The Wilmington morning star., 1945-10-21
Infant Began 10,000-Mile
Sea, Land And Air Trip
When 16-Days Old

IFS a long, long way from BriS-
hone Australia to Wilmington
U up than 10000 miles-but thanks
~ mothers care, the ever
oresent attention of the Red Cross,
he United States Army and few
ether agencies, little Elizabeth
Mae White is at home, safe, sound
md very much pleased with this
n1ace called America"
Little Miss White is the daugh-
4er of Mr.. and Mrs. Frank White,
NJ 26 B-ookwood avenue, and if
fbere is more Travelled baby in
wilmington right now her record
is unknown and deep, deep Sec
ret.
Her mother is an Australian.
horn and reared at Marley, a
beach suburb of Brisbane. Her
daddy is Frank White, late of the
United States Army Transporta-
tion Service, a Wilmingtonian.
Baby Elizabeth Mae was born in
her mothers hometown; BON, IN
cidentally, while her father, then
on active duty as an officer
aboard an American hospital ship,
was in Naples, Italy, halfway
around the world from where the
baby was delivered. Sixteen days
later she was aboard an airplane
bound from Brisbane to Sydney,
and before she was month old
Elizabeth Mae was having her
bottle in San Francisco, Califor-
mia! Too, she was having her first
look at her father who had sped
home from Naples by boat, and
then raced across 5000 miles of
the United States to meet his wife
and child.
White and Mrs. White, then Miss
Mavis baltimore, met in Sydney
in December of 1913. He was sta
toned in the Australian metropo-
lis with headquarters of the Army
transportation Service; his bride
to-5e was working in the Adjutant
Generals office of the Australian
headquarters, U. S. Army. Six
months later they were married,
but months before Elizabeth Mae
appeared on the scene Army ord
ers brought White back to the
U.s.A. and subsequently took him
to Italy.
Mrs. White, a petite young lady
with an accent that leaves no
doubt of her origin, had no qualms
about the 1O,000-mile journey to
Wilmington, albeit at the moment
of departure she had no idea her
husband would be anywhere near
when the Lurline docked in San
San Francico.
1--WE received notice the Lurline
was sailing from Sydney on Sep
TENDER 3rd. Baby was only II
days old when we got the news.
My family was, frankly, a bit
skeptical about it all, but I wanted
10 make that boat for I knew it
might be a long time until the
next opportunity" Mrs. White
declared.
And so, with Elizabeth Mae just
a little over two weeks old, mother
and infant took a plane and flew
10 Sydney, there boarding the
Lurline, formerly a Matson lux
ary cruise liner.
There were $50 Australian brides
Of American servicemen aboard
the Lurline. And 230 babies!
There was one, Mrs. White said,
even younger than Elizabeth Mae.
1T was a good crossing" she
said. 'They gave us excellent
cabin accommodations and there
was special kitchen just for
babies and children's diets. We
had lots of fun
At about the same time mother
and daughter were sailing from
Brisbane, the husband and fathe:
was setting out from Naples
Italy. He arrived in New York tt
find a telegram from his parent:
advising that his wife was due II
San Francisco on September Is
White came to Wilmington, go
his automobile and drove to Sa1
F~ancisco-tire shortage or no
in four days and night. He ar
rived there less than IL hours be
fore the Lurline locked!
To the parents, all Of this wa
great excitement. To Elizabeth
Mae, probably, it was just routin