"AKA" Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum

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THE FINAL CHAPTER IN MY DRINKING CAREER

    One night I went into this bar called the Merry Circle. I was alone and ordered a drink. A beautiful blonde lady was waiting tables and she served me. I began to converse with her and it was a case of instant attraction. Of course the drinks flowed and when I left the place, there was no recall of where I had been. The problem was that I had lost my hat and going without a hat in the military was a no-no. Also, there was this indelible picture of the lady who waited on me.

    The next day I went searching for the nightclub and by a stroke of luck found it and retrieved my hat. Of course the hat was the least important part of my mission. I was most interested in seeing this waitress again. I found out about her from some of the people working there. She was off that day. On the following Monday, three days after our first meeting she was checking identifications at the door. Soon we were engaged in conversation and she subsequently showed me a picture of her two boys. I told her children were special to me. After she finished her shift we became more involved in personal histories. Out of a clear sky, I asked her to marry me. She agreed and we headed for Bowling Green, Ohio. We took her car as I did not have any transportation.

    In those days an enlisted man had to get permission from the Commanding Officer to marry. I called my CO from Bowling Green and asked his permission to marry. His response was "You are going to get married anyway so go ahead". Upon returning to the base, he asked my what prompted me to get married. I quickly replied, "Love".

    The next two years were difficult. We had little money to live on and my drinking was a constant problem. Our military operations were transferred to Selfridge Field which required that I travel almost forty miles each day. I could not afford to move because my wife had been living in a housing areas in Wayne and rent was very reasonable. This prompted me to join a car pool and I only drove one day per week. The rest of those in the car pool never knew if I would be drunk or sober when it was my turn to drive.

    Despite my drinking, the kids and I got along very well. They seemed to like me and there was never any bickering over them. I was faced with an immediate problem regarding my basic allowance for quarters. It took almost six months to receive my first allowance and that came the day after Christmas. The kids learned one day late, the meaning of Santa Claus.

    During the Thanksgiving holiday season I obtained a furlough and worked part time in a factory in Dearborn. The day before Thanksgiving the company gave everyone a turkey and one half day off. Of course it was payday and just in time for me to celebrate. After a few drinks, I went home and there was a big argument. I took off with the turkey under my arm and proceeded to the nearest bar. I put the turkey on the counter and ordered a drink. After several refills, my wife came into the bar. She demanded the turkey and the bartender suggested that she take both of us. She said, "No, all I want is the turkey, you can have him."

    My wife was a very good cook, but had no experience in cooking turkeys. On the advice of a neighbor, she wrapped the turkey in a greased towel before cooking it. After cooking it for the proper time, she took it out of the oven. The result was a the most foul bird we had ever tasted. Perhaps we should have thrown the turkey out and ate the towel.

    The reserve officers flew on weekends and we usually had to work during that time. One weekend while scheduled for duty, I went on a drinking spree and failed to provide the necessary forms for the reserve officers to fly. Some had driven many miles including some Colonels who were very angry. When I reported for work the Commanding Officer had a long conversation with me which included threats of my becoming a private. He liked me and I was lucky to get off with two weeks restriction to the base. After four days, I told him my family needed me. He lifted the restriction and for the next few months I managed to stay out of trouble.

    Just before Christmas in 1946 the kids begged for Christmas tree. They cost fifty cents and I did not have the money to buy one. I waited until the attendant selling the trees turned his back and I loaded a tree into the trunk of the car and drove off. The kids were excited when I got home but my guilt was causing me problems. Unfortunately we had no trimmings for the tree.

    Later that afternoon after borrowing some money, I to town and got drunk. In the wee hours of the morning I came home with a huge bag of popcorn from a theater and got on  a chair, pouring the popcorn on the tree. Stringing the popcorn was forgotten most of it was on the floor. My wife was very upset over this episode.

    The day after Christmas our allotment check arrived in the mail. We felt instantly rich and had a big celebration. We went, "hog wild" and the kids had a ball.

    My wife Ann had become pregnant and was due in May with our third child. Everyone was hoping it would be a girl, but we were blessed with another son. he caused plenty of anxiety as Ann went to the hospital several times because of false labor pains.

    I eventually got into more trouble and sought some assistance for my drinking problems. After several sessions, it was assumed that I could handle my drinking. For a few months abstinence was the name of the game.

    In the summer of 1947 I was transferred to Offit Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska. The family stayed in Wayne. There was not advanced information regarding housing in the Omaha area, but upon arrival it was discovered there was an acute shortage of housing and some animosity toward service personnel. This was the first anti-military community that I encountered since my days in the San Francisco area prior to World War II. My drinking again became a problem because my wife was clamoring for me to find some housing so they could come to Omaha.

