October 4 in A.A. History

	In 1943, John Henry Fitzhugh “Fitz” M. [left], 46, died of cancer. He would be buried [right: headstone] on the grounds of Christ Episcopal Church in Owensville, Maryland, where his father had been pastor. He had been one of Bill W.’s first two sponsees in New York City and, when he had died, he was eight years sober.

     Fitz had run away from school to join the Army in World War I, registering for the draft on 24 August 1918, but the Armistice was signed the day he arrived in Atlanta to enlist. He had registered for the draft for World War II on 16 February 1942, and reported for military service on 12 September 1942. Shortly thereafter, he had been diagnosed with cancer, dying less than a month later. When Fitz’s good friend Jimmy B. died in 1974, he was buried in the same cemetery, a few feet away.
    Fitz’s story, “Our Southern Friend,” appears in all four editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.