Beyond Valor: The ‘Red’ Erwin Story – Interview with Jon Erwin - II

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God. If you would like to know how you can become a harvest partner, just go to harvest.org that's harvest.org today on a new beginning a story of extraordinary heroism, sacrificial love in a race against time. Pastor Greg Laurie invites author John Irwin to bring us the riveting story of his own grandfather. World War II hero Henry red Irwin to mission to Coram, Japan, a bomb erupted in his face. My grandfather that split second choice to save himself or try to save the lives of answer that call. And the choice that make would define his life and generations of lives and we do the fastest presentation of the Congressional medal of honor. We know of in our nations history like your lawn today for special edition of the new beginning after Greg Laurie is in studio with his friend. Movie director John Irwin, John and his brother and the brother such great films as Woodlawn, I still believe I can only imagine he's a storyteller. John is just written a new book tells the story he's heard since childhood is the story of his own father markable moment from the second and I think we throw the word or the term hero around rather loosely that the guy knows you know five cords in the guitar. He's a guitar hero if you can drop ball in the basket or cancer pasties, a sports hero. But though those are impressive acts. They're not really heroism a hero is someone that sacrifices some of the puts the needs of others above himself and your grandfather was a real hero tell us what he did. This act of heroism that caused him to be awarded this incredible medal of honor by the president of the United States William in the medal of honor as is our nations highest military honor and he was a radio operator onboard between a super fortress icon read her winning great red hair looked a lot like Matt Damon for about the war he basically want to be a fighter pilot couldn't get the landing and and he became a radio operator between a super fortress to between nine was the most extraordinary aircraft of dance aluminum was beautiful. Glass knows how many members would be on one of those there be 11 crewmembers how to be 29, and one of his jobs as the radio operator was to drop a phosphorus flare when they approach the target and signal all the other planes into formation and he had done this many times.

Phosphorus is terrible, terrible stuff you can burn up to 2000° it burns to steal that you can't put out a brand water just horrible stuff and it burns white-hot and so the other points could see it and come information on this particular raid April 12, 1945, arrayed on Coram, Japan. He did what he always did and and was his job to drop the bomb and they had an air pocket and instead of the bomb deploying it shot back up and into the plane exploded in his face and filled the plane with toxic smoke and plane went into immediate dive and they were only 1500 feet and it was really just a question of whether they were to crash into the ocean and die or whether it was going to erupt the 6 tons of bombs on the plane and and you know explode all the planes around them and the my grandfather was very devout and he said on the plane. He felt a presence with him on the plane. I blinded him. It it it severely burned them just the first explosion, and in some sort of a superhuman shouldn't of been able to do it.

Act just felt it a piece in a presence within fungi with them on the plane and he went for the bomb instead of away from and he found it clutched it like a football and began about a 20 foot march to the front of the plane and just erupted like a human fireball and moved at a movie navigator stable Sears handprint to the Nampa navigator stable and got to the front of the plane and there was a Col. onboard Col. Strauss was sitting in the copilot seat very calmly said excuse me sir, and over his shoulder.

He got the bomb out of the plane to the window smoke cleared the plane and they pulled up at 300 feet just seconds from disaster. My grandfather collapsed in flames.

Everyone thought he was gonna die and so they land the plane Iwo Jima the airstrip at Iwo Jima just opened and they had a cut a hole in the plane to get them out and that night the captain on several and Strauss wrote the citation for the Congressional and of honor, sort of. The word was were to give the medal of honor to this war hero posthumously because again everything seemed and he clung the life he'd Artie had several surgeries. Got home, my grandmother had only really been informed that he had been injured should know the extent of it and she came in and he clutched the bomb like a football so the whole right side of his body's arm was fused in place. The right side is facing a big fan of the opera, he a hard time eating so is that 85 pounds and she found the only unburned portion of his cheek on the other side and just immediately without hesitation. Justin said welcome home. I love you I'm here and that given the little live and he endured. I think 40 surgeries in all and they have five kids after the war by denting the second and that he P worked for for the for the VA for over 30 years helping other other veterans get the benefits and that's the story.

Given the fact you lay out it's really a miracle. He didn't die within minutes.

The closer he came to death, the less likely it would be that you would ever be here, and it ended, and it's obvious God had a plan for your life. It may look out the lives of these touch through your films and his plan to get you here involve the plan to get your grandfather the medical care he needed, absolutely. Absolutely it was it was a miracle that I'm here on multiple levels and and the galaxy read an excerpt from the book at 9:30 AM on April 12, 1945 at a .225 miles south of Tokyo in 1500 feet over the Pacific Ocean. Sgt. Henry read Erwin had held the lives of 12 Americans in his hands, including his own.

