Written by Phil Wala

This week, as we approach Veterans Day, we look back eighty years, to remember what this nation once stood for – a time when the people of this nation were united in the fight to defend democracy and resist fascism. 

In the fall of 1944, the D-Day invasion had taken place, Paris had been liberated, and Allied forces were about to land in the Japanese-occupied Philippines. There were hopeful signs that the tide was beginning to turn, and that the day was in sight when the war would be over, and our servicemen and women would be coming back home.

In October 1944, Hennepin Church distributed the handout entitled “Our Field Is the World” (click the image below to view the handout). Imagine yourself in 1944, reading the list of Sunday School workers, viewing the photos of church staff, and considering the ways  in which Hennepin Church was ministering to others. In particular, note that the proposed budget included provision for hiring someone to attend to the needs of servicemen and women who would soon be returning to civilian life. Hennepin would be a pioneer as one of the first churches in the nation to have pastoral staff specifically trained in counseling. 

That same fall, a small booklet was sent to armed forces members in time for Christmas 1944, with messages of greeting, and photos to let them know what was happening back home (click the image below to view the booklet). The booklet introduced the pastoral counselor that Hennepin Church had hired – Dr. Carroll A. Wise, a renowned expert on ministry to those in the Armed Forces. At the end of the booklet is a list of 612 men and women from Hennepin who had served during the war up to that time (a number which wouldincrease to 742 before the war ended). A key at the end of the list shows the marks used to identify those who were POWs, those who were missing in action, or those who had already returned. Not spelled out in the key was the reason for the gold star in front of some names. Everyone at the time knew what a gold star meant.

By Christmas 1945, the war was finally over, and Hennepin Church sent a multifold Christmas card (click the image below to view the card) to those in the service, celebrating the fact that our young men and women would soon be coming home.

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Opportunities for engagement: 

The lists of church workers and those in the service contain names that will be familiar to some of you – perhaps a member of your family. Let us know which names you recognize.  

FUN DISCOVERY: On the list of those who served in the war, find the last person on the list whose name begins with “A”.  James was a 6’7” young man with a deep baritone voice who sang in the Hennepin Choir. After the war, he made his way to Hollywood where he removed the letter “U” from his last name, and began a long and successful career as a film and television actor, most notably in one particular role that lasted twenty years. Who is he? What was that role? Did you know he came from Hennepin Church?