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The last letter home my Dad wrote from a nice snug harbor 16 days before his ship was torpedoed and he was Missing In Action in the stormy North Atlantic.
Saturday , Nov. 28,1942
My Dearest Wife and Children
.......I an happy that I an able to drop a few lines so soon, , every thing is fine and dandy and being in a Country where we can eat a lot of cod fish and more fish. .......Well Dearest I sure had a rough passage for my first time in three years to sea, the worst I have ever seen in my 18 years of sea experience, and when I say the seas like mountains that what they were . So now I am the happiest man to be laying to in a nice snug harbor. .......Gee kids talk about cold weather ,we had a lot of that up til now, and it was plenty tough on me after just coming back from Panama, honest and truly if I had my way to do this over again I’d rather be Captain on a tug in Balboa, than what I am doing now. .......As you know me honey, now that I have a duty to fulfill, and after this storm we went through well I have the best ship afloat, I only wish we had a lot more of them, so we could knock the jerrys right dam out of existence. and believe me with the spirit of these boys I am with that what counts, a question of time they will be hanging on to the last straw and what a rush that will be when that day comes. .......Well Honey, I trust Martha and George and Helen are all well and you and all at home and Father Kelly Do tell him that lucky charm piece , ( Miraculous Mary Medal) I am still wearing it on me and believe me it is a lucky charm too. .......I am sorry as I can’t go into details as in regard to my voyage, all I can ask of you is to not worry and forever have faith, All will be well as I am sure as to what I am doing now, being chief mate as I’m sure you would want me to do my duty love to my Country as so many are doing right along. .......So my love lets hope that I will be as lucky as I am now so I can write another letter to you upon my next arrival. I am sorry that You can’t write to me. That ‘s the hardest part of being separated .......Well that all for the time being for awhile, hoping this letter finds you in the best of health and the children and my love to you all, and Mother and Anne, my Best to Father Kelly, Ben and Mary and Carmen and the rest., .......P.S. I hope you let my mother know you heard from me and Joe too, I’ll write to them ! just in case if their letters go astray. .......Love Harry  My Father came over from Austria and became an American citizen when He was 12. He left home in a New York City and went to sea out of New Orleans at 15 years of age. He worked his way up the hard way to become a ship Master or Captain .
My Dad who had Ship Master papers for any tonnage any ocean, took a lesser position , to relieve a friend Harry Coleman to be with his wife was gave birth to twins in New Orleans. Dad was waiting for command of his own ship but was also anxious to get into the fray and do his duty.   My Mother Helen is in the center of the following Picture. She used to work in the textile mill handling heavy weaving looms in Philadelphia. She was under aged and when the inspectors came around they would hide mom. She went to sea as a stewardess on the Grace Line's Santa Barbara and met and fell in love with dad who was a ship officer on the Santa Barbara. She did for ever have faith that my dad asked her to have in his letter and always hoped he would return. She never remarried. Fidelity is a trait in the Bleich family. Later I took care of Mom as primary Caregiver until she passed away at 99. She was a saint in her own way with a dash of a sailors salty language on rare occasions. I take after both of them. My dad's courage and zest for adventure through out the world and my mom's spirituality with a little salty sailor talk thrown in for good measure. Let's not forget hard work! The top two in the montage is me on the left top in Cuba before the revolution and Dad on the right top on a Ship the Nora King,in Peru. We are both around 20 years old at the time. The bottom two is dad.   I think I understand a little better how My Dad, Captain Harry Bleich and JFK were my influences and sources of courage and inspiration through out my life. Be a hero of one in your decisions. Follow through with courage! It is important for me to do my part now as has always been. Like my Dad I want to do something for my Country now! At the start of October I found a recorded message on my answering machine, " Doctor orders.The VA hospital want you to call to make to make an appointment." I had a 24 hour heart monitor on about three weeks before and It was logical to think it was about the results of my 24 heart monitor test. A few weeks before that I had a heart echo test. I have some medical problems but they seem secondary to me and though their may be some risk in delays. I remember writing something about Dam the health torpedoes! Full speed ahead. I am quite willing to take these risks until after Nov. 4 th. I want to do all I can in my own creative way to work to have Obama become President. It was my hope than that Obama will bring change for the better for all American through his even handed Independent leadership. America and the world will be a safer and kinder place. That hope is a result of the influence of St. Francis's Peace Prayer. That led to discovering and living by Christ's Two Commands of Love and a better understanding of the Golden Rule and an effort to have more attention paid to both of them. All Truism Concept on home page reflects that effort. I am Indepent, far mpore into spirituality than politics and evaluate the actions of others using Christ's Commands of Love , the Golden Rule. I will either become more healthy or die sooner doing what I love. Many a night in the last month would find me writing pro American material for my home page until dawn. I don't give dam and I doubt that anybody else does either other than my three sons. I feel great making the effort. Now and then I have a sharp fleeting rap of pain in my neck that goes up to my right temple that causes some pain, but it passes. once in awhile minor raps in my chest will lead to taking another asperin. I will be fine. I still have to own another beat up old sailboat of my own to wander around Tropic Islands before check out time. I will work hard at having it be a larger boat than My 34' Dutch Van Dam Yawl The PipeDream That I owned and skippered for 7 or 8 years.  B> If I go sailing in the future it will be where the water is warm and clear blue green and hopefully some dolphin and flying fish abound under sunny skies, perhaps with my sons. The following song arranged on the Oct. 12, 2008 anniversary of the attack on the USS Cole is dedicated to The My Dad, JFK, The 17 sailors who were killed in the attack on the USS Cole .
To download these MP3s right click the song's title and select 'save target as'.
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[Bleich Galley Directory | Home Page]© November 3d, 2008 George J. Bleich