He also held in his hands, the existence and potential of the hundreds of descendents. Those airmen were destined to have if God were to bless them with children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. The officers and crew were like brothers to him and now their lives depended on what he did in those few seconds read Erwin prayed to God for a miracle and it happened that night as red lay in a hospital bed was severe, life-threatening burn wounds. Another series of miracles would be needed if he were to survive. Yeah and and those miracles are of course outlined in the in the brand-new book beyond valor where speaking with John or when there is the author of the book. Normally we refer to them as the director of whatever film were talking about. In fact we talked about his film last month. Here, a new beginning.

I still believe and were just so happy to be making his book available. This is your first book, though, right John first book yeah yeah you know you have them doing Steve McQueen American icon with Greg and he was writing the book with with Marshall and an answer he gave me the idea to sort of pair up with a historian and and get my granddad story told in book form, and William Doyle's fantastic and the amazing author and has been written many amazing books into and that is my first book, so got a lot to learn but I left on store your regular screenplays I've read read John screenplays and so he's a writer he's a communicator he's a storyteller and he knows how to get to not just the facts of the story, but the heart of the story and it takes you there when you experience it with them and so I think that's why Kim telling this story is more effective than someone who maybe never knew his grandfather personally or was as connected to the story is John is because bottom line if if if Henry Erwin didn't do what he did there wouldn't be a John and Andy Irwin yeah because it is act of heroism.

So many lives have been impacted in the years that followed, but so it's personal but in a good way because he took the time to go the extra mile and then saw my cousin grandfather did and gift capture the stories from the people that were there from people that were eyewitnesses and so you get to be riveted by this book and in the inspired by it and I think in the times in which were living. We all can use a little inspiration and see the good that people can do because we see so many acts of selfishness. It's great to reflect on an amazing act of selflessness guy. I think it you.I love books.

That's one of my my hobbies. I love you mentioned losing preemies unbroken for such a fine member. Just reading a book and crying and I slept good story. In book form, and I love biographies and there's so much to learn and I love it when they can point to higher things and I think it is a time when we really have to be reminded of the virtues that bind us together as Americans and make sure that those things are passed down from generation to generation and and and and I think the that's the goal hopefully to entertain and and again. It's a very entertaining war story, but there's so much to learn and that so much truth that is biblical in it, and so it is a privilege to write it and can with me. You know my experiencing and reading the book was you. You get so wrapped up in the story and the details in the background and and I did. I felt like I was Red's family member myself and I felt like I was. I was relating to him as I would've family member in all the research you did in fact I think you commented in the book that you been working on this for something on the order of 15 years with all the researcher done what surprised you the most in your investigation into your grandfather's experiences. Well, first, that makes me feel old now.

It's going of approaching 40, but I did start this very early in about 2005. Sort of going around and interviewing people as a very young filmmaker the time and the and just getting that the story documented and then over the years just pursued it.

I remember just before my grandfather died and before we had it. He had a stroke and so I would stay up late with him and that's when he "Scripture right there at the end my grandmother coming in and they just caught each other's eye and here's a guy that is disfigured I like any would always he was photograph of the most every president of photo him. JFK is always sort of favoring that side was in his is burned but his arm was fused in place he's horribly burned at the time he had trouble with mobility because a stroke in community detox low and yet they just caught each other's eye and I was blown away by how much these two people obviously love each other and for a moment. It was sort of like they were teenagers and young or you know and and it was this beautiful thing and my grandmother had the stack of love letters she kept everything. In fact, I remember going over to her house after she'd moved out for home that they lived in and leads on the highway that bore his name. Miller high with her and Ben Birmingham and I told the whole family just can nobody know but touching me, she'd take a close and I went over and to start and found boxes of stuff and she was rules were packrat and so in her closet underneath like receipts for the 1960s were all these manila envelopes and open them up and I was my dad and I am in sleep like that is what I think it is and it was the my grandfather's original citation for the medal of honor signed by Harry Truman was in his original crew photograph. It was the original photograph of him receiving the medal of honor, which was the cover of the setting posted in the and it was always original things this one of the excerpts you gave me from or source that general what was the original was there and that they were all framed. It was unbelievable but there was this thing that Mike, my grandmother kept that she wouldn't let us read until after she died and it was the love letters that he wrote her she kept them all, many of which are in the book and are just beautiful and after she died in a she'd given to us to finally read and and it was just to see the way they love each other and how much they love each other. It was just beautiful and many of them are in the book and and it was this amazing thing. Just to see daily what he was going through and just how much he loved her and it was character he had an end is beautiful thing and so it would we put a lot of them in the book and to hold those was truly extraordinary and I think those are some of the surprising things that fell on the way you know you mentioned a general nor stat just a minute ago you quote one of the accolades that general nor stat extended yeah to your grandfather yet. He said on April on April 26 just after the event happen.

