On June 23, 1938, John Rynerson, joined the 29th Army Corps of
Engineers topographical mapping unit. Little did John realize that he
would find himself in a few years involved in World War
II
and fighting for his life on one of the most infamous and terrible
marches of the war. After several transfers John was placed in the 93rd
Bomber Squadron in the Philippines. As it turned out, this transfer
saved his life. The plane that he had worked on as a radio operator
crashed, and he would have been on that plane if he had not been
transferred. John feels that God was already working in his life to
preserve him.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked
the Philippines. On April 9, 1942, the garrison on Bataan was taken over
by the Japanese and John's long and difficult struggle for survival
began. Only one third of the soldiers taken captive at Bataan survived
the Japanese imprisonment.
After the capture of Bataan, the Japanese marched the American
prisoners over 70 miles. This became the infamous “Bataan Death March”
in which more than 600 American soldiers died. They marched for a period
of seven days after already being weakened because of the short rations
they had to live on before they surrendered to the Japanese. The
soldiers' captors allowed the prisoners to eat only once during the
entire march. If any soldier slowed the march, he was killed.
John quickly realized he was in a struggle for survival. He began to
make observations that led to actions that would save his life. The
treatment of the prisoners by the Japanese was horrendous. As they
marched, they would meet Japanese soldiers moving south. John noticed
that the first group of American soldiers were treated better than the
last group of soldiers. The Japanese were taught never to surrender, and
they were so startled to see prisoners of war that they passed by the
first group without harming the prisoners. As they came to the end of
the line of prisoners, they would start beating and mistreating
prisoners. Anyone who slowed down or was unable to walk was killed
without hesitation. John made the important decision to be in that first
group of prisoners who started out in the morning.
John was a prisoner of war for over three years. He was moved to a prison camp in Manchuria on the “death” ship,
Tori Maru.
The ships with prisoners were not marked, so American warplanes often
attacked them, not knowing that their fellow soldiers were inside those
ships. John was able to stay on deck during the voyage on the
Tori Maru and avoided being put below where the conditions were terrible.
He was able to survive because of the mental attitude that he had as he
determined that if one soldier was to survive this imprisonment, it was
going to be him. He had been taught by his mother to be clean, so when
he was given rice, he tried to get the bugs and other unclean material
out of the bowl before he ate it. He also knew that he had to have good
hygiene and made sure that he stayed as clean physically as possible. He
knew that a key to his survival was to stay free from disease. He also
had the attitude that he would never give up.
Finally on Aug. 15, 1945, John was released from the Japanese prison
camp and returned to his family in the United States. John's family had
not known if he was alive for those three long years.
When he returned home, he did not discuss in detail the conditions he
endured during his imprisonment as he did not want to burden his family
and cause them distress. What an amazing and wonderful example John set
enduring the terrible suffering of World War
II!
John and Sarah Rynerson were married in 1946 and have been members of
God's Church since 1970. They have seen the difficulties and problems
that the Church has gone through over the years and have remained
faithful and true to God's Word and to the truths that they have been
taught. John is now 81 years old and continues to work cleaning floors
for grocery stores in the Ogden, Utah, area. What a wonderful example of
perseverance and endurance in spite of difficulties and trials.
Christ told us that we must be prepared to “endure” until the end, and
there is much we can learn from John Rynerson's example. One of the main
reasons John endured has to do with his mental attitude. He determined
that he was going to survive the terrible conditions of the Bataan Death
March and the following imprisonment.
In
Matthew 24:12-13,
Christ said: “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many
will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” We have
seen this lawlessness on the earth today and conditions will get worse
in time. Many have fallen by the spiritual wayside and Satan the devil
has completely destroyed their faith, just as the Japanese killed
stragglers on the Bataan Death March.
Because of John's determination to survive, he took the steps
physically that helped him survive. He ate only “clean” food, removing
such contaminants as flies and dirt. He took two canteens of water with
him at the start of the march and some food also. He made sure that he
was in the front of the line of soldiers marching on the Bataan Death
March, which protected him somewhat from the abuse that others later in
line were receiving. He tried to do everything he could physically
accomplish that would help him with his main goal—survival!
Spiritually, are we doing all that we can to achieve our goal, the
Kingdom of God? John ate only clean rice and this helped him avoid
deadly physical illness. Spiritually, are we feeding ourselves with a
good spiritual diet? This means studying the Bible on a daily basis,
attending Church every week possible, going to the Feast of Tabernacles,
avoiding contaminating and dirty (unclean) movies, etc. We know the
things that lead to a healthy spiritual lifestyle.
Just like John during World War
II in a
Japanese prison camp, we are in a foreign world. A world that does not
know the true God or the purpose of life. This knowledge of God's truth
should spur us on to take the measures to insure our success in the only
goal worth anything in this life, attaining the Kingdom of God.
John Rynerson had a purpose that he never forgot during those terrible years of World War
II—the goal of survival. He had a clearly defined goal that motivated him and a mental attitude that helped him endure.
Let's never forgot the spiritual purpose of our life, the goal that God
has set before us and the glory and honor that await those who attain
that goal!
UN
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