TÇE K I NG ’S BUS I NESS
329
' September, 1942
.
Traqedy
«enind
rwins Bombing
By F. W. GEORGE HALL Melbourne, Australia
S HOUGH we at Port Darwin were ail expecting an- attack, we did not think that it would come Without warning. The first indication was Seeing 1 in the Clear atmosphere,.at about 10 a. m.\ a squadron of twenty-seven planes, in three formations, haying nine in each, and flying in V formation, There were. 108. in all. ,The shells from our, anti-aircraft batteries were bursting underneath. Then the siren, went, and every one made for cover. My place was under the Cliffs, among , the mangrove trees, where I saw the damage to our ships from Zero bomb ers, which dived to. within a short distance of the masts. [ The accom panying article , fro m the pen of F, W. George H all (Biota '22) is a conden sation o f an article w hich appeared on A pril '2, 19i2, in New Life, a C hristia/i w eekly pu b lished in M elbourne, A ustralia. It was w rit ten sh o rtly a fte r Mr. H all, w ho is associated w ith the C am paigners fo r C hrist, had returned to M elbourne . .from w orking am ong m en of • the Australian m ilitary forces, —E ditor .]
I looked around among the boul ders and saw white faces; mine was the same color, I presume. Behind us our guns barked, as they belched forth their shells. The air vibrated with the falling bombs as they dealt out wholesale destruction. Peace Amid Confusion The enemy returned at 2 p. m, and again released bombs on shipping, and machine-gunned various places. We were able to take supplies to the new hospital, which had narrowly es caped.- T h e wounded h a d been brought in. I spoke to one. of the nurses, who had been badly shaken. She "had a sweet face that was show- • ing the strain, for not far away were two craters, fifteen feet deep and thirty feet in diameter, in spite of the rock formations. I said to her, “What a wonderful thing to have the Friend of Friends hear as a Helper at such a time!”
She looked at me gratefully, and said, “That is the only thing ,we have now.” The name of Jesus at such a time - is as an ointment poured forth on hu manity’s open wound. Speaking to a friend afterward, I said, “What were your reactions?" § He replied: “I put my hands up and said, ‘Lord, I am just ’in Your Hands,’ The sense of the calm of -those words is with me now.” '. Later in the day I visited the medi cal officer, Captain Holt, who is a de vout Christian and had been a fre quent speaker at gospel meetings be fore the attack. Fortified with:God’s help, he had taken care of a great proportion of the wounded. Just out side the A.R.P. Hut, I saw one of our Fellowship, a delightful young An glican. He greeted me thus: “Well, it could not take away the peace of God, could it?" [Continued en Page 331]
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