JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – At 96 years old, Tri-Cities veteran Julian Hodges survived many types of battles: war, weather and spiritual.

The World War II vet transitioned from a life in the military to a life of sharing his faith.

At his home in Johnson City, he played one of his more than 30 harmonicas for us while reminiscing about a life of serving his country and his Lord.

His favorite song, the classic hymn, “Without Him.”

Hodges worked in the depths of the U.S.S. Yorktown as a fireman during World War II.

He fought in the Battle of the Midway and the Battle of the Coral Sea, where a bomb was dropped on the Yorktown and crashed through three levels of the ship.

“You can imagine a 500-pound bomb going off on the fourth deck below,” said Hodges, “the damage it could have done.”

Around 53, men were killed following that bombing.

“Just with a sign,” Hodges recalls, “‘the mess hall is being used as a temporary morgue,’ they were sewing those men up in canvas bags with a 5-inch shell at their feet.”

At Midway, his ship took on two torpedoes at one time.

“One of them hit very near the boiler room that I was in and it threw me about 30 feet across,” he said.

Hodges suffered a concussion and separated his shoulder, then later busted his knee as he abandoned ship.

“I figured I was going to get to feed the sharks when I went over the side,” said Hodges, “I did a whole lot of praying during that time.”

So began his transition from fighting, to following his faith, after he was discharged on November 1, 1945.

“I started waking up at night,” he said. “I’d wake up and when I’d wake up, first question I’d ask is, ‘Lord what do you want?'”

That is when Hodges felt God calling him to ministry. He took his first step when he had some car issues.

“I told my wife, if that car would crank right now, I’d go sign up to go to school and get this over with,” said Hodges. “I walked out there and got control of the car and for some reason or other, turned the switch on, stepped on the starter and it cranked up like a new one.”

Hodges attended Baptist Bible Institute in Lakeland, Florida for four years and then embarked on more than 60 years of ministry, serving as pastor at five churches and serving as interim pastor in 15.

“The first church that I served, they only payed $30 a week,” he said.

From humble beginnings, Hodges acquired many accolades for his ministry.

He later settled down in Florida, where Hurricane Michael badly damaged his home.

“I got here because that storm wiped out my house in Florida and I had no place to live down there,” said Hodges.

From serving God’s country, to serving His church, Hodges has learned God’s house has always been a haven for the heart.

“I thought many of times, that’s the story of a lot of lives,” he said, “if there had been a church somebody would have joined.”