An Afternoon with...

Dr. David Allen White

Conducted by Vincent Chiarello |Remnant Columnist

There are events which, even decades later, can be recalled with perfect clarity, even if other similar encounters have long since faded into the mists of history. In his memoirs, the Canadian actor and author, Hume Cronyn, called memory, "the terrible liar;" perhaps with justification, for much of what we "remember" may actually bear little or no resemblance to what actually transpired. With the passage of time, even more so. However, I maintain that particular events, even if we cannot recall the circumstances surrounding them, are wired into our brain’s hard drive. One such event took place nearly twenty years ago; yet, in my mind’s eye, it could have happened last week.

On this particular autumn Sunday, as I entered St. Athanasius for the first time, I immediately noticed something unusual, something I’d not seen in any church previously: five young men, each dressed in the midshipman’s uniform of the U.S.

Naval Academy, side by side in a pew. How Traditionally devout, I thought, these young men must be to have made the trip from Annapolis to Northern Virginia to attend Mass, in this case, a Traditional Latin one.

When the Mass ended, outside I noted the midshipmen gathered around a man who was the center of their attention. Burly, with a mellifluous voice, he exuded the assumed authority of a naval captain, and his followers appeared to be captivated, listening to his every word.

I thought no further about the event until the following Sunday, and, once again