Charles Witfield (Tuskegee Air pilot) and Mcgomery Garrin(Military Chef) are the key figures in the story. These two African American men will cross paths when Charles travels to Dale Mabry Field in Tallahassee, Florida to further his training in preparation for deployment in Europe (Italy) during WW2. While both men will have separate lives, they will become friends after Charles falls in love with Mcgomery’s cooking, and the two men become friends. Before Charles leaves to Italy, they promise to stay in touch with each other. This story will document their friendship.
June 1st 1945: Dale Mabry Airbase Culinary Department in Tallahassee, Florida.
“ C’ mon ladies. Hurry up and mop these floors.” said Sergeant Miller.
“Yes sir” Mcgomery responds.
Sergeant Miller: “After you gals are finished, you shall report to the kitchen and shine all silverware and pots; and, if I return and see any specs or smudges, one of you will be “washed out.”
“Yes sir, replied the chef assistants.
“Washed out” was a term used in the 1930’s, it means to fire or terminate someone’s duties. Sergeant Denzel Miller was the head chef at the colored division at the Dale Mabry Field Airbase. He was known for his strict and precise attention to details. In addition his to strict policies, Miller also used hazing as a strategy to instill discipline from his subordinates. After the initial year, chef assistants would receive their cooking certification. Later they would be inducted into the “Supreme Chefmanship” of the division. The “supreme chefmanship” is a special group similar to a fraternity, but instead of college students the members are professional chefs that have gone through the thorough requirements needed to become a part of the team.
Those that were inducted would be given the task to supervise new trainees. Trainees who could not handle the pressure of the hazing would be “washed out” in an instant, or depending on the offense they would be stationed at the “mess hole” where they forced to conduct janitorial duties and the cycle would continue.
One of these trainees was named Mcgomery Fallsworth. He was determined to be inducted to “supreme chefmanship status”. Fallsworth, a twenty year old native of Tallahassee, was the oldest of fifteen children. He recently applied for traineeship at the culinary division to help support his mother and siblings, after his father died of an unknown illness six years prior.
Mcgomery was destined to become a chef. Born to a family of cooks and bakers, he learned to the skill of baking from his father whose was a well known baker in the neighborhood.
Following his father’s death, Mcgomery’s decided to pursue his culinary aspirations at the local military base. While he preferred not to join the military’s colored division because he did not consider himself a fighter, he was passionate about serving the men who protects his country, despite the issues with segregation and prejudice experienced due to Jim Crow laws.
The story is still in progress.
