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From Warriors to Peacemakers

THE December 8, 2002, issue of Awake! contained the experience of Toshiaki Niwa, a former Japanese pilot who was trained for a kamikaze mission during World War II. Niwa related that in August 1945, he was at a base near Kyoto awaiting an order for a suicide attack on U.S. naval vessels. That order never came, for just days later, the war ended. Years later Niwa began studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. He learned that those who would please God do not take part in war. They truly respect fellow humans, regardless of where they live or their national origin. (1 Peter 2:17) A former warrior, Niwa is now a peacemaker who shares with others the uniting message of God’s Word.

Russell Werts, from the United States, was moved by Niwa’s story, for he fought in the same war—but on the other side. “You stated that in August 1945 you were near Kyoto awaiting the coming invasion,” Werts wrote in a letter to Niwa. “At that same time, I was going through the final stages of training for that invasion. If the war had not ended when it did, both of us probably would have died on opposite sides in that battle. Like you and your family, my wife and I later became Jehovah’s Witnesses. It’s a great feeling to know that we who were once enemies bent on killing each other are now not only friends but brothers!”

Like Toshiaki Niwa and Russell Werts, many who were once mortal enemies are now living in peace and unity because they have studied and applied God’s Word, the Bible. Among Jehovah’s Witnesses are Jews and Arabs, Armenians and Turks, Germans and Russians, Hutu and Tutsi, who are proving themselves to be genuine Christians. Indeed, Jesus said: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”—John 13:35.

[Pictures on page 31]

Toshiaki Niwa and Russell Werts during World War II