Allan Jefferys

BRUSH WITH FAME
By
Allan Jefferys



The tall officer standing near the door leading to the taxi strip looked familiar. I eased my way closer and stopped cold as I realized he was more than familiar. He was an idol.

Did I dare approach him?. He was a major and I was a very young and shy 1st Lieutenant. I saluted smartly. He gave a friendly nod and then Major Glenn Miller returned the salute. Glenn Miller had given my generation music to dance to—music to romance to: Moonlight Serenade, Serenade in Blue, Moonlight Cocktail, In The Mood, String of Pearls…the list could go on and on. I had never heard the band in person but, like most of American youth, had worn out records of this incomparable orchestra.

Now, I was face to face with its leader. I stammered a few complimentary remarks about how much we appreciated the Army Air Force band and the regular broadcasts. This was especially true now as we were only ten days short of our first Christmas overseas. He thanked me for listening and added that he, too, appreciated the efforts of pilots like me who had flown paratroopers in on D-Day. A few moments more and he was gone. I watched him board the C-64 Norseman. The plane taxied to the runway and took off, headed for Paris.

It never got there.

I flew that same route that same day with no problems. In subsequent flights I thought of the loss of Miller each time I crossed the English Channel. I would look down and wonder. It was not all that wide: less than thirty miles from Dover to Calais. On occasion the water churned and roiled, but more often than not it was a placid gray. What had happened?

To this day, no one has the answer.

One of the first things I did after the war was a series of dance band remotes for CBS radio. Since I had never heard the Miller band live, I looked forward to a broadcast with Ray McKinley fronting the group.

I stood in front of microphone and announced, “From the Hotel Statler in New York, it’s the music of the Glenn Miller orchestra.”

Five feet behind me "Moonlight Serenade" surged forth. No recording this but the real thing. The emotional impact was so powerful I choked up and barely finished the intro. What followed was a musical dream come true.

As time went on, my career gave me the opportunity to interview more than two thousand celebrities ranging from a President of the United States to some of the most creative geniuses this world has ever known. It was a fun time that left me with many memories. Some of the people were awe-inspiring—some became friends. But none of the interviews surpassed those few minutes at a London airport, standing in front of greatness—standing in front of Glenn Miller.
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