He wrote my grandmother. He said outstanding amongst all of the heroic acts achieved by members of the 23rd Air Force in over years operation is the glorious self-sacrifice of your husband's staff Sgt. Henry E.

Irwin continued and said his transcendent heroism moves me as a professional soldier to pay him tribute his steed lifts him to a place with the bravest men in all history. And as we consider the courage he displayed, we gain a new and humbling appreciation of the valor inherent in mankind. So that was one of those animals that I found and it happened have Arnold Journal.

Generally, arms are ever carjacked on the bravest on record in this war and that was original in her closet as well… This amazing discovery of these things these real gems in the and yet you talk to them and he would say I'm not the hero. You know the guys that didn't come they all do they all do. There's this humble, many can't bear the weight of medal of honor because it really you. You are now a symbol of something and I can't do something and the many found it difficult but he he walked humbly with it. Then again, you know worked for the VA hospital help other veterans get their benefits and end. People loved him and and I just think it was interesting every recipient of medal of honor I've ever talked to instantly says I'm not the hero. But I knew some, and it's the guys that didn't come back as the men and women that didn't return and is very powerful statement you you know there's there's a lot in the book about heroism and is certainly your grandfather was hero by anyone's definition.

I'm in a Congressional medal of honor winner. What John would be your definition of a hero.

Well, I mean we are so many we have so many heroes amongst us, I mean ultimately I think heroes are those that that have the courage in the character to choose others above themselves and in moments of extreme pressure, it's a moment of self-sacrifice. It's a moment of know as Jesus said, there is no greater love than the one that would lay his life down for his friends and all of these acts that they're driven by love.

They are extreme acts of love is what I found and so I think that there extreme acts of love anywhere.

I love the definition of of the medal of honor in terms of of of heroism because it applies to us all. It's it's a biblical concept, it's to go above and beyond what is required of you go further, do more.

As Jesus said if someone asked you to walk a mile go to and in the idea that our nation and our faith compels us to to go beyond and that and that should be one of the marks of a Christian and is a mark of a hero is to do more than is required of them and you don't have to be. You know, the soldiers do that there there can be heroes amongst us anywhere and again I just think that it such a statement in the soda, self-serving, narcissistic generation that I that I grew up and honestly and in the my children growing up and and and and just to see that heroism is to do is to put things that are more important. Above yourself, to serve a purpose and a cause greater than yourself and to put the needs and lives of others ahead of yourself and serve that that's something that I think we all need to be reminded of you know and that's one of the virtues that that make us American attorney that we shouldn't forget, and I was thinking the how your grandfather was humble in the didn't think of himself as a Carol and I thought of Micah 68 were the Lord says he is shown you will man what is good and what the Lord requires of you to do justly, to love mercy and walk humbly with your God and you know what is good, really want us to do. He he he wants us to do justly, to do the right thing to love mercy and walk in humility and no true hero won't go around and tell everyone there hero. They'll just do what they do and then they'll move on with their life and live their life in and give credit to others and and I think that even that is another mark of true character into heroism that you're not, you know, shouting it from the rooftops, but you're just a doer it's done shown by action, not just by words yeah and so if you're moved by this story and I'm sure you are of a John Erwin's grandfather Henry Irwin known as red because he had a thick mane of red hair of this man who threw himself on would you call it a phosphorus flare is that the it's a phosphorus bomb yeah it was really pound phosphorous bomb and and again phosphorus is just it's awful turn everywhere.

I think it just yet. You can't put out an excuse, almost a jelly. It should have been possible for him and yet God gave him the strength and the courage he needed to, which is one of the interesting things about the story he just said that he literally felt a presence on the plane, telling him to go and then and that he felt that that an angel of God was with him in that moment and gave him what he needed. In that moment and I think when God calls us to two things.

He gives us what we need in the moment and the it was interesting to that he was filled with with the ability to do something he should not of been able to do this with the things that I learned from the story but but yet it's it's a just can't recommend enough my generation taking a look at the greatest generation and the importance of that, you know, I can't recommend that journey. Enough is a change in if you understand your legacy. Yes, you know it's I remember hearing Ravi Zacharias say once history is old news happening to new people and and I think it's good to go back in the past and learn from it. There so many great lessons to learn and die and I think as we talk about is we were working on this Jesus revolution story John for a feature film. The theme of revival spreads the flame of revival and I think when we hear a heroic story that inspires us the heroic acts maybe none of the scale of Henry Irwin but there are many acts of heroism that we can all be engaged in each and every day, putting the needs of others above ourselves and so if you want to be encouraged and motivated and inspired to live a heroic life. A godly life then you want to get a copy of this brand-new book by my friend John Erwin called beyond valor. You know John, I'm grandfather and pastor Greg is a grandfather want to grandfather's need to know about sharing with their grandkids unity of faith or StreetSmarts or just who they are as people. What we need to know. You know it's interesting about my grandfather is like when I was seven years old. It was I was around that age and I held the medal of honor and and he said over my shoulder. Freedom isn't free. While I had no concept of what he meant. Yeah. So I think a lot of the times grandparents should know beyond just loving you Greg that my mom and dad. I love it. They been the best grandparents and in the and you know Beth and I for kids and in the 11 to 3 and so grandparents are our assets, it's helpful to God for.

