Harold Piovesan

Whenever I think of a good example of a godly man, I often think of my husband’s grandfather Harold Piovesan. He was the patriarch of the Piovesan family as he was the first Christian in his family. He also sang silly songs. He loved sweets, especially pies. He was not the kind of man to lecture you, instead he would listen and, if you asked his advice, he would give it. He loved babies, and he practically glowed when he looked at his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Bonnie Piovesan

He doted on Grandma, and they had a way of putting each other first. Pap Pap was very much a man’s man, but when Grandma had her stroke, Pap Pap put on an apron and called all us Piovesan ladies for recipes. Even in his 70s, he would wrestle his grown grandsons and I remember one such wrestling match in which he bested all four boys at once. The thing I remember the most is that Harold was the kind of man who read his Bible every day. Above all, he lived a life that showed he loved Jesus.

Pap Pap had a deep understanding of God’s love for people and he dedicated his life to serving those around him. He spent nearly 30 years on the foreign mission field in Papua New Guinea. When he retired, he lived at the mission home in Florida and continued to serve in any way he could. In his 70’s he wrote a children’s book and several commentaries on various books of the Bible. In his 80’s he volunteered as a chaplain at the local hospital. In his 90’s he was still volunteering with what he called the old people. All of us younger Piovesans found it hard to keep up with Pap Pap's busy schedule. When he passed away at 96, he died in his sleep with a package of cookies in his bed.

We knew a lot about Pap Pap, and it is hard to capture the witty and tender person that he really was in just a few words. What none of us, except maybe Grandma, knew much about was his time in the war. He was part of the 99th Infantry Division of the Army in the European theater during WWII. We knew he was in the Ardennes and the Battle of the Bulge as part of the push into Germany. He carried a part of the mortar and helped to quickly assemble this when needed. During one battle his unit was behind enemy lines and they were trying to get across the Rhine River; out of the 125 men in his unit only 26 survived. The 99th Division was also known for liberating Dachau Concentration Camp and three labor camps. We are not sure if Pap Pap was part of the liberation of these camps as he never talked about this with any of us. We know that during one battle, when things seemed at their worst, Pap Pap prayed to God with a typical battlefield prayer and vowed to serve God if He would get him out alive. Later Pap Pap learned that Grandma was also praying and vowing to serve God if Harold would come home alive. Neither of them was a Christian at the time.

Over this past winter my husband and I watched Band of Brothers. We expected a typical war theme miniseries. However, we were both forever humbled by seeing the reality of what Pap Pap endured during WWII.

While watching this TV show, seeing what a fox hole was like, the freezing cold these men endured, and the endless movement of the battlefield, we realized this is what our dear Pap Pap had survived. During one episode I started crying, realizing that the sweet and tender man I knew was at one time in his young life hunkered down in some freezing hole as bombs were exploding all around him praying God would spare his life. Knowing how much Pap Pap loved people, I cannot imagine the heartache he suffered seeing his fellow soldiers die and then having to march past their bodies on the way to another battle. I cried even harder when they portrayed the soldiers finding a camp, not knowing what it was, and realizing these young soldiers would have been the first to see the horrors of the camps. It became all too clear why Pap Pap did not talk much about his time in the war.

After he came home from Europe, he and Grandma built a life in Pennsylvania. He had a home and a good business. Together they had a daughter and nine years later they had a son, my father-in-law Gary. When Gary was a few months old, the doctors found a tumor that needed to be removed. Grandma was working out the details for the surgery and the expected stay in the hospital when someone told her about a charismatic faith healer who had come to town. Grandma went to the church service with her infant son in her arms and sat in the pews listening to the preacher. She recounted the story to us several times over the years of how Gary suddenly became very hot and stiff in her arms and then immediately peaceful. A few days later during another checkup to prepare for the upcoming surgery, the tumor was gone. The doctors said Gary also had a hernia that they had not mentioned as they were going to fix it during the surgery. The hernia was gone as well. Grandma urged Pap Pap to go to the church service. He agreed but said he should not be expected to stand up and say anything. During the service Pap Pap grabbed Gary, rushed to the front of the room, and testified about how God had healed his son. He was not a Christian at this time. This was the beginning of the journey of faith for both Grandma and Pap Pap. They started asking questions and reading about Jesus, and soon both came to the Lord. About two years later Pap Pap said he was reading his Bible when God reminded him of his battlefield prayer. Grandma said it was about the same time God also reminded her of her prayer. Together they prayed about how they could serve God, and sometime later they sold everything they owned and were on a ship headed for Papua New Guinea as missionaries. They spent the rest of their lives learning about Jesus and loving others.

About a month after watching Band of Brothers, my husband stumbled upon an excerpt from a book he found online. The author must have talked to Pap Pap, but none of us knew about the interview or the book.
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When shells and rockets started exploding in the branches of pine trees near his foxhole, Harold Piovesan decided he needed extraordinary help. He feared one would strike the fir tree above him and it “would be the end”. Only one power could save him and that “was God.” He pledged, “God, if you get me out of this, I will serve you the rest of my life.”  Piovesan survived the barrage and, true to his word, he became a minister after the war.
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Once Upon a Time in War: The 99th Division in World War II, Robert E. Humphrey, page 82

Pap Pap was an amazing person, and he spent his life telling others about the love of Jesus. I don’t know if the horrors he endured during the war were ever forgotten, but he had found a way to live in peace and he wanted to share that peace with everyone around him. He led the way for all of us Piovesans to find a life of faith and love. Those of us lucky enough to have known Harold Piovesan as Pap Pap are eternally grateful that he kept his promise and chose to serve God for the rest of his life. 

​In His Name, Bonnie