At long last I would be able to see the White Cliffs of Dover made popular by a beautiful song that came out during the early days of World War II. Our Liberty ship had taken aboard a British pilot who would guide us up the English Channel to South End, on our way to Antwerp. It was March of 1945 and the war in Europe was winding down. The Pilot told us ahead of time that the Cliffs were really gray, and not white, but it did not dull our imaginations, we stared and stared as we sailed along the ten-mile stretch of Cliffs.
Curiously, the song ("There'll be bluebirds over/the white cliffs of Dover/tomorrow, just you wait and see") was the work of Americans. I don't know about the lyric but the music was written by Walter Kent (no kin of mine), who lived here in Los Angeles. He also wrote the holiday standard, "I'll be home for Christmas." Vera Lynn, the British vocalist, made Kent's song about the white cliffs a sort of signature piece, along with "We'll meet again." Both spoke to servicemen everywhere, as well as to loved ones left behind.