Honor a Proud Military Family's Story

To: Gods People, and those who love God's Kingdom,

TBN has contacted us about publishing our book “From the Land of the Rising Son," a story about our life and ministry in America, Japan, and the world. We need to raise funds for advertising. The book will be sold worldwide. As a registered 501c3, we will give any donations a full tax deduction. We feel it is time to tell our story.

MY FAMILY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WARRIORS

THE WEBB'S A MILITARY FAMILY

Born into a military family, the son of a World War Two survivor of Pearl Harbor, and the grandson of a World War One army vet who was the middleweight boxing champion in the army, went on to spar and have a career-ending injury with his jaw broken sparing with a heavyweight contender getting ready to fight the then heavyweight champion of the world William Brannen.

OUR FAMILY TREE IS TRACED AS FAR BACK AS ENGLAND.

Alexander Webb was a captain in King Henry's army.

You can trace the Webb family to the New World and the founding of Connecticut. They were a part of a second wave of Christians fleeing England for the Americas. The plaque still commemorates the founding of the one-hundred-plus people coming to settle there. The Webb name is one of the names on the plaque.

The family was part of the Puritan migration to the New World. One of Webb’s relatives went to France with Benjamin Franklin to help enlist the help of the French during the Revolutionary War. Our family was deeply involved in the revolution. One family member allowed their house to be used for George Washington to meet with his military staff. All through Webb’s history, the military was a big part of the family.

A later military man, also named Alexander Webb, was a Union General who fought at Gettysburg during the Civil War. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was wounded but stayed fighting on the third day until it was over.

Fast forward to William Ronald Webb. His parents were part of the Mormon migration to Salt Lake City, Utah as pioneers. His father had two wives (not all family history is something we can be proud of). During World War 1, William Webb enlisted in the Army. He fought in the trenches in France during the Spanish flu pandemic of World War I, as well as millions and millions of people killed during the conflict.

Somewhere he had taken up boxing and, in the army, became the middleweight boxing champion of the army during the war. He went on during the great depression, boxing to feed his family. After the war, he continued during the great depression to continue to box. As a sparring partner for a heavyweight contender preparing to fight William Braddock for the heavyweight championship, his jaw was broken, and his boxing career was ended.

At the rumblings of a war with Japan just before the outbreak of World War 2, William Webb, my father, son of William R. Webb, enlisted in the US Navy. He had been stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii when he had an appendix attack and was put on a hospital ship at the end of a battleship row called the Solace.

On Dec 7th he watched as the nation of Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. An officer on the deck of The Solace filmed from his ship, the famous video of Arizona being hit and blown in half. That video is what rallied America to fight. Thousands of Americans died defending our Constitution and our way of life. He ended up fighting all through the Pacific War and fought in every major engagement in the war until Japan surrendered.

He served on seven different destroyers that were sunk during the Pacific War. An explosion injured him and he received a purple heart. He was aboard the Destroyer Talbot, which was one of the ships sent to rescue the survivors of the sunk Indianapolis. It had just delivered the atomic bombs to be dropped on Japan to stop the war. Later, our ministry originated in Japan. We ministered and traveled to every country my dad fought in during the Pacific War.

We adopted our fifth child and 4th Japanese daughter in Japan. Today she is a 24-year-old on-fire Christian who loves God with all her heart. My father got to see and hold Kiana and enjoy her as one of his many grandchildren. He was part of the occupation that went into Japan after they surrendered. He always felt bad for all the devastation we brought to the country. However, he knew if the bombs had not been dropped, it would have cost millions of young servicemen’s lives. Japan would not have surrendered without it.

My uncle Loren enlisted in the army and fought in Korea and was there during the Chinese invasion. My cousin Gary went to Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He fought at Hamburger Hill and his entire platoon was killed except him. He was the radio man and had the radio shot off his back.

My cousin Garth was on board the USS Forrestal during the Vietnam War when an explosion occurred, resulting in many sailor's casualties.

My son-in-law was a captain in the Army and flew an Apache attack helicopter in Iraq and Afghanistan, flying over fifty combat missions. Another son-in-law was a Marine Sniper in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our family has always been warriors who love this country and were willing to die to preserve it.

I am and was a husband, father, grandfather, and Pastor to Japan. My life began in a small Mormon town in Ucon, Idaho, traveling to every continent in the world. My wife and I have been 56 years marriage. My parents have five children and eleven grandchildren. I grew up in Ucon, Idaho experiencing a loving and caring farm community family. Most of my family were Mormons. Tragically, my parents went through a divorce, and it caused the family to break up. At age 12, my life took a downward turn. In and out of trouble from the age of 12 to 18.

Knowing a change needed to happen, I met my wife Kathy at the age of eighteen. Thinking this was the answer to my life, we went on a one-month-long engagement and got married. The children followed very quickly and thought I had finally found happiness. Lasted a brief time and then drinking and partying threatened our marriage after 5 short years.

We were living in Seattle at the time and the birth of the flower children generation, Woodstock, and all that went with it. I thought this surely was the answer to our lives. Becoming hippies so we could be happy

Later I met a young man named Nat who I believed later to be an Angel sent/ After giving me a bible, I found Christ. Rejoining my family and leaving the city we lived in, we relocated to Spokane, Washington.

The center for the Jesus people of the revival of the late sixties and early seventies. Eventually, we found our home church of 25 years and became leaders in the church. While serving in every capacity in the church, we eventually became associate pastors.

We served the Lord there until God called us to Japan to serve the Lord in Japan and Pacific Asia. Planting churches, raising ministries all over the globe and following in my earthly father’s footsteps (he fought all over Pacific Asia and we ministered in all the places he fought) following our fathers’ footsteps.

Having traveled to every continent in the world and adopted our youngest daughter, Kiana, we returned to the US with a new mandate to help bring revival to churches. We are planting and pastoring a church in Lake Mary, Florida called The Light House and are continuing to follow his footsteps.