But you know, beyond just the love and you know and the board of the spoil my kids gladly got her job John that I words were quite you spoil all the loyal order similar that which gives us a date which is great. It's good anyway. You know, I think even though I was not yet in a place to really value and understand his story. Those words were still there when I needed them and I think that if you speak truth to your grandkids and in bite-size snippets.

Just trust that when the time is right. Those seeds will will sprout and that's what happened in my life and and you and I think I finally when I was ready to understand what he meant. Those memories were there and they came flooding back in. So just trust that even if, in the moment, you know, bit understand. They will they will later investigate.

It reminds me of the Scripture train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Maybe that's part of that equation that those things that we share with our grandkids early on this text in their minds and they marinate and germinate and that they're just the right time will sprout does Bill begin to grow roots and that will begin to influence and affect their character link so you know you can count on the symptoms a grandparent can be a different voice in the life of a grandchild, even then the parent our role is different. You know were not there to raise the child. In particular, though in some cases sometimes when parents abandon the responsibilities grandparent step in and raise their grandchildren. But if that's not the case you're there to reinforce. Of course, but I think there are, you can have a special bond because you know when it my grandkids with me. My job is not to discipline them per se. It is to love them and it's to enjoy them and it's to pass on things that I've learned and sometimes you know like I have a granddaughter, Allie, and she's always wanting to know stories pop is filthy, tell me one of your childhood stories. I think she's going to become the family historian.

I've told her every story then will start to tell her one and so they pop you told it wrong.

Howdy on the mental runs because of the first time you told a beat to me you said this and that an dog on it she's right but you know it is a wonderful thing to tell the stories and pass these things on an even when it seems like they're not listening. They are because young John Irwin vividly remembers that he was young.

Then he still young that we just doesn't know it is old he still young but anyway John is a young man looking at his grandfather's medal of honor was hurt his grandfather say over his shoulder. Freedom isn't free. That stuck with them.

So grandparents encourage you to pass the choose you've learned, especially spiritual choose on to your children and your grandchildren and that this is the way it's done, the Christian life is like a relay race. We carried the baton for a time in our generation that we pass it on to another and we leave a legacy and certainly read Irwin as he was known.

Henry Irwin did that with his family and you need to do that with yours and we have an inspiring story to tell you they hoping to do that is you learn what one man did in this tremendous act of sacrifice and heroism for others in the book is called beyond valor.

Would love to send you a copy.

It's brand-new hot off the presses as they say, and I think it's going to be a real page turner that Skinner not only ignores entertaining elements to it, but it'll move you deeply and like John.

My favorite kind of book to read is a biography I love them to read through stories above all stories because these are people just like us that did amazing things and God can use the stories to inspire us and it's right in this story will inspire you, like few others. The full title of the book is beyond valor, a World War II story of extraordinary heroism, sacrificial love in a race against time. There's so much going on in our world right now that disappoints us, frustrates us and discourages us will let this put fresh wind in your sales and would like to send you this brand-new book to thank you for your donation that helps these daily programs to continue to come your way. It's an investment in investment in your own spiritual edification and also in bringing the gospel to those who don't yet have a relationship with the Lord. So ask for beyond valor when you send your gift today to a new beginning.

Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org everybody Greg Laurie here in finding you to join me every weekend for what we call Harvest at Home. It's a church service. It's a worship service.

It's a Bible study and its wherever you wanted to be in your home in your car sitting on a beach walking down the street watching it on your phone wherever you are taking with you to be ministered to every weekend. Join us for Harvest at Home@harvest.org.

Next time we returned to pastor Greg's practical discussion of the 10 Commandments as we study the life of Moses and the book of Exodus. But before we go. A final comment from our special guest John Irwin I would you like to say to all is listening and supporting harvest were it's our privilege to to be storytellers at the privileged tell stories and that Jesus told stories and Andy Nayar are called to be storytellers and to spread the gospel through stories and whether it's I can only imagine. I still believe or this book beyond valor or the movie that were going to make as soon as the world allows us to make movies Jesus revolution is a privilege and honor to tell stories that draw people to Christ worldwide, and to everyone that supports them. Thank you and your part of sending the gospel in the world through the entertainment industry. Another gospel never changes the way we get people to us in God's doing great work in Hollywood in your part of it. When you buy the films and when you watch of the station read them and it's our privilege to tell stories that matter. Greg Laurie was made possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God sign up for pastor great free daily email, devotions@harvest.org