They Never Wavered

Do you remember this book I was reading? Well I finally finished it today. It's taken me well over a year to read (mostly because I only read a few pages every Sunday) but I'm grateful for this book. I'm grateful for the lives that my ancestors have lead. I'm grateful for their examples. Let me share with you some excerpts from the book.

While a POW, Forrest Packard kept track of the days of the month and on the first Sunday of each month he would fast. He would give his allotted portion of food to another POW whom he felt needed the food for then he did.

Esther Packard had 11 children to support alone. Ward and stake priesthood leaders came to exempt her from paying tithing during the time her husband was a POW. Her answer was, "You wouldn't deprive me of that?" She then pointed to her eight boys, "with eight strong boys like these? And you want to deny me the blessings of tithing?" During all the rough times, she always paid her tithing.

Esther Packard also said, "I am even thankful I have two babies dead, that I may have the privilege of raising in a time when sin and temptation will have no place."

Forrest was given a blessing May 8, 1941 in the Hawaiian Temple before leaving to Wake Island. "Brother Packard, I bless you that you will return to your loved ones unharmed and in happiness after much trial and hardship. Your family will be in good condition and their number increased. You will be blessed on land and sea. Eventually you will return and find your family chain unbroken."
Forrest was also told in his blessing to obey his temple covenants. Many on the other men worked in shorts with no shirt. Forrest wore bib-overalls, a shirt and his metal hat. It was said that Forrest would hook his thumbs in the straps of his overalls and smile at you as he talked. On a side note, there was a heat wave in Wake Island soon after Forrest arrived, and no wind to cool them down. But he never strayed from obeying his temple covenants.

Forrest was caught between some of the buildings when the bombs started to fall in Wake Island. He heard a small voice tell him to lie down. At first he hesitated but the voice said as clear as day, "Fall on your face." So he fell down on his face until the bombing was over. In one direction 60 ft. away a bomb had dropped, in another direction 90, in another 120 ft. He was surrounded by bomb craters. A coworker did not lie down and was mowed down by shrapnel. If he would've remained standing, he would have been killed.

Esther wanted to continue carrying out the traditions she and Forrest had started. She prayed for guidance and help. The answer she received was to play games with her children. As a result she had two purposes; first, to improve herself and her own skills so that she could earn a livelihood, and second, to spend every possible moment "living it up" with her family.

Esther would play games with them every night, often until 1:00 AM or later. While they were playing, she would teach the principles of the gospel in an atmosphere that was easy to accept. There wasn't much arguing - if there was, Esther would stop the game. One time when they continued to bicker, Esther threw the game into the fire and burned it.
Bill Packard said, "A team of horses couldn't have pulled up away from home. If there was a choice of playing with mom or our friends, we always chose mom."

Forrest never did any wheeling and dealing when it came to the Red Cross boxes and trading. He just exchanged with the fellows the things he did not use for useful food. He did not take advantage of the others.

Esther would encourage her children when they had the hard farm work. "She would keep encouraging us to do it, so we developed the attitude that we could." Someone would have to ride the cultivator in the raspberry patch so it would get down in the ground. They would get all scratched up from the vines. Floyd said it was a "miserable, miserable job, but we did everything we could to make things work, because our mother convinced us we could."

"Probably the only time Forrest was beaten was when he was defending another, or when he would be working and the workload was such that he couldn't carry his load." - Lloyd Nelson

Even with all the abuse, Forrest did not have ill feelings about the Japanese people as a whole - "just certain individuals were bad." He never said anything bitter about them. He never called them Japs, but Japanese. He tried not to turn against them even though he was certainly hit and abused during his internment. A common sentiment by the former POWs was that Forrest did not become hateful or hostile; he didn't become bitter or antagonistic toward the Japanese. We learn a great lesson from Forrest: It is possible to overcome obstacles harassment, and abuse we may face without losing our dignity and goodness. And we can face prejudice without becoming prejudiced in return.

Forrest's personality was tempered by his experiences as a prisoner. His faith was strong. Every survivor who knew him said he was a good man; a spiritual man; a peacemaker; a man of sterling character; a man who lived his religion; a man who helped many others survive their prison ordeal; a truly great man; a man who quietly relied upon his Heavenly Father for the strength to endure those terrible indignities.