MISSION 13

WWII Drama

When a B17 bombardier is shot down over Germany, he spends the rest of WWII in a POW camp where he is brutally beaten. When the war ends, he brings those abuses home, destroying his family, and his life, until he finds freedom in the most unlikely place.

David Murphy is a serious young man. When Pearl Harbor is bombed in 1941, he joins the Air Force and serves as bombardier aboard a B-17. On their 13th mission, his plane is shot down over Germany. He parachutes down but his injuries prevent any escape. He is captured by the Nazis and spends the rest of the war in a POW camp where he is brutally and repeatedly beaten by a young Nazi guard. 

After the war David comes home a war hero but a broken man. And he brings those abuses home with him. He marries Mary Kay, and they have children, but it is not a good marriage, and the family suffers. David subjects his young son, Chris to the same kind of abuses he suffered in the war. Their family is destroyed and separated, and Chris grows to hate his father. 

Ten years later, Chris learns the only was to get past the pain is to forgive his father but finds it impossible. Another 10 years later, Chris finally goes to his father’s house to forgive him…face to face. He struggles to find the words but says, “Dad, I love you and forgive you for whatever happened during the time you lived with us.” After a quiet moment, his father begins to “ugly cry.” Chris joins him and their lives are never the same. 

In 1991, David’s doctor is concerned as x-rays showed potential lung cancer and he suggests David have exploratory surgery. What follows is a tender expression of a father’s love for his son. Before all the doctors and nurses, David lavished all his affection on Chris as he went into surgery. It marks Chris forever. 

Mission 13 is a true story based on the book, The Wild Love of God by Chris DuPré.

Ken Beale

Chris DuPré