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A18 November 8 • 2007

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World War II ended the promising
career of a Detroit Tiger hopeful.

Benno Levi
Special to the Jewish News

signed him and sent him to Florida to
train in the minor leagues before he
was drafted into the Army.
Editor's note: This excerpted article first
The moment we met, my mel-
appeared in "Michigan Jewish History"
ancholy dissipated. We talked of
under the title, "Tales From The South
home and Central High, the Jewish
Pacific: Dreams Of Diamonds." Frank
Community Center and all the old
Faudem was this week inducted post-
familiar places.
humously into the Michigan Jewish
The fierce battle for the South
Sports Hall of Fame.
Pacific island of Guam, the first
American possession lost to the
h'm sad and lonely and oh
Japanese in 1941, had ended in
so blue." The wailing mel-
August. Now we were in a brief inter-
ody that greeted me when
lude of relaxation and were enjoying
first I joined Company A at Camp
the tropics. Frank was in B Company
Pickett, Va., just seven months before
and I was next door in A Company.
was silently going through my mind.
Our camp was on Orote Peninsula,
I was on a truck returning with a
right alongside the naval air station.
group of worship-
In the open area
pers from Rosh
near the runways
Hashanah services
there were nightly
at 77th Infantry
first-run movies,
Division headquar-
which we attended
ters on the newly
frequently. Frank's
liberated island of
tent was not far from
Guam. It was Sept.
mine and we met
17, 1944, and the
regularly to share the
new year of 5705
stacks of newspapers
had just started.
and magazines from
My thoughts were
home that finally
of home, of my
reached us after
brother, my sisters
accumulating some-
and my parents. I
Frank Faudem
where for a couple of
pictured the fes-
months.
tive scene and my
Together we scoured
yearning to be there put me deeper
the Jewish News for articles about our
into melancholy.
friends serving in the armed forces all
Suddenly I heard a familiar
over the world. We reminisced about
name: "Dexter Boulevard." ... Then:
the past and daydreamed about the
"Wildemere." Was I hallucinating?
future and our return to civilian life.
I turned to the G.I. next to me and
Our stay on Guam came to an end
blurted, "Are you from Detroit?"
on Nov. 2 when we boarded ship for
"No, I'm not:' he replied, "but he is."
an unknown destination. On the first
That was how I met Frank Faudem.
day out, a message was broadcast to
From that moment on, we were
us from our commanding general. He
buddies. Faudem was a couple of years regretfully informed us that we were
older than I. At Detroit Central High
on our way for rest and rehabilitation
School, our alma mater, he had been
to New Caledonia. He was still very
captain of the 1939 baseball team. In
disappointed that our scheduled inva-
Hawaii, before coming to Guam, he
sion of Formosa had been cancelled
had pitched on the Army team and
and his ambition to make the cover
struck out the great Joe Di Maggio
of Time magazine was once more
when they battled the Air Force elite.
thwarted.
Frank's life was baseball; he loved it
I saw Frank often aboard ship
with a passion and dreamed of the
where the favorite pastime was play-
day when he would play with the
ing poker. He was good at it; I wasn't.
Detroit Tigers. The Tigers had just
I avoided the usual work details by

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