'Grand Dame' back from the front

Beatrice "BeBe" Waring, nee Shopp, a former Miss America, has been fitted for glamorous gowns and clothing of all kinds.

But earlier this year, the 79-year-old was fitted for 50 pounds of body armor — for a visit to U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

The Rockport beauty queen traveled to the war zone a few weeks ago with other pageant queens to extend their friendship to those serving in the military.

In all, they would visit seven military bases, bunking first at the Ali Al Salem military base in Kuwait, where they saw bus loads of American soldiers arriving and departing.

In addition to Waring — Miss America 1948 — the travelers included Miss America 1985 Sharlene Wells Hawkes, Miss America 1999 Nicole Johnson, Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap, Miss America 1981 Susan Powell, Miss America 1995 Heather Whitestone, Miss Utah 2007 Jill Stevens and Sam Haskell, board chairman of the Miss America Organization and author of "Promises I Made My Mother."

Dunlap, the youngest member, is part of the television hit "The Amazing Race." And this was not Stevens' first trip to the war zone; a member of the Utah Army National Guard, she served as a combat medic in Afghanistan in 2004.

The civilians, clad in their bullet-proof vests and helmets, flew out around midnight.

"We walked out in the dark with the armor on and all of a sudden my stomach is going wild — I'm getting nervous and excited," Waring related. "We look at this C-17 that is out there and opens up in the back. I was moved to tears. We sat on the perimeter inside the plane, and in the middle were around 125 soldiers dressed for battle."

At the end of the nearly five-hour flight, which circled around Iran so as not to pass over its air space, the plane landed in the mountainous region, taking a dramatic descent into the combat zone.

While in Afghanistan, they traveled by helicopter in Black Hawks and Hueys, which offered a quicker way to travel than the roads, and was likely safer from enemy fire.

"As the soldiers helped us in, I saw two soldiers with machine guns out the side, watching and leaning out and making sure there were no snipers," she said.

At each of the bases, the group would meet and greet the troops.

"We did not perform, but we were all ready to do something," said Waring. "We would walk into a base, the medical center, computer center or any place where there was a group of people and take a big group picture. Sam Haskell — he was our Bob Hope so to speak — would begin with a few words. He introduced me as the 'Grande Dame.'"

After their introductions, Waring would say she was the grandmother of the group.

"I would say none of you will recognize me or know my name — but your grandfather would," recounted Waring, a mother of four daughters.

Her husband, Bayard Waring, served in the Air Force in Korea. Of her nine grandchildren, one grandson serves in the Coast Guard on the West Coast; another is a sophomore at West Point.

At the various bases, the visiting beauty queens would sign postcards bearing their images.

"We must have seen over 1,000 people," said Waring. "We would talk to them, one on one, and thank them for their service, and, at the end, give them a big hug."

The group traveled to Jalalabad and the Bostick base, at the northern border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is the same base where the surviving soldiers of a recent Taliban attack are now stationed.

Waring and the others met Ty Carter, who was nominated for a Congressional Medal of Honor for his life-saving efforts. He described the insurgency.

"I got tearful hearing the story of the 12-hour siege and the eight soldiers who were killed," she said.

The group also learned how the Americans destroyed that base in the aftermath to prevent the Taliban from obtaining anything that could be useful.

Now settled back in her seaside home in Rockport, Carter's story still haunts her.

When friends ask her about her experience, she replies that she didn't have time to be scared.

"During the trip, every once in a while someone would say 'Do you realize where we are?'" Waring recounted. "But we couldn't have been in better hands. Those young fellows flying those C-17s and helicopters are so pleasant and so young and so qualified."

Waring, who attended the Manhattan School of Music, plays vibraharp. She sings with Share the Music and the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus.

"We hoped to put smiles on their faces and the commanders said it meant so much," said Waring. "We shared many a tear and smile. I would do it again."

For Waring, the trip also recalled wars past.

"I remember during World War II, I was 15 and I wanted to join up so badly," she said. "But I couldn't because I wasn't old enough."

Some 65 years later, when Waring heard about the friendship mission to the Middle East with her Miss America colleagues, she signed up without hesitation.

She said a number of local residents helped her prepare for the trip — including help with banners she brought to give to the troops — expressing her thanks to Richard Strauss of The Curtain Shop, Elaine Starrett, Allie Pike, Judy Juncker, Jane Moginot, the Rev. Karin Wade and Scott Deffer.

Hawkes, a former ESPN newscaster for 15 years who helped set up this trip, said Waring made the group complete.

"She was amazing," Hawkes said of Waring. "She carried her body armor everywhere. She didn't want anyone to help her.

"Everyone was just blown away by her. When people ask me about the people on the trip, Bebe is the first one I want to talk about," Hawkes added. "Her presence put a stamp on why we were there. We were there to support the troops and say we remember you. Then there is this nearly 80-year-old who wants to make the trip. This says we love and support you — Wow, that's dedication."

In Haskell's diary of the trip, he wrote a postscript that once again brought home to dangers of the war.

"The night after we left, the Taliban attacked Bagram Air Force Base where we spent the last three nights," he noted. "Thankfully no one was killed."

Gail McCarthy can be contacted at 978-283-7000 x3445 or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com

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