Last Days of Summer

Hazel (McKay) Banks writes Charlie about how much she misses him, her increasingly successful singing career, and her ongoing game of one-upmanship with singer Ethel Merman. Joey sings duets with her regularly at the supper club, and the famed songwriter Cole Porter promises to write a number specifically for her. In War news, a newspaper article announces the Japanese victory at Corregidor, where 42,000 American and Philippine soldiers are captured. The 2nd Division of Marines, to which the ballplayers are assigned, receive notification that they are shipping out to the Pacific. Stuke, who becomes increasingly communicative with Joey, assures the boy that he will protect Charlie. Charlie also writes a reassuring letter to a plaintive Joey and devises a scheme to navigate the censors who read all mail. He will advise of his location by composing a second sentence in the letter, where the first letter of each word will be combined to alert the boy of his location. With regard to the budding romance with Rachel, Charlie advises that she has Joey “on a string like a yo-yo” (316).In the interim, Charlie is selling the macaroons—“the pointy coconut things” (316)—that Aunt Carrie sends him regularly to his shipmates. In an exchange with his new bride, Hazel, Charlie alludes to the singer having brought Joey to Radio City for his 14th birthday.

Joey’s adoration for Rachel has only grown stronger; he writes her a letter letting her know that he loves her. She agrees to come to the Canteen to see him perform with Hazel, and afterwards, the two kiss for the first time. Joey writes to Charlie asking him to be the Best Man at their wedding, which he would like to hold at third base at the Polo Grounds. He also tries to sneak into the Naval Yard assembly line again; Hazel agrees to appear on the cover of Time magazine dressed as a female riveter in exchange for Joey emerging from this plan unscathed. In an ironic twist, Joey’s former nemesis, Lenny Bierman, pays Joey “two bits a week” (331) to complete his algebra homework for him.

Charlie is upset by President Roosevelt’s order that no “All-Stars” are to see direct action, as “Washington does not want any dead All-Stars on their hands […] it screws up newsreels” (326). This missive results in Charlie being assigned to the Communications Room as a typist. In a coded letter, Charlie advises that he is now in Guadalcanal, and he writes a joyful yet solemn reflection of the experiences that the two have shared. Finally, the ballplayer relates the true story of his family history. Charlie’s mother died when he was 2 years old; his father was a “cheap hood” (332) who died in a shootout in Wisconsin. A few days prior to his death, he used a baseball bat to assault Charlie, who was playing with his father’s pen knife, but Harlan intervened. Charlie writes: “It wasn’t a pitch that killed him, it was my father” (334). Charlie has never shared this information with anyone else.

Hazel ultimately receives a telegram advising her that Charlie was killed in action. As Stuke relates to Joey, Charlie was ordered to remain on the ship. Upon seeing Stuke and seven other Marines pinned down on the beach by enemy fire, he defied orders by running up the beach to help defend their position, and subsequently, he saved all the men involved. Prior to being shot himself, he asks Stuke never to relate the story to Joey. He was afraid that the boy would follow his example. Craig Nakamura writes Joey that he will come to Brooklyn to console him, even if he has to travel by foot. Rabbi Lieberman writes that the Temple will say Kaddish, a traditional Jewish prayer for the dead, in memory of the late Protestant ballplayer, and the dreaded Ethel Merman sends a condolence telegram to Hazel and visits her for tea. Aunt Carrie, who is attached to her Jewish faith, reads a Bible passage announcing:“Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death” (344). Charlie is laid to rest in his hometown of Racine, Wisconsin. Joey is given a letter that was written to him by Charlie in the event he was killed, itemizing: “[A] couple more things you need to know before you’re ready to do the rest without me” (346).Among the observations are the thought that all people have some worthwhile element, and that in some way, Charlie will always be able to see Joey’s future accomplishment. Finally, he tells Joey: “A long time ago I told you I did not know for a fact yet that you were somebody special. Now I do. […] I love you Bucko” (346).

The author switches to the first person in the Epilogue, and the setting is moved to August 2, 1977, which would have been Charlie Banks’ 60th birthday. Joey Margolis, sportswriter and author, is scheduled to speak at Charlie Banks Day, along with the President of the United States and the Governor of Wisconsin. The proceeds of this game will fund a college scholarship in the ballplayer’s honor. Joey has found events such as this to be too painful to attend in the past; however, his own 9-year-old son, Chucky, persuades him to appear. While preparing his speech, Joey finally opens a metal box containing Charlie’s military medals and realizes that the ballplayer had saved all the childhood letters that he had written as a young boy. Charlie had also carried a photo of himself and Joey at a ballpark in Cincinnati in his wallet.

Hazel is married to a wealthy Manhattan architect and continues to sing. She and Ethel Merman have made peace and appear on television singing duets. Stuke is a Philosophy professor at a small college in New Hampshire. Aunt Carrie Gettinger has died, and Joey’s 88-year-old mother insists on doing her own cleaning, despite the fact that he has provided her with a housekeeper. Craig Nakamura is a Civil Liberties attorney in San Francisco. Charlie and his grammar school sweetheart, Rachel, are raising their three children in a brownstone not far from their old neighborhood. Joey’s biological father has died recently, and the writer notes: “I lost my Dad in 1936. But I got a much better deal all the way around” (353).Joey is a confirmed Brooklynite and advises the reader that “Brooklyn was-and still is-about Charlie” (353).