BOOK REVIEW
Book: The Other Side of Infamy, My Journey Through Pearl Harbor and the World of War (Colorado Springs: NavPress) 2016.
Author: Jim Downing with James Lund (jameslundbooks.com)
This book came out in 2016, when the author was 103 years old. Have you read from an author that old lately? Jim Downing’s 103 years have been packed with memories—historical, outstanding, eternally significant memories. No wonder he can recall them.
An apologetics aside: Jim’s account makes it easier to believe that the Apostle John could have dictated his gospel late, late in life, as historians tell us. Just as Jim could not forget Pearl Harbor’s attack, neither could John ever forget the memories of being with God-in-the-flesh—Jesus of Nazareth—and watching miracles happen at His fingertips or lining up with His vocal command.
While Jim’s memories cannot compare to John’s, he did seem to be “where the action was” numerous times as history was in the making (Pearl Harbor, Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb disaster, launching of Navigators, Dawson Trotman’s drowning).
The sights and sounds of these events became etched in Jim’s memory and help to make the book a page-turner, but interlaced in the action are accounts of spiritual lessons running parallel in time.
Jim was an early member of the Navigators; in fact, he is still known as “Navigator Number Six.” That is, he was the sixth person recruited by founder Dawson Trotman in the new organization that he felt sure God had directed him to start. Originally the Navigators focused mostly on reaching and discipling servicemen. Dawson and Jim agreed that it would help the organization more for Jim to remain in the US Navy than to work full-time for the Navigators. Jim was present at the Navigators conference where Dawson drowned, another vivid memory.
And then there was Morena. Who can forget falling in love? Jim and Morena shared sixty-eight years together as man and wife, until her death in 2010. He writes that “being a husband to Morena and father to my [seven] children has been one of the great privileges of my life.” (p. 187)
As I read this thrilling book, I assumed that Jim was sharing from his memory alone. (My husband sometimes tells me that assumption is the lowest form of knowledge.) But Jim explains: “If not otherwise noted, the material for this book comes from my personal memories, diaries, ship’s logs, my book Living Legacy, and previous writings for family and friends. I have reconstructed conversations to the best of my recollection.”
Another apologetics aside: Who knows? Maybe the aging Apostle John had some previous writings to rely on for his gospel. He was quoted by some of his contemporaries. If I had been one of them, I would have picked his brain for any story or memory of his famous Friend, Jesus of Nazareth. John’s disciples were everywhere. Perhaps critics assume that the oldest apostle reconstructed his dialogues and accounts from memory alone. J. Warner Wallace addresses this in chapter 5 of his book Cold Case Christianity for Kids and mentions the links between John and the early church fathers such as Ignatius, Polycarp, Papias, Irenaeus, and Hippolytus.
http://www.coldcasechristianityforkids.com/cold-case-christianity-for-kids/chapter-5-respect-the-chain-of-custody/
We didn’t get to see John without the aid of eyeglasses retelling his gospel narrative, but videos on YouTube reveal a 103-year-old Jim with a clear mind (with glasses and hearing aids) who can still teach lessons he has learned in life. One of them is repeated twice in the book; it must rank high in his mind. It sounds logical to me. Listen as he tells how to avoid worry:
The Bible tells us that the Lord is more than a match for any problem we face: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” [Psalm 46:1] I truly understood this for the first time at Pearl Harbor, when I thought the Neosho was about to explode. Once I put the matter in God’s hands, my worries ceased and were replaced by an amazing sense of peace. “I’ll see you in a minute,” I told God. God saw fit to put off the time when I would see him face to face.
What I’ve learned from that experience and others since is that God does not respond to false alarms. If I feel he’s not paying attention, it’s because I’m not in any real trouble. And if I am in real trouble, I don’t have to worry about it. I know he’s there. He may not handle things the way I would prefer, but I recognize he’s got things under control.
This discovery influenced the rest of my life. I simply don’t worry much. It is likely the secret to my longevity and how I maintained an even keel through so many years at war. I’ve had the blood pressure of a teenager for most of my days. (p. 189)
Aren’t we thankful for YouTube? What a gold mine at our fingertips! Here are two interviews with Jim:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqtWvHNF7G0&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqtWvHNF7G0&feature=youtu.be
How did I hear about Jim Downing’s book? Through a network of friends. I shared a post on Facebook (FB) from an apologist friend, Ben LaCorte, who hosts a radio program called Heroes of the Cross. Ben’s FB post told of a WWII prisoner of war who later returned to Japan as a missionary (Jacob DeShazer). There he worked together with none other than the very man who led the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Mitsuo Fuchida. Fuchida had become a Christian through reading the testimony of DeShazer. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN22AJyM0OQ)
My Alabama friend, Diane, saw my post and told me that she had heard a radio broadcast around Dec. 7 about these two men as well as Jim Downing’s book on a broadcast on Moody Radio. I found that broadcast in the archives of “Chris Fabry Live.” Diane bought the book and recommended it to me. I actually purchased it for a friend who is a WWII history buff, but I couldn’t put it down myself. I saw Jim Downing as a true patriot and a giant of a Christian, someone I could learn from.
https://www.moodyradio.org/programs/chris-fabry-live/2016/12-2016/2016-12-07-remembering-pearl-harbor-your-christmas-breakthrough/
Dr. James Dobson also featured the story of DeShazer and Fuchida on his early December broadcasts by interviewing the author of Wounded Tiger, a book which weaves the story lines of three principal actors in this amazing story of redemption. https://www.woundedtiger.com/ (book website) Two of these lives were arrested through reading the Bible. Jim Downing used to use his Bible as just a place to hide his money; after its message arrested him, he taught men to memorize its verses like only Navigators can!
Dr. James Dobson, Family Talk radio program: http://www.drjamesdobson.org/Broadcasts/Broadcast?i=816969a7-5b3a-4276-897a-639843a5b078
One night recently at our Evangelism Explosion session at church, I excitedly told our group about the Jim Downing book.
A young man in his early twenties spoke up and said, “Oh, yeah. He was at the Summit Conference last year.”
Instantly, he got out his phone, opened his albums, and proudly showed me a photo of himself and Jim Downing. My friend confirmed that Jim’s mind was indeed clear, clear enough to speak about an hour!!! Summit is an annual worldview conference in Colorado Springs. (www.summit.org)
I suspect that not only absence of worry but also his zest for life has contributed to Jim Downing’s longevity. He fulfills Psalm 92: 14-15, “They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” He concludes his book with these amazing words:
Even though I am 103 years old, I travel frequently and speak at several events each month. My mission now is to continue to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. I’m told that through television, radio, and personal appearances, as well as print-media interviews, my message reached more than ten million people in 2015 alone. Some of these connections have defied explanation. The only answer is that God wanted them to occur
The truth is that these last few years have been the best of my life. I have so much fun that I don’t look back at yesterday or forward to tomorrow. I live one day at a time (pp. 189-190).
That sounds to me like someone marching to God’s drumbeat!!