Douglas Turner, YN2 U.S. Navy

SERVED:
WORLD WAR II 9/1943 " 7/1946
KOREAN WAR 6/1951 - 10/1952

Growing up during the Great Depression and accepting the Lord at a young age, it has not been difficult to seek and feel the presence of the Lord, especially through difficult times while serving in the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific during World War II, followed by Naval Service aboard a Destroyer Escort during the Korean War.

Whether it was strength in saying goodbye to my wife and daughter, facing the uncertainties of the enemy or the mercilessness of the mighty seas, the Lord's presence always "made the difference".

To relate one of the more terrifying episodes at sea: caught in raging storms with violent, towering waves for nearly two weeks in the mid Pacific, with the girders of the huge warship bursting at the seams, and a Captain, crew and passengers expecting the vessel to break in half at any time, sending us to our watery grave and men outwardly weeping for deliverance, the Lord miraculously provided:

For, unprecedented, if ever, in the annals of Naval history, a seasoned Naval Quartermaster passenger, an enlisted man, (who had discussed his intentions with some of us and expected a severe repri¬mand) confronts the Captain of the ship. And with the Captain's sanction, the Quartermaster takes command of the periled ship and cou¬rageously, but dangerously, maneuvers the ship, within days, out of the circular storms.

Arriving home for R & R with shattered nerves after a twenty-six day crossing from Japan soon after the surrender, and having been overseas nearly two years, I wept for days over the ordeal and the fact that the Lord had truly seen us through.

Douglas Turner
3221 Loganwood Dr.
Dallas, Texas 75227-5609
214-381-0035