UPDATE: New Information on Babe’s Departure Point from the U.S.

A few days ago, I tried to piece together the places Babe went between basic training in Camp Wheeler, Ga., and departing for North Africa. I speculated that his last stop was Camp Shanks in New York, based on reports I’d seen indicating that camp was a popular port of departure for soldiers headed to Europe and North Africa.

I said it was a guess when I wrote it. But now I know I was wrong. Since posting that item, I’ve gotten new information. Babe went from Pennsylvania to the naval station at Newport News, Va., then on a seven-day voyage to Casablanca. Here’s how I learned that new tidbit.

In a few more letters, after he arrives in North Africa, Babe will tell his parents, “I met Joe Pasquale, Lugi Conte and Steve, who ran the garage across the street, on the boat coming over. I was never so surprised in my life as when I saw them.”

The Conte name was familiar to me. As a kid, we’d always visit Conte’s Fish Market in Mount Kisco for clams on the half shell. I didn’t know anyone in the family personally, but my uncles Bob and Vince (Babe’s brothers), my grandmother Florence and my mother knew them. Read more of this post