IT IS A MORNING for Russian Caravan Tea and, as Daddy always said this time of year, when the geese passed overhead and crisp leaves rustled to the ground, a day for dreaming of faraway places with strange sounding names. It was at first light 70 years ago today when Daddy, a Tennessee farm boy, was one of 19,810 souls who departed Southern shores for a journey to places they, in their wildest imaginings, had never dreamt they would see.
For weeks the men had trained and prepared, drawn equipment particular to the tasks ahead though they never were given any hint as to where they were going and that question predominated their ponderings. They had been loaded onto trucks that took them to trains that took them right into the shipyard at Norfolk, Virginia where they beheld a vast array of ships being given fresh coats of paint and loaded with the accoutrement of battle, a fleet readying for war.
Yet the question remained, where were they going? Daddy and the other men of the 204 Military Police Company had boarded the USS William P. Biddle, in alphabetical order by rank, the day before unaware that they were spending the last night in their country for a very long time and that for some it would be their last night ever at home.
At first light on October 24, 1942 the invasion fleet began slipping away from shore. They anchored for an hour about a mile out before setting sail in earnest. Still after months of speculation and with the great waters of the Atlantic now facing them, the men were told, "Destination: Unknown."
My daddy, Sergeant William C. Midgett, drew first guard duty on the deck of the freshly painted USS Biddle. It took only minutes for his stomach to begin protesting the notion of unsteady waters 'neath his land legs. He resisted as long as he could, ominously considered the fate that might befall him for leaving his post, but nature's pull was too strong and Sgt. Midgett rushed to the side of the ship and commenced violently vomiting into the roiling waters of the Atlantic. He looked down and saw what he had done to that lovely, fresh paint job and knew the brig awaited him. But in mere moments others joined him, then more, and still more, until within 15 minutes, Sgt. Midgett observed that one had to fight for a spot at the ship's railing. So was christened the fresh paint job on the destroyer USS Biddle.
Thus began Operation Torch and my daddy's journey to faraway North Africa and points beyond, Sicily, Italy, France, Germany, and places with strange sounding names like Morocco and Algiers and Rabat, enough adventures that his riveting stories never grew stale and always new details and nuances were added with each telling through the 54 years I had with him. Soon the young men who departed on this day seven decades ago would be transformed into Warriors on whose shoulders the fate of their nation, yea, the world would rest. How bravely they answered the call.
Today let us all listen to the leaves as they rustle to the ground and, under the magic of a blue October Southern sky, dream our own dreams of faraway places with strange sounding names and ponder unknown destinies. And please join me in lifting a cup in honour and memory of my daddy and his brave and gallant band of brothers who set sail on this date all those years ago. Their fate and destiny forever helped shape our own.
...................
WITH THIS WRITING I begin a journey of my own, exploring the mysteries of the Southern soul. I imagine to be Southern is to be gothic. We speak with ease of the Darkness to come, be it the day's end, the approaching Winter, or the Great Mystery that awaits at this journey's end. We shroud ourselves with our past and wear it as a shield to face the battles we know inevitably lie ahead. Please join me on this path and let us share talk of books, movies, events, always with the day's cup of tea steaming on the table just beside our favourite chair. (And please bear with me as I explore the bells and whistles of Blogger and figure out how to design this page so it suits the theme rather than looking like an advertisement for an ice cream parlour.) You can sign up to receive the page by email or follow it online and please share with others on social media.
.................
MUST SEE: The Father of Gothic Literature, Edgar Allen Poe, will be featured on
Turner Classic Movies TCM Classic Horror tonight 10.24.12. The Raven,
Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, The Fall of the House of
Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, Spirits of the Dead. The marathon starts at 7 p.m.
cdt. Channel 256 on DirecTv. OH.MY!
.................
TEA OF THE DAY: Russian Caravan from Rosehaven available at Burdett's Tea Shop and Trading Company, Springfield, Tennessee. A dark, smoky, wondrous brew that conjures those dreams of faraway places with strange sounding names.
Till next time, Friends,
Adieu
