Encouraging a Mother
The end of the Doolittle raid came a little after midnight for Billy Farrow and the other four members of his crew. They had flown their B-25 off the carrier
B-25 takes off from the USS Hornet. (National Archives)
Hornet, bombed Japan, and continued until they were near Nanchang, China. As the fuel ran out and the engines started to cough, they had no option left except to bail out of their aircraft into the inky darkness. They were captured the next day. A few months later Farrow and two others were put on trial for unspecified charges, found guilty, and sentenced to death.
A day before his execution, Farrow composed a letter to his mother at home in Darlington, South Carolina. He himself was unshaken and unbowed in his hour of trial, but he knew how devastating his death would be to his mother. He sought to comfort her by reassuring her of his own faith. The final lines of his letter were: “Don’t let this get you down. Just remember God will make everything right and that I’ll see you all again in the hereafter. Read ‘Thanatopsis’ by Bryant if you want to know how I am taking this. My faith in God is complete, so I am unafraid.”59
Farrow’s letter home was found in the files of the Japanese War Ministry after the war was over. It was given wide circulation in the United States and became the basis for countless sermons and editorials. His concern for his mother and his spiritual strength in the darkest possible circumstance were a witness to the world of the power of his faith. His words brought comfort and encouragement to millions.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
—Hebrews 11:1