great moments
by Warren L. Maye
D
evastation is the only way to describe what The Salvation Army faced in the days leading up to the 1918 flu pandemic and during it. Imagine: the First World War breaks out and plummets entire countries into armed conflict, the deployment of troops to an array of battlefields exacerbates the spread of a deadly virus, and as a session of cadets at The Salvation Army training school in the USA Eastern Territory prepare to face these challenges, the school itself burns to the ground. Undaunted, The Salvation Army reinvented itself in a way no other organization could. Even in the face of possible illness and death, its soldiers became laser–focused on their new mission to restore healthcare in communities. They also remained cognizant of their ultimate mission, which is to help save souls from sin and to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ without discrimination. General Evangeline Booth’s account of these perilous times was recorded in an article published by The Salvation Army in its War Cry magazine. She expressed the deep gratitude she felt toward her officers and soldiers and related a heartfelt thanks to them that was shared by many individuals, agencies, and organizations around the world. Through telegrams and letters from as far away as India, Korea, China, and Japan, they recognized the significance and the courage of so many Salvationists who had responded to the scourge that claimed the lives of
General Evangeline Booth, circa 1918
thousands of people in the United States and millions worldwide. “The way our people braved the disease when visiting hospitals, nursing the sick, and burying the dead was inimitable, and in the patient and heroic discharge of their duties some lost their lives,” Booth wrote. “This epidemic wrought havoc with every
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department of our work. Especially was this so with those phases that have to do with our young people and with public meetings. “There was also the severe and almost irreparable loss sustained through the death of 25 of our own officers. Some of these had given long years of faithful service, while others
2020 SPECIAL ISSUE: COVID–19
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