Russell T. Hitt (1905–1992)

Nate Saint's short, intense life was as full of incident and accident as any active young American's could be, but it was also full of entire dedication to the cause that claimed it: that of offering the Gospel of Christ to the last and loneliest outpost of man. Here is the whole amazing story, from harum-scarum boyhood to the last burst of activity in planning the memorable airborne mission to the Aucas - much of it told in Nate's own vivid language. Nate Saint was early destined for his role as a pioneer. He came from a long line of inventors and was born into a family where art, mechanics, and deep religious faith seemed mixed in equal proportions. After a tour of duty in the Air Force, cut short by a recurrence of osteomyelitis, he joined the now well-known Missionary Aviation Fellowship in its early days as mechanic-pilot. Before long he became the planner and logistics expert of "Operation Auca." It was he who worked out dozens of ingenious aids to their missionary enterprises and as pilot perfected the now-famous "bucket drop" for plane-to-ground communication. Nate was as curious, impulsive, and experimental a boy as ever pushed daylight in an American small town. His love of "gimmicks" ofttimes dismayed, sometimes blessed his playmates and associates as he grew older. But the slightest incident might uncover his deep seriousness, his passion for soul-winning, for supporting God's people in their attack on ignorance and savagery. Having given his love so often and so freely, he found it easy to accept the Greater Love offered him as he and his four teammates met their god on "Palm Beach" in Auca-land.… (mer)