    One night I called my Commanding Officer after a drinking bout and told him I needed an emergency furlough because my wife and children were in an automobile accident and she was killed. Some one at the bar told me this and I reacted without doing any investigation. All this happened when I was in an alcoholic blackout and when I regained my senses, I was on my way to Detroit. After searching through my pockets, there was my orders which stated I was granted an emergency leave.

    On the way to Detroit, I picked up a hitchhiker who pulled a gun on me and said, "take me to Detroit". I assured him that I was going to Detroit and he was welcome to come with me. To my surprise he did not give any indication that he meant to harm me. Arriving in Detroit he got out of the car, thanked me, and took off.

    There was no mention of how I got furlough, but everyone was glad to see me. We packed what little belongings we possessed and called the moving van to pick it up. The close we got to Omaha, the more nervous I became. I realized that the furlough was granted under false pretenses but the justification was not clear.

    When reporting for duty and being unable to find housing for my family, the truth came out. My Commanding Officer said I was a disgrace to the human race and if there was any problems with me I would be a private. The worst was yet to come as we could not find housing and slept in the car for about one week.

    Finally I found a place to live in a converted Roller Skating Rink. The heat was unbearable until the cold weather came and then we almost froze. There were few conveniences in our apartment and the family was disgusted because of our living quarters.

    There was no insulation in the building and when winter arrived it was almost unbearable. The weather in Omaha is brutal in the winter and a crack on the bottom of the front door provided a snow drift inside the living room as the wind howled. The landlord would not buy coal for the furnace so one night while intoxicated, I went into the basement and burned a lot of furniture he had stored there. The next morning he was furious, but we reported him to the Health Department. He finally got the message and ordered some coal.

    Omaha was not one of my favorite towns. The stock yards were quite extensive and the odor could be detected for miles. This was the first town visited that had a unique speed limit of eighteen miles per hour. One day while driving in Omaha the car stalled on a hill and I had no emergency brake. I tried for some time to move the car but nothing seemed to work. There were street cars in those days and my car was blocking on from going up the hill. The  conductor kept ringing the bell and the more it rang, the more frustrated I became. Finally, I put the car in gear, got out of the car and went back and told the conductor I would shove the bell where he didn't want it if he kept ringing it. I felt a tap on my shoulder and there was a policeman tapping me with his night stick. Although I had been drinking, there was not much concern about drinking and driving in those days. He told me to get the car off the tracks and a miracle happened. I took the car out of gear, stepped on the foot brake, turned the starter over and the engine started. Although the speed limit was eighteen miles per hour, it was broken getting out of there.

    Again, I sought help for my drinking problem but the people of Omaha were not so compassionate. Although my wife called for assistance she was told that I would have to agree to get help before they would respond.

    On time my wife was sick in the middle of the night and a doctor was called. Reluctantly he made a house call. His price was $5.00 for a house call. After treating my wife, I asked him if he would like a beer. He readily accepted my offer. We drank together for some time and finally he left in an intoxicated condition without charging me anything.

    Approximately one year after the transfer to Omaha, I was selected for a new position at Mitchell Air Force Base on Long Island, New York. Getting away from Omaha was a great improvement regardless of the new assignment. Also, my family went with me. Immediately before departure, we had car trouble and had to have a major overhaul to the engine of the car. I did not have much money and went to the Red Cross, an organization that I always held in high esteem and they provided a loan to make the trip.

    Our cross-country journey was very nerve wracking. The car was in poor shape and we had numerous mechanical problems. We stopped in Ohio to visit with my family, but there was a lot of tension surrounding our visit. I was made to feel like an outcast and our visit was a short one. The feelings of rejection were quite evident.

    My wife's family lived in western Pennsylvania and they had to stay there until I found living quarters in New York. After several months my family joined me. In the mean time my drinking was an everyday affair. At that time my career was not threatened but I suffered from being alone and from physical difficulties associated with alcoholism. Constant hangover and the shakes were counter productive to being a productive person. Eventually I was warned about my drinking because my wife contacted my Commanding Officer and complained about it.

    Guilt feelings were deeply imbedded in my subconscious and I began to experience periods of hopelessness. I loved the Air Force and did not want to become a casualty because of my inability to stay sober. At that time I was not convinced that I the ability to stay sober. There were not plans for changing my lifestyle and I just drifted aimlessly. Chapter 6

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