Valentine’s Stories: A Story Full of Love

A Valentine’s Story Full of Love by Melissa Lambert VALENTINE’S STORY

I recently had the opportunity to witness a remarkable reunion. One that involved a World War II soldier from Broken Arrow and the American woman that he helped rescue from an internment camp in Manilla.

With Valentine's day approaching, I couldn’t help thinking that their story is a love story. One of agape, or unconditional, “God” love.

Imagine a young man called to serve his country. He proudly fights for the freedom of his countrymen, always facing danger head-on because he has taken vows to protect his beloved country. That, of course, is another kind of love; the love of his country and love of his fellow man.

Now, imagine a girl being taken hostage and put into a prisoner of war camp at the very young age of 12. That girl, Georgia Barnes-Payne, lived in dire conditions with very little food and fear intensifying through her three years of internment.

Imagine the joy when that girl saw a tank crash through the wall of the camp and saw soldiers march alongside the tank, realizing that those men were there to rescue her and her family. I think it would be fair to say there was love felt at that moment as she realized she was being rescued.

The story started when the four and a half-year-old Georgia and her family set sail for Manila in the 1930s after her father had accepted a job in the Philippines. The job came as a great relief to a family suffering through the Depression. After Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941 however, the Japanese started bombings in the Philippines. Georgia said that before their capture, they endured the fear of constant bombings, and then in 1942, she, her father, mother, and sister were captured and imprisoned. Two brothers were also born while the family was imprisoned.

Junior came into the picture in 1943. He was drafted into the Army shortly after he turned 18 and became part of the First Cavalry Division which shipped out for the Pacific the next year. Shortly after he arrived, his division began the liberation of the Philippines. The islands had been overrun by the Japanese since 1942. In 1945, after seeing intense combat and being on the frontlines for 63 days with little relief and very little food, he was ordered to liberate the Santo Tomas internment camp, where Georgia’s family was being held. There were more than 3,000 prisoners confined there and many internees were near death from starvation. He said he was fired upon from Japanese soldiers, but fortunately they couldn’t hit him since he was behind the tanks.

Georgia said that she remembers the fateful day when the tank crashed through the fence of Santa Tomas, it’s lid opening to the sky. A soldier stood up and was chomping gum. She said it was then that they knew the Americans had come to rescue them, because the Japanese didn’t chew gum.

For seventy-five years, Georgia searched to find someone from the first Calvary that brought her beloved freedom. That search brought her to Broken Arrow’s very own “Junior” Nipps.

On November 14, 2019, Georgia was reunited with Junior. The gratitude that was displayed was tremendous. I’m taking liberties here, but I believe that it’s not a far stretch to say she “loved” finally being able to tell one of her rescuers “thank you.” I believe that he “loved” being able to see someone that he actually rescued. And I can say with assurance, that everyone in that room felt love. An unexplainable, deep love witnessing this reunion. You couldn’t help for a moment putting yourself in their shoes and just being so thankful this moment happened. Touchingly, a friendship has blossomed from this reunion.