1947: At the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City, a transatlantic
operator put through a call from Nordholz, Germany, just before 3 o’clock in
the afternoon, having arranged it the day before (the first transatlantic
all ever received at the Foundation). The call came from the base surgeon at
a U.S. Army hospital in Germany, who was concerned about his friend and
patient, Captain B., an A.A. member. The captain was in serious trouble; he
had been tried by a military court and sentenced to discharge for
drunkenness on duty. Would A.A. help?
The surgeon provided a brief history of Captain B.:
They found an ex-Army officer who was an A.A. member and agreed to drop everything to help. The ex-officer contacted a Catholic bishop, a friend of A.A., who reached out to the Port of Embarkation in New York City. He learned that the priest there had served as chaplain on the very same ship, allowing him to board as soon as it docked. Additionally, they found a lawyer sympathetic to A.A. who was willing to assist the captain.
Once Captain B.’s ship arrived, the priest interviewed him and reported that it had gone well, indicating that the man was indeed worth helping. He also noted that the captain was deeply grateful for everything being done for him and was enormously surprised that anything was being done! Captain B. was awaiting the disposition of his case at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. Although he was under arrest, A.A. secretaries arranged for visitors to see him. The attorney was waiting for a response from Washington, D.C., regarding his request. The priest at the port had also been in contact with his colleagues at Camp Kilmer, who promised to do what they could for the captain.
The A.A. Grapevine reported this story, titled “Phone Call Across the Ocean Sets A.A. in Motion.” in its March 1947 issue.
2023: In an unprecedented incident, two trustees of the General Service Board (GSB) of Alcoholics Anonymous arrived at a meeting with unsigned letters of resignation. This meeting was a scheduled GSB “planning” session with non-board members, rather than an executive session. The two trustees surprised the non-alcoholic GSB chair, Judge Linda Chezem
[left], along with other trustees, by demanding her resignation; they stated that
if she refused, they would sign and submit their own resignations. Judge
Chezem responded that she would resign if that was the board's wish, after
which she was asked to leave the room. The GSB—presumably after thorough and
fully informed discussion—voted unanimously to accept her verbal offer to
resign. They then drafted a letter for her to sign. When she was called back
into the room and asked to sign the letter, she handwrote the phrase “As
requested by the board” before signing and leaving.
The surgeon provided a brief history of Captain B.:
According to the base surgeon, Captain B.’s troubles began when he tried again to drink “socially.” A member of A.A. in a western state, the captain had earned an excellent record in the Army during the war. When the war ended, he was stationed in Germany where eventually he attempted “to take a few drinks.” The inevitable happened and now the captain had been convicted of drunkenness on duty. Was there anything A.A. could do?The surgeon further explained that Captain B. was aboard an Army transport ship scheduled to arrive in New York City at 8:30 a.m. in three days, on February 1. The A.A. staff quickly sprang into action.
They found an ex-Army officer who was an A.A. member and agreed to drop everything to help. The ex-officer contacted a Catholic bishop, a friend of A.A., who reached out to the Port of Embarkation in New York City. He learned that the priest there had served as chaplain on the very same ship, allowing him to board as soon as it docked. Additionally, they found a lawyer sympathetic to A.A. who was willing to assist the captain.
Once Captain B.’s ship arrived, the priest interviewed him and reported that it had gone well, indicating that the man was indeed worth helping. He also noted that the captain was deeply grateful for everything being done for him and was enormously surprised that anything was being done! Captain B. was awaiting the disposition of his case at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. Although he was under arrest, A.A. secretaries arranged for visitors to see him. The attorney was waiting for a response from Washington, D.C., regarding his request. The priest at the port had also been in contact with his colleagues at Camp Kilmer, who promised to do what they could for the captain.
The A.A. Grapevine reported this story, titled “Phone Call Across the Ocean Sets A.A. in Motion.” in its March 1947 issue.
2023: In an unprecedented incident, two trustees of the General Service Board (GSB) of Alcoholics Anonymous arrived at a meeting with unsigned letters of resignation. This meeting was a scheduled GSB “planning” session with non-board members, rather than an executive session. The two trustees surprised the non-alcoholic GSB chair, Judge Linda Chezem
[left], along with other trustees, by demanding her resignation; they stated that
if she refused, they would sign and submit their own resignations. Judge
Chezem responded that she would resign if that was the board's wish, after
which she was asked to leave the room. The GSB—presumably after thorough and
fully informed discussion—voted unanimously to accept her verbal offer to
resign. They then drafted a letter for her to sign. When she was called back
into the room and asked to sign the letter, she handwrote the phrase “As
requested by the board” before signing and leaving.
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