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The young priest walked hurriedly but calmly about Clark Field, aiding and consoling the wounded soldiers. He seemed unconcerned by the Japanese planes that were strafing the field. Like many other U.S. bases in the Philippines, Clark Field was under heavy attack on Dec. 8, 1941, just one day after the historic attack on Pearl Harbor.
The priest - Father J. Verbis Lafleur - a man of compassion and understanding, a man of bravery and courage who was eager to give all for his God and his country, was to
distinguish himself many times during World War II. On several occasions, the native of Ville Platte, La., a 1939 graduate of the Knights of Columbus Boy Life Leadership Training program at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Md., and member of Abbeville (La.) Council 2281, risked his life to rescue others or tend to their needs.
Ordained in 1938, Father Lafleur was associate pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville, when he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps nearly a half-year before the United States entered World War II. He was assigned to a unit in Albuquerque, N.M., in July 1941. Four months later the unit - the 19th Bombardment Group -arrived at Clark Field, near Manila. The unit had hardly settled in when the Japanese swiftly struck the unprepared U.S. bases.
Father Lafleur's actions that Dec. 8 became a legend. An Air Corps officer, Col. E. L. Eubanks, wrote of the chaplain's heroic deeds: "...he was magnificent. With absolute disregard to his personal safety, he went among the wounded soldiers giving spiritual comfort to those who desired it, assisting the doctors in giving care to the wounded and helping in their evacuation.
"Never once did he take cover. Never once did he think of his own safety as he conducted himself in accordance with the highest traditions of his Church and our Army."
Clark Field was considered unsafe as the Japanese moved across the Pacific, so the 19th Bombardment group was transferred. Father Lafleur and the others were en route by ship to another island when the vessel was machine gunned by Japanese planes. An officer was wounded and lying on the deck. The priest crawled, seemingly between the hundreds of bullets, and brought the officer to safety. The remainder of the young chaplain's Air Corps service was spent as a prisoner of war. Even in prison his courage and leadership continued to be a calming influence on his men. Father Lafleur traded everything he had with the Filipino natives, even his eyeglasses and his watch, to get things necessary for the sick, blind and paralyzed soldiers. He ate only a small amount of his portion of food and gave the rest to the most needy prisoners.
Father Lafleur and 750 soldiers were sent from one prison camp to another during 1942. In November they were taken on a tiring boat trip from Luzon to Davao. One of the soldiers wrote that at Davao Father Lafleur built a chapel "with his own hands." He called it the Chapel of St. Peter in Chains. There he offered Mass daily during his days as a POW. When the wine was getting low, it was portioned out with a medicine dropper.
By the fall of 1944 the tide of the war had changed. American troops were moving ahead, retaking the many Pacific islands captured earlier by the Japanese. The Japanese decided that the prisoners should be moved to Japan, so all 750 were loaded into the hold of a ship. There was standing room only.
The ship did not fly the customary white flag designating it as a prisoner transport ship. After three weeks at sea, it was attacked by the Americans and began to sink. Within minutes water in the hold of the vessel was waist deep. Despite the onrushing water, flames closed in and the smoke made breathing difficult for the men who were packed in like cattle. "You first, Padre," the men said once the hatch was opened. Father Lafleur refused. He helped them up the ladder and gave each a fast, silent blessing. The Japanese shot many of the prisoners as they left the ship and jumped into the water. Only 80 of the 750 survived. The chaplain was last seen by the ladder, helping others in the hold of the flaming ship.
As one soldier wrote: "No task was too small nor was any request too large. Father Lafleur was never too busy...
"I will miss the Padre but I will not grieve for him. His work was his life. He died as a brave man, doing a great work. No man could ask more."
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