Navy Days (January 1, 1936 to January 10, 1940)

I was billeted next to a slow talking man from Texas, named Oran Bell. We marched side by side in our squad. He became a good friend of mine. The fleet at that time was going to make a cruise to South America and they hurried our company through boot camp so that we could join the fleet for that trip. However, I became very sick with pneumonia and was rushed to the naval hospital. That was the days before anti-biotics and I had to sweat it out in intensive care for several days before the fever left me. I remember being so sick that I didn’t even enjoy the presence of a pretty navy female nurse – that’s sick. Eventually they put me on the USS Texas. I didn’t think I knew a soul on board. Then one day I ran into Oran Bell. I was real glad to see him. Something had happened to him since we were last together. He had been a nominal Christian when I first met him, but now he had dedicated his life to the LORD and was serving HIM.

Oran witnessed to me and I went to church with him. It seems like a civilian worker in the navy yard in Bremerton invited us to their church and it was that evening that I went forward seeking the LORD. However, it was not until a few weeks later, after our ship returned to Long Beach, that I really found the joy of knowing my sins were forgiven and that I was then Born Again. This happened at a meeting of the Navigators in Long Beach where Dawson Troutman was in charge. I raised my hand when he asked who wanted to accept the LORD. He took me aside and showed me from my Bible how I can have eternal life and KNOW it. That is when I had a real turn about in my life. “If any man be in Christ he is a new creation” 2 Cor. 5:17. Christ did something for me that I never could have done. I was a changed man. Christ, whom I now love, became the motivation that not only blessed my life but also the lives of others I have met, this includes my family. This will be seen later on in this manuscript.

I discovered that there was a Christian group aboard the ship who were meeting for Bible Study. I joined them and also attended the Navigator meetings ashore. These meetings along with memorization of God’s Word gave me a good foundation for my future service. About 6 weeks after being saved, I went to Sacramento to visit my folks on a leave. I told my brother Vernon that I had something special to tell him. We went into the bedroom and the best I could, I went through God’s Plan of salvation with him. He said that he wanted to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior. We both got on our knees and prayed together. He invited Christ into his life. We hugged each other and had a “bawl game.” Vernon immediately got involved in church work. He later married and raised a family. Vernon and his wife Louise were killed in an auto accident in March of 1957. They left 4 children, all who are serving the Lord today. Two are in Germany doing the Lord’s work.

The Lord used my testimony and witnessing to win others to Christ.

The USS Texas was being decommissioned by the navy and was going to the east coast to be used as a training ship and I was transferred to the Mississippi. I had already met some of the Christian men on that ship at our Navigators meeting ashore. I immediately joined them in their Bible study. It was during this time, that the Navigators had a gospel team, which was composed of Christian sailors from various ships. We would be invited to a church or mission to give our testimonies and one of the men would give the message. I enjoyed this very much. I can still remember how scared I was the first time I gave my testimony before a group of elderly people. It was an encouragement to me to have someone come up afterwards and say something like this, “God bless you, sailor boy, we enjoyed your testimony.” Later on he Navigators considered me their key man on the ship. I was involved in our group Bible study and had Sunday School in the ship’s library for anyone who wanted to attend. Before I left, there were as many as 40 men out.

I could relate many experiences that the Lord gave me while in the navy, but I will spare you. My term of service was to expire in a few months and I prayed much about what I should do. I felt like I would like to be in the Lord’s work and so decided to go to Bible Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA) when I was paid off. On Jan 10, 1940 I left the navy in Bremerton, Washington, and bought a one way ticket to L.A. Of course I stopped off in Sacramento to visit my family for a week or so. I started BIOLA the last part of January in 1940.