The Old Man and the Harley by John J. Newkirk

Author:John J. Newkirk
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson

The Golden Pheasant came to life as the bandleader cued the drums, bass guitar, piano, and muted brass in a spirited cover of a popular Tommy Dorsey tune. It was one thing to hear these songs over a scratchy monophonic speaker, but it made Scarsdale’s hair stand on end in excitement to hear them live, in full surround-sound, reverberating off the walls.

“Come on, Janie!” he yelled. “Let’s dance!”

Jack grabbed her hand and they rushed out to the dance floor. On stage, a man and woman started singing into their shared microphone:

It comes out if it’s in you, yes indeed!

Makes you shout, Jack, it sends you, yes indeed!

Yes Indeed © 1941 by Sy Oliver Embassy Music Corporation

On Thursday July 10, 1942 Jack and Janie Newkirk had breakfast with their new AVG friends at the Hotel Bellevue on the corner of Geary and Taylor Street. The conversation was light, as most of the women were on the verge of tears. After breakfast, the men stood outside the hotel and talked among each other.

If the AVG’s mission was supposed to be a secret, it certainly wasn’t a well-kept one. Robert Sandell, an army pilot, told Scarsdale that on his way to breakfast he’d overheard a cigarette girl speaking with the elevator operator.

“Yes,” she’d said, “they’re all going to China to keep the Burma Road open. They’re sailing today on the Jagersfontein. ”

Scarsdale chatted with a fellow navy flyer named Jim Howard while another man took movies of them with his 16mm camera. Finally, a bus pulled up and the men loaded their baggage. The bus drove them to the Embarcadero as Janie and a few others followed in a car. They took pictures at the pier as the Dutch ship M.V. Jagersfontein waited patiently for the passengers to board. Jack took Janie aside, and they stood at the rail and looked out toward Treasure Island and San Francisco Bay.

For a long time, neither of them spoke.

“Janie,” Jack finally said, “I’ve been saving something for you.”

He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out an oblong case. Janie took it, opened it, and drew in a quick breath.

“Oh, Jack—they’re beautiful!” said Janie as she began to cry.

Scarsdale held her closely and rocked back and forth, kissing her forehead and wiping her tears with a handkerchief from the front pocket of his suit jacket.

“They’re from Hawaii,” he said. “And there’s one pearl for each week we’ll be apart. When I get back, each one will stand for a year together for the rest of our lives.”

“Will you put them on me?” Janie sniffed.

“Right now?” asked Jack.

“Of course.”

At ten o’clock, the M.V. Jagersfontein backed away from the pier as Janie waved goodbye to her husband of less than a week.

“Don’t forget to look up,” she shouted through her tears. “I’ll be waiting for you at the Golden Gate!”

The ship turned unhurriedly and headed into San Francisco Bay. Janie jumped into a car with two other AVG wives and drove frantically along the Embarcadero, then raced down Van Ness, Lombard, and through the Presidio to the Golden Gate Bridge.

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