Jacob DeShazer of Salem took part in World War II’s legendary Doolittle Raid, endured more than three years as a Japanese prisoner of war and later teamed up with his wife, Florence, to serve as a Methodist missionary in Japan for nearly 30 years.
DeShazer, 95, died Saturday night at the Lancaster Village assisted-living facility, said Ruth Kutrakun, the youngest of the couple’s five children.
“He passed away peacefully in his sleep at home,” she said.
Kutrakun characterized her father as a gentle and humble man with a lively sense of humor. His life was centered around faith, family and country, she said.
“My dad was just an incredible person,” Kutrakun said. “He had a sense of honor and duty. He served his country, but more importantly he served his Lord. He had deep faith, and during his time as a prisoner of war he was convinced that he needed to forgive his enemy. After that, he spent his life spreading the message of love and forgiveness.
“We’re all going to miss him. I think everybody that knew him felt like they knew someone special.”
DeShazer’s fervent faith was forged during harrowing events.
On April 18, 1942, he was among nearly 80 fliers whose bombs struck targets in Tokyo and Nagoya. It become known as the Doolittle Raid — the United States’ first air attack on Japan, by Lt. Col. James Doolittle and his Raiders.
Most of the 16 planes taking part in the raid lacked enough fuel to reach the planned refueling point and crashed or were ditched over China. DeShazer and his crew bailed out near the coast of China.
Captured and held in a cramped Chinese prison cell, DeShazer withstood 40 months of solitary confinement, interrogation, torture and threats of execution. He was fortified by a born-again religious experience that came while reading the Bible — the only book his captors allowed him.
And another one passes......
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