My Brother's Dance Card

Some people don't believe there was such a thing as a dance card. My brother Francis graduated from Catholic University. Here is his dance card from 1937. My wife Kitty is listed as an Extra on Francis' card.

Manasssas - October 8, 2007

Unfortunately, Kit lost the post I had written on Monday night, when she was uploading the pictures. I'll try to remember the day.

It was a wonderful day. Kit and I drove to Manassas with my great grandson Austen where we met my daughter Nora, who proudly showed us the restaurant she and her son Dan are in the process of buying. It is a church that was converted to a restaurant. Both Nora and Dan have been in the business for years and are very interested in going out on their own.

The first picture is Austen with his proud parents, my grandson-in-law Stephen and my granddaughter Melissa.

The second one is Nora, my grandson Dan, and Austen

The third one, of course, is Austen and me.

The last picture is Nora pointing through a window is the restaurant she and Dan want to purchase.

Austen and his parents had gone to the Redskins game on Sunday. Austen sat with his two great uncles Jack and Charlie, and cousin John. Austen had a great time. Afterwards, he stayed the night with Kit and spent the following day with more cousins, as it was a holiday.

I had a wonderful time visiting with my children and grandchildren and seeing the restaurant Nora and Dan want to buy.

Old Town Manassas – October 8, 2007

Kitty and Jack at Glenn Echo - 6-30-44

While I was away, Kitty and I sent many letters and pictures to each other. Here is a picture of Kitty and Jack at Glenn Echo, the last stop on the street car.

"My 2 Great Years in the U.S. Army"

I enlisted in 1941 on the 1st day of the draft. To my surprise, I was rejected. After 2 years, I was drafted on November 30, 1943 and was discharged on November 30, 1945.

I completed Basic Training in Camp Croft, S.C. Then I went to a camp near Boston (as we were told not to mention the location.)

A few days before I was to ship out, I called my wife Kitty and told her that I could meet her in New York, where my oldest Brother Francis could show us around the city. Kitty took the train up. We had a wonderful time.

I returned to the unknown camp Monday morning to receive my orders to get a ship to England, where I was to take 21 days of Infantry Training to enter WWII.

The ship was a former luxury liner that was converted to 6 decks of army cots. The ship took a zig-zag way across the Atlantic to steer clear of the German torpedoes. The Germans were hoping to sink the U.S. Ships & Troops before they arrived in Europe.

The 1st Sargent met me in France to fill a vacancy. It was told to me that I replaced a soldier who went insane from the very heavy sound of the cannon noise.

I was able to hear the loud noise every time I handed a shell to be placed in our cannon to shoot at the Germans.

It was a great relief when U.S. President Harry Truman won the war with Japan, plus the Battle of the Bulge when Hitler surrendered to the U.S. Army

A Magazine Article about my Father

My father worked at the rail road as his main job. He was a boxing promoter at night.

Here is an article from a rail road publication about Champy's career.

At the bottom of the article, I wrote about my Irish mother and her sisters having dances at the gymn on Sunday nights. On the second page, there is an article about my brother Jesse beginning his career at Georgetown University.

You can read the article better, by clicking on it two times.

My Four Grand Daughters

Here I am proudly standing with my four grand daughters Melissa, Lila, Kate, and Kelly.

From left to right, it is Kelly, Kate, myself, Melissa, and Lila.

Coming home

Kitty put a flower in her hair, dressed Jack in a soldier uniform and they took the bus to Ft. Meade to meet me. Jack hadn't seen me in two years. He went up to many soldiers to ask if they were his "soldier daddy". It was a very happy homecoming.

Joe as a Dancer

These are pictures of Joe from his dancing career. He loved it very much - even though it meant constant practice and a close monitoring of his weight. He said he wouldn't have it any other way.

We miss Joe.