Mercy and Grace Amidst the Harsh Reality of War

There has been a lot of recent discussion in the news regarding the application of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) for the Epic Fury conflict the United States and Israel have undertaken against Iran. Briefly and summarily stated, IHL seeks to limit human suffering during war; seeks to protect civilians and medical personnel; seeks humane treatment of prisoners of war; and requires only the use of weaponry needed to attain a military objective and minimize harm to civilians. IHL has its roots in Christian Just War theory and later formalized in the Geneva Convention of 1864 and subsequent updates from this convention.

Let me say right up front that I hate any type of war and armed conflict, because I have a first-hand account of the impact of war from the experience of my father, Morris A. Wilson, as a First Sergeant in the Army’s Third Infantry in World War II. War is indeed Hell. But I also know that war is sometimes necessary to confront and deal with the current evil undertaken by a country and the even greater potential evil that a particular country would undertake if given the chance with a nuclear weapon. I firmly believe this is the case with the conflict now undertaken by the United States and Israel against Iran. 

Just as I have done in a couple of previous blogs, I would like to share two stories from my father’s service in the WWII German war theatre. I believe these stories illustrate IHL at a practical and human level.

The venue for both stories is along the Rhine River in Germany. In the first story, my father and the solders in his battalion were able to flush out from a tree a German Captain sniper who had been shooting at them. As they took the German Captain as a prisoner of war, my father removed the German Captain’s watch. The German Captain demonstrated great arrogance and foolishness at this point. He screamed at my father in perfect English that it was against international law to remove his watch!  At this point my father grabbed the German Captain by his uniform collar and exclaimed to him, “the Hell I can’t take your watch. You have been shooting at us all morning.” With that, the German Captain was escorted away as a prisoner of war. Surely in some way he was thankful that his interaction with my father and the other American soldiers ended as well as it did for him and not the way it could have ended given his defiance and disrespect as he was captured. Whether he realized it or not, he had been shown a considerable measure of grace and mercy. I am pleased to say that I now have this watch. It serves as a constant reminder to me of the service and sacrifice of my father and others like him which enable successive generations to enjoy the freedom, we often take for granted. To be sure, freedom is not free. It never has been and never will be. Someone must be willing to pay the price. I am thankful that my father and countless men like him paid this price.

The second story seemed almost surreal. As my father and his fellow soldiers were making their way through the German countryside, a man emerged from his house and invited my father and the other soldiers to join him and his family for dinner. What motivated him to do this is uncertain. Perhaps he was terrified at the presence of the American soldiers and feared for the safety of himself and his family and thought a gesture of good will and hospitality would be well received by my father and the other American soldiers. Whatever his reasoning, my father and his fellow soldiers accepted the dinner invitation. The German man and his family had nothing to fear. As they sat down for dinner, everyone bowed their heads as the man said a dinner prayer! A touching and amazing story in my opinion.

As my father and his fellow soldiers showed grace and mercy to a defiant German sniper and accepted the dinner invitation from a German family, I seriously doubt they were thinking about their wartime obligations under IHL. Somehow their response in each encounter was hardwired and came very natural for them. I believe there is always something special about an American soldier, especially the American soldier’s ethics, moral charcter, and sense of decency. God willing, when my wife Cathy and I travel to Germany this Summer on vacation for a tour, I will be filled with great pride and gratitude when the tour makes it way along the Rhine River as I remember how my father and his fellow soldiers handled these wartime encounters in the best tradition of the American military!

God bless you and thank you for the privilege of your time in reading my blog.

Watch taken from the German Army Captain Sniper

First Sergeant Morris A. Wilson U.S. Army Third Infantry