For
Immediate Release
June 15, 2001
By
Congressman Joe Pitts
One day late in the Second
World War, a squadron of kamikazes aimed themselves at a group of American ships
sailing through the South Pacific. On
the deck of one of those ships an Army chaplain saw the approaching Japanese
planes and recognized them for what they were.
Kamikazes were the most dangerous weapon the increasingly desperate
Japanese had against American ships. Their
pilots, prepared for suicide, flew explosive-laden planes directly into their
targets. From October of 1944 to
the end of the war in August of 1945, kamikazes sank 34 American ships and
damaged hundreds of others. That’s
what the Army chaplain saw heading straight for him, and he froze.
He watched as one plane
circled and tilted into a dive, and he prepared to die.
But the kamikaze had chosen a different target.
It flew directly over the chaplain’s ship and into another that was
sailing alongside it. It exploded in a ball of fire, killing hundreds and sending
the ship and its passengers to the bottom of the sea. It dawned on the chaplain that his life had been spared, and
he thanked God for it.
That Army chaplain was my
father.
It is not often that a man
knows he is about to die and then realizes he is wrong.
But that’s exactly what happened to Chaplain Joseph Pitts.
He had been spared, and as a man of faith he knew he had been spared for
a purpose. Through the war he
witnessed the carnage and destruction of war as it worked its way through the
Philippines, New Guinea, and the Japanese islands.
He saw the suffering, and knew that the Japanese surrender of August 24,
1945 was not really the end of it. The
effects of bombs and torture and prison camps would go on for years.
So, after the war, my father
returned with his family to the Philippines as a missionary. I was only 8 years old.
We spent several years in the Philippines, and the story about the
kamikaze attack was one my father told us many times. Because of that story, I never questioned why we were there
and not at home in America. I knew
that my dad’s life had a purpose, and that gave my life a purpose too.
Years later, an Air Force
captain came home on leave after his third rotation in Vietnam. He had been in the Air Force for 6 years, flying over 100
bombing missions over enemy territory. For
years he had lived in places like Thailand, Okinawa, and Guam.
He had seldom been home, and he had seldom seen his family.
After landing, he met his wife and three children on the runway, happy to
see them after so many months away. But
his son, the youngest of his children, didn’t recognize him.
In his mother’s arms, the boy smiled awkwardly and then hid his face.
I was that Air Force captain,
and the year was 1968. The boy was
my son Dan. I decided at that
moment that I had been away long enough. At
the next opportunity, I got out of the Air Force and returned to Pennsylvania
and to teaching. From that time on,
I spent as much time with my children as I could.
I had learned important lessons from my father and was determined to pass
them on to my children too.
I taught for a few more years,
and then ran for the state legislature, where I served for many more years.
Once again, I was frequently away from home.
But I called my children every night I was away and spoke to each one
about their day. On weekends, I
spent special time with each of them. Once
a month, I would take one of my children out for breakfast and share with them
what was on my heart and listen to them tell what was on theirs.
I tried to be every bit as good a father to them as my father had been to
me.
Now it’s Dan’s turn.
A couple of years ago Dan got married, and now he and Paige are expecting
their first child. We don’t yet know whether they’ll have a boy or a girl.
Either way, sometime late in August, four generations of Pittses will celebrate
our fathers.
Congressman Joe Pitts (R, PA-16) is co-chairman of the Congressional Fatherhood Promotion Task Force.
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Additional Information:
Congressman Pitts' Families Page
Congressman Pitts' biography
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