easier for me.
Those days are long gone now, but Grapevine, happily, is still with us. I, for one, find it just as helpful now as it was in 1944. Today, it helps me in a different way—but none the less effectively. For one thing, I haven’t gotten to meetings very frequently for the past year or so, and I find that Grapevine helps keep me from feeling out-of-touch. Not that Grapevine, or anything else, is a substitute for meetings, but it does help when you’re not able to get around as much as you’d like.
One thing in particular I’ve always admired about Grapevine, and that is the readiness with which it has accepted “unorthodox” views. Such a reception is not always accorded the dissident elsewhere in AA.
I like the changes that have been made in Grapevine, too. Changes in format, changes in content, changes in personnel. Changes in almost everything, I expect, except in its basic purpose (Grapevine still dishes out my brand of AA). I understand they’ve even changed the financial picture—no more running in the red. For that accomplishment, a loud huzzah from this correspondent!
As you may gather from the foregoing, I am not one of those “old-timers” who yearn for the “good old days.” I think both Grapevine—and AA—are better today than they ever were, for we have begun to mature
R. H.
New York, New York
AA at Camp Peary
July 1944
Operation of the plan (Alcoholics Anonymous), at Camp Peary, an officer from the base declared at a big open meeting in Richmond, already has resulted in much good in its aid to officers in solving the problem of Navy men getting drunk on leave and overstaying their liberty. The AA group at the base, he said, occupy the same barracks and live with their problem, in close contact, seeking the solution among themselves.
This is part of a write-up of a semi-public meeting held in Richmond, Virginia on May 16th—the first meeting of its kind to be held there. Several ministers and physicians attended as special guests. Tom B. of New York and White Plains was the invited guest speaker. The article appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Wednesday, May 17, 1944.
AA Is the Chaplain’s Ally
June 1960
This is the story of a small Alcoholics Anonymous group on an Air Force Base in Florida and what it was able to accomplish in the lives of men who were on their way out or in otherwise serious trouble in their military careers. In the short span of three years, 52 men in deep trouble over their drinking problems were restored to favor and acceptable duty. Some regained lost rank rapidly, and others by a slower route. Now most of them have not only new stripes as tangible evidence, but self-respect and family love to prove the value of a step which they should have taken long ago. It is the contention of this chaplain, who watched them progress from their great decision, that they might have taken the step sooner had the help been more readily available.
It is also his opinion that the formation of an AA group on any installation will prove to be a valuable ally in the chaplain program. Chaplains are involved in many consultations with families over the heartaches and contingent problems which result when the husband stays away from home or takes the family income for drink. We have seen too many broken homes where the only diagnosis is alcoholism. We could get at the root of these problems if we could convince men that AA can give the inspiration and help they need to overcome the major problem.
Why have a group on the military installation itself when an existing organization can usually be found in the neighboring community and is as close as the telephone? Too often the serviceman hesitates to join civilian groups lest his presence and his problem be a reflection upon his branch of the military service. To be with his own kind in a common endeavor to overcome a problem seems to make it an easier decision to reach.
It all started at our small base from the interest and initiative of “the old Sarge,” as the organizer and leader of our group was affectionately called. His own story goes back to September 1950, when, at the age of 39, he stood before his commander in Panama a broken man mentally, physically and spiritually. He had been broken in rank all the way down to private. He was being handed dishonorable discharge papers as a chronic alcoholic, unfit for military service.
In his own words, Foster K. says, “I went back in memory at that very moment to my first tour of duty in Panama. When the Army transport docked at Pier 17 in Cristobal in December 1929, I looked out at a new world and dreamed of my future in the service. I was going to make something of myself. I wanted to complete my education and try for West Point. I fell in love with the service that morning. Everything—the officers in their white uniforms and their ladies wearing floral-patterned dresses and large straw hats, the Army band playing, troops marching off the transport—made me make this resolution.” Then he came to himself to hear his commander say, “Just because you have failed in the service and must leave it doesn’t mean that you should give up. You can still make a man of yourself. But you must get help for your drinking problem.”
Foster K. doesn’t know what prompted his reply. Perhaps it was the same locale 21 years later, and the realization that he had miserably failed his original resolution made there. But he said it: “Sir, I’ll never take another drink as long as I live!” He believes it was not his doing. He was in no state to impress his Colonel with good intentions. He had said a silent prayer and believed it answered there in that office. His last request was that a member of AA meet him at the gate. The Colonel was impressed. He tore up the papers, restored Foster K. to duty, and arranged for his family to join him there.
Six years later, the old Sarge wrote a letter to the Colonel to let him know that he had remained sober—a day at a time—and informed him that in October 1956 he had received his certificate for permanent master sergeant. I saw the Colonel’s answer to that letter: “I cannot overstate my pleasure upon learning of your success. ... One of the most difficult problems a commander faces is that of making decisions which may have a permanent impact upon a man’s career. … I am proud to have had a small part in helping you change your approach to life, and I wish you every continued success.”
M/Sgt. Foster K. and S/Sgt. Sandy Z. and two members from a civilian group met in the chaplain’s office in February 1956 to organize the base group. From that small beginning the organization grew. Visits were made to commanders and first sergeants to explain the program. A favorable reaction on the part of many who earnestly wanted to help their men with this problem added impetus. The growth was materially aided also by a discerning base commander who let his policy be known through his staff that “no stigma whatsoever will be placed upon any airman or officer who seeks help through the group.”
It wasn’t long until the base began to take notice through the change taking place in the new members. Jim W., Ken S., Phil W., Gene R., Russell N., Aubry C., and many others had a testimony to give to others in their outfits as to what AA was doing for them. The first annual meeting brought an attendance of 150 from the base group and well-wishers, and from the neighboring civilian groups who wanted to lend their support to the program on base. After getting started in their own group, military members found it easier and helpful to attend meetings off base. By this time, many had spoken before civilian groups along the Florida coast and some had attended the state convention. In the struggle with the same problem, a genuine link had come between the military and these civilians from all walks of life.
I could not begin to tell the story of all who gained sobriety and regained self-respect and the esteem of the service. Perhaps the best way to show my conviction that AA is the best avenue to help a man whose basic problem is alcohol is to tell of two among those I have helped to find their solution in
