By Pastor Dave Farmer
This is the story of a WW II hero who gave his life so that we may be free today.
Pat and I arrived at the traffic light where Noah’s road meets the Black Horse Pike, an intersection we have passed many times. It was early Saturday morning. Very little traffic. Not much to see. As I sat at the light, both of us turned to see a lone man walking in the cemetery. He was in civilian clothes, but he was wearing a military cover and had a silk military jacket on. In his hands were flags. I watched as he walked up to the graves, placed a flag beside the gravestone, and then came to attention giving a hand salute.
I wanted to stop and talk to him, to thank him for giving his time to show honor and respect for those who have served. I was deeply touched and thankful that someone remembered our military men and women. We will not forget the cost that they paid. Sadly, that sacrifice is still being paid today. Over 2000 of our nation's sons and daughters have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan for our freedom and security. Others will be added to that awful list. We should never forget the value of their accomplishment. They are our protection from those terrorists who struck at our heart on 9/11and others like them.
I want to tell you the story of “F” for Freddie,” as this was told to me. This story comes from Colonel Robert B. Thieme Jr., who had a very distinguished military career. In fact, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Colonel Thieme, who was then a lieutenant in the Army Air Force and his barracks buddy who became Governor George Wallace, manned the anti-aircraft guns mounted on top of their building. They pulled together the men they could find, and they fought back on that fateful day, that day of infamy.
“F” for Freddie” as the Coronel called him was Charles Frederick McIntosh. The Colonel tells us “He was my first Christian friend and one of my closes friends in life.” They both attended Beverly Hills High School, in California, and in the summer they worked together as lifeguards on Catalina beach. Colonel Thieme says that they were always competing in Scripture memorization. One summer they decided to memorize the entire Book of Romans. They would get together at their lunch break and see who had memorized the most verses.
He recalls that the first time they were separated was when they went off to college. Freddie enrolled in UCLA, and Colonel Thieme went to the University of Arizona. I will tell you his story some day. Both men knew since they were teenagers that God was calling them into the ministry. One day, they would Pastor churches. Colonel Thieme chooses the University of Arizona, for as he tells it, the Greek professor there was considered the best in the United States, and he was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thieme wanted to know what God’s word said in the Original languages. He graduated two years before WW2 and entered the horse cavalry, and then they replaced the horses. So he went into the Army Air Corp, the service of his father. His father was a pilot in WWI.
Well, “Freddie for F,” also joined the Army Air Corp when WWII started. He trained as a pilot and was sent to Europe to skipper a B-29. Colonel Thieme tells us about his friend “Freddie for F.” He was a born-again believer who loved the Lord and had the gift of pastor-teacher. He said, “I never heard anyone communicate the Word of God in such a marvelous way. So many people would sit and listen every time he gave a testimony or gave a message on the Word of God. He was phenomenal.”
He continues, “Freddie for F” surprised me one day. He dropped by my headquarters and told me he was heading for Europe to join the war. The last thing I said before I said goodbye, was “Freddie, when you come back you are going to have the greatest collection of sermon illustrations ever for your marvelous ministry in this country after the War.”
Well, “Freddie for f” did not come back. His 25th mission was to be his last mission. Up to that time he had been highly decorated and returned safely, but over Berlin, the starboard engines were hit by flak. Freddie lost his engines, and he was manually holding the B-29 in position so his crew could bail out.
Let me tell you about the crew. A B-29 has a very large crew, ten men. Colonel Thieme says that his first letter from Freddie was about his new crew and requested prayer for each one. As his letters came and we heard about the decorations he was earning for bravery, he never once mentioned them. What he would say is “the bombardier accepted the Lord today, and I couldn’t wait to write you and tell you." One by one, the members of his crew were evangelized. By the 25th mission, every man in his crew had received Christ as savior accept one, the navigator.
The navigator told this story: I checked with the captain as we were bailing out and asked him "Are you coming with us?" And Freddie replied, “I will when I can.” Everyone bailed out. The navigator who was the last one to go looked up saw "Freddie for F" and what was left of the plane, and then suddenly a great explosion. Charles Frederick McIntosh went into eternity. The navigator said, “that he had accepted Christ before his feet touch ground.” “Freddie for F” never came home, never took up his ministry for the Lord.
Colonel Thieme after the war became a Pastor in Houston, Texas and at the end of John Wayne Airport, there is an old abandoned tower, a tower that was used during the war years, a tower where Pastor Thieme had stood watch. On Memorial Day and on July 4th, Pastor would go out to that tower and think about the friends he lost; a there give them a salute.
I thought of this story as that lone man in the Pleasantville Cemetery was placing those flags on the graves and saluting them. So we salute all who served today for we acknowledge their service to our country, honor them for their bravery, and give thanks for the sacrifice they made for us.