Easter in New Guinea
Sunrise in New Guinea in 1943 made Easter morning memorable for Lt. John McDaniel Slocum, whose home was in Oswego, Oregon. Earlier he had dropped out of the freshman class at Oregon State College to enlist in the service of his country. By Easter, 1943, he was a second lieutenant in the infantry, and was in charge of a reconnaissance party of twelve men in New Guinea. These men had been away from their base for many weeks, and were living on powdered milk and canned stew. The letter which he wrote to his mother at Eastertide was a significant one. Said he:
“All my men and myself were having a big gabfest last night, and the fact that Easter was today was mentioned. Not too much was said and the subject was dropped.... But for some reason I woke up at 5:30 and I just had an impulse to go out to our hill which overlooks the ocean, and hold myself a little sunrise service.... Every man in camp was there!... We sang several hymns. Some natives (Christians) joined us, and we sang some more.
“As the sky turned pink we all were quiet. As the sun came up someone started to sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ and as the sun rose over the mighty blue Pacific our voices, with a background of natives humming, reached out across that sea to tell all of you at home that all was well....
“Then one of the boys took out a Bible and asked me to read something from it.... As I glanced at the opened page there was the Lord’s Prayer. I read it through very quietly once, and then we all said it in unison.
“Then, with a glance at the rising sun, we all returned to camp.”
What an unforgettable Easter for those young Americans! Fighting for their native land on far-distant shores, yet “at the dawn’s early light” on Easter morning they could sing their song of patriotic hope:
“And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”