3-27-25

This past Tuesday was Medal of Honor recognition day……A friend of mine took

the group of boys he works with in his Trail Life troop to do a wreath laying

ceremony at the National Cemetery……he came back and told me that he had

been unaware how many Medal of Honor recipients have come from our home

state of Alabama……33 to be exact…..I have had the privilege of meeting several

of them and one of them, Green Beret legend Ola Lee Mize, actually had a

profound moment to speak into my life…..but the Medal of Honor is not

something that should be taken for granted ……it is our nations highest award for

bravery and valor in combat…..officially the Medal of Honor is “the nation's

highest military award for valor in combat, awarded to members of the armed

forces who distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at

the risk of their lives above and beyond the call of duty.”…..it requires several

things that are external to the person…..they must have been in combat, this is

not a peacetime award…..they must have been faced with a massively extreme

situation whose outcome was shaped by their actions….and it must have witness

testimony…..the President of the United States is the one who awards it

personally……any recipient is also given their own flag, and a lifetime pension

from the US Government as thanks for their service……the wearer of the Medal

of Honor is actually due to be saluted by any uniformed personnel regardless of

whether they are a lower rank…..basically, that sky blue ribbon means that a

General could have to salute a private……it is huge….it is honorable…..it is also

rare…..in the history of the United States there have only been a little over 3500

recipients in total……despite the fact that millions of Americans have gone to

war for our country……but there is one recipient from Alabama whose story I

want to tell……I do so because it is amazing….but also because of the legacy he

left……because I also know his family……the man’s name was Henry Eugene

Erwin…..but his friends called him “Red”……

Red Erwin was described by those who knew him as “a country boy, quiet,

unassuming, religiously devout,” and he was also called the best radioman of the

52d Bomb Squadron in WWII. Erwin flew with the crew of a B-29 Superfortress

nicknamed the City of Los Angeles, as part of the 29th Bombardment Group. On

his 11 th combat mission the crew was flying out of Guam to bomb Japanese

installations in the Pacific theater……part of Erwin’s job in the lead B-29 was to

drop a white phosphorous bomb marker out of a chute to mark the assembly area

in the air for all other planes…..he had done it multiple times before…..but this

time it went badly…..

He was given the signal to drop the white phosphorous bomb when the City of Los

Angeles was off the south coast of Japan…..the aircraft was being hit by Japanese

anti-aircraft….but they flew on….. Erwin, bare-headed and had his shirtsleeves

rolled up, he apparently pulled the pin and released his bomb into the chute. But

the fuse malfunctioned, igniting the phosphorus, which immediately began

burning at a temperature of 1,300 degrees. ….if you’re not familiar with white

phosphorous it will burn continually….you can’t put it out with water…..it will melt

metal….and it creates massive amounts of thick white smoke……The canister blew

back up the chute into Erwin’s face, blinding him, searing off one ear, and filling

the B-29 with heavy smoke that obscured the pilots’ instrument panel…..the pilot

had to put the plane into a dive with windows open to try and flush the

smoke…..despite his massive injuries Erwin knew that the bomb would burn

through the metal floor into the bomb bay…… It had to be jettisoned or the

aircraft and crew were lost…….by now he was totally blind, but he located the

burning bomb on the floor, picked it up in his bare hands, and stumbled forward

toward the flight deck, planning to throw it out the copilot’s window….. As he

groped his way through the plane his face and arms became covered with ignited

phosphorus, at one point he had to move equipment that was in his way and

remained conscious to do so but needed both hands…..so held the white-hot

bomb under his bare right arm…….and when he did the phosphorus burned

through his flesh to the bone…..he was a walking torch…..but young Red Erwin

held that burning bomb and finally staggered into the cockpit, threw the bomb

out the window, and collapsed between the pilots’ seats……crew members finally

extinguished the flames that were burning Erwin’s clothing and administered first

aid. But every time his burns were uncovered the phosphorus would react with

the air and while it was embedded in his flesh it would begin to smoulder all over

again……. Somehow Erwin remained conscious throughout the flight back and the

only thing he spoke about was to ask about the safety and wellbeing of the rest

of the crew…..when he returned to medical help they did not expect him to

survive…..Maj. Gen. Curtis LeMay and Brig. Gen. Lauris Norstad, asked for rushed

approval for the award of the Medal of Honor so that they could present it to him

before he died…..in one of the few times that a President did not do the

presentation a Medal was flown to Guam and presented in the hospital there….

Gen. Hap Arnold wrote to him while he was in the hospital and said: “I regard

your act as one of the bravest in the records of this war.”

But contrary to what everyone thought Erwin did survive….. He was evacuated

back to the States, and spent over 30 months in rehab and reconstructive surgery

…..he regained his eyesight and the use of one arm. He was promoted to Master

Sergeant and discharged in October 1947……. For 37 years Red Erwin served as a

Veterans’ Benefit Counselor at the VA Hospital in Birmingham…….

But there is, as Paul Harvey used to say, the rest of the story……You see, the

legacy that Red Erwin gave is more than just what he did in the war….it was in the

legacy that he left to our state and our nation……Red Erwin’s son is someone I

have had the pleasure of getting to know…..he is Hank Erwin, a former Alabama

State Senator but he is also the central figure in the story of “Woodlawn”…..the

Birmingham school that saw a major revival of Christian faith in the 60’s thanks in

large part to Hank Erwin serving as the Chaplain there…..Hank Erwin had a great

and very conservative record in the State Senate and in 2010 he ran for Lt.

Governor but was beaten in the primary by Kay Ivey…..one has to wonder what

would have happened if Erwin had beaten Ivey who went on to take the office of

Governor when Robert Bentley stepped down…..But it doesn’t stop there…..Hank

Erwin’s sons are Jon and Andrew Erwin….known in the movie industry as The

Erwin Brothers they are famous for restoring faith and values to movie making

with hits like Woodlawn, October Baby, I Can Only Imagine, and American

Underdog…….Their movie “I Can Only Imagine” is the third highest grossing

music-biopic movie of all time…..and they are currently the producers and

directors of the hit Amazon Series…..House of David…….The Erwin brothers are

award winning faith-based extensions of the legacy left to them by their

grandfather, Red Erwin……

There is a quote attributed to Tecumseh, the Shawnee Warrior and Chief…..I first

heard it in a movie that was actually called Act of Valor……it is a note from

Tecumseh to his own son……and he says, “So live your life that the fear of death

can never enter your heart…trouble no one about their religion; respect others in

their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life,

beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the

service of your people. When it comes your time do die, be not like those whose

hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep

and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing

your death song and die like a hero going home.”

Medal of Honor appreciation day this week……33 from Alabama…… Red Erwin

committed an Act of Valor in the war…..but he lived a life of legacy……he came

home and lived large and raised a family that is still changing the world……

And that’s a wrap for the Rightside Way