderson, a fifty-year veteran in
Elinor Wilson was tops as a homemaker,
and what dinners she could put together for a house full of hungry young
men. She preferred to do her own
work. Servants were customary, but some
how the idea was against her grain.
After one of our cherished Sabbath get togethers,
I found myself in the kitchen, fitted with a fresh tea towel. Mrs. Wilson was washing the dishes. “Joe, you should come back some day; join us
in our work. You’d
be good at it. Elder Mackett has said the very same
thing!:
In my own heart I knew I would be
ready to accept, but that was never to be.
Christmas, 1945, I was on the
J.M.C.
