To continue our discussion of the Heavenly Virtues, I have a true story for you. It is a long one, so bear with me. I suspect most of you know some of the details.
In October 1962, a U.S. U-2 spy plane flew over Cuba and snapped a few photos of activity on the ground. Those images led to thirteen days of intense global tension, particularly between the U.S. and the former USSR. It was the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The U.S. deployed nuclear missiles in the UK, Turkey, and Italy. The Soviets returned the favor of close proximity by laying the groundwork to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. Many of President John F. Kennedy’s advisors pushed for an invasion of Cuba; however, Kennedy took a less aggressive approach and instituted a naval blockade around the island, preventing the deployment of missiles from Russia.
It worked, and the Russians reversed course. The U.S. missiles in Europe would also eventually be removed as part of the brokered deal to resolve the issue. This is the story most of us are familiar with; however, over the last week or two, I learned some additional, scarier details about the events.
Those of you who were aware of what was going on probably remember Kennedy’s October 22 speech, in which he stated, “It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.” On October 27, also known as Black Saturday, the Soviets planned to complete the installation of the missiles. As part of the overall program, the Soviets were sending in 40,000 troops, along with support equipment, and four diesel submarines—B4, B36, B59, and B130—to patrol the waters around Cuba. Each of these submarines carried 22 torpedoes.
During their sail through the North Atlantic, the subs encountered severe storms and sustained significant damage to the boats. The crew was reported to have been injured, yet they arrived, though not without being detected. On Black Saturday, the US let them know that the US was aware of their presence, especially B59, by dropping echo-ranging depth bombs. These were not designed to destroy the submarine, only to keep tabs on where the submarine was located under the waters. However, having lost all communications with Moscow because of their depth, B59’s captain and crew believed they were under attack and that WWIII had begun. Now, for the scary surprise.
Those four Soviet submarines carried 22 torpedoes each, but only the Soviets knew that on each sub, one of those torpedoes was armed with a 15-kiloton nuclear warhead (about the same size as the bomb exploded at Hiroshima). To make that situation even more horrifying, the submarine’s captain, in agreement with the submarine’s political officer, had full authority to launch the nuclear torpedo without first gaining approval from Moscow. And, just to throw in a bit more to keep you up at night, the B59’s captain and political officer had in fact approved the launch. To add a bit of incentive, the sub’s cooling system and air filtration unit were damaged and dead. The sub was filling up with CO2. Without surfacing, they had less than an hour to live, but to surface—or so they feared—was to be blown out of the water by the U.S. The captain, now suffering from the effects of the CO2, tension, and nerves, said, “The war has already started up there, and we are down here doing somersaults. We’re going to blast them now. We’ll die, but we will sink them all. We won’t disgrace our Navy or shame the fleet.”
They were going to fire a nuclear torpedo that would have destroyed the entire U.S. fleet in the vicinity in a single blinding flash. JFK had already promised to retaliate if something like that occurred and had prepped and aimed 3,000 nuclear warheads at 1,000 targets in the Soviet Union. If the U.S. fired theirs, the USSR would fire theirs. All bets were off. The world was literally minutes away from a full-scale nuclear war. What prevented it? Better question: Who prevented it?
Remember, it only took the captain and the political officer to approve the launch, but aboard B59—and not on any other boats—was a third officer who outranked the captain, so his vote was also needed to launch. That person was Captain Second Rank Vasili Arkhipov.
In the face of all that was happening, the anxiety and terror of the detonations taking place around them, and the pressure from those around him, Vasili said, “No.” He insisted that they break radio silence, surface, and get a message to Moscow before proceeding. His argument and authority won the day.
While underwater, they had the means to send a very local message that was received by the U.S. ship above. The message: “This ship belongs to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Halt your provocative actions.” How did the U.S. command respond? Why, they apologized. B59 surfaced, received word from Moscow that they were not at war, and limped back home.
The history books that cover these events indicate that it was Captain Second Rank Vasili Arkhipov who single-handedly prevented all-out nuclear war and the start of WWIII.
The Heavenly Virtue of fortitude is defined as “the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause.”
The Heavenly Virtue of Justice is defined as “the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the ‘virtue of religion.’ Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good.”
If you want to see a visual depiction of what these two virtues look like, look at the picture of Captain Second Rank Vasili Arkhipov on the cover of your bulletin. I have no idea whether the man was a Christian; there is no evidence to confirm it either way, but I will guarantee you this: for a person of his character to be placed in that position, on that submarine, at that time, and to have the fortitude to do what he did—what did Mordecai say to Queen Esther? “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Vasili is reported to have been a shy and humble man, and so, perhaps through the overarching virtue of humility, he was able, through God’s grace, to practice the Heavenly Virtues of fortitude and justice. For that, we give thanks, but what about us today?
Questions we are asked at baptism: “Will you persevere in resisting evil… Will you strive for justice and peace among all people?” Rephrased: When evil, in all its various forms, comes against you, and when the pressure to give in is great, will you practice the virtue of fortitude so that justice might be served, not according to your own ideas of justice, but according to God’s? Will you do so so that all people will rightly be served, cared for, and given the opportunity to live and to thrive? You see, it is very easy to practice fortitude and justice when it comes to your own ideologies, beliefs about right and wrong, and other dearly held tenets, but what about when justice for another runs in the face of those same ideas? Will you humble yourself, set aside your ideas and beliefs, and serve the other? Or will you cave to the demands of others and the pressures exerted by the world around you?
As followers of Jesus, we must pray for humility so that we may practice fortitude and act justly toward all. This is our calling, for Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.”
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, flood the path before us with light, turn our eyes to where the skies are full of promise; tune our hearts to brave music; give us a sense of comradeship with the heroes and saints of every age; and so quicken our spirits that we may encourage the souls of all who journey with us on the road of life, to your honor and glory. Amen.
Candle in a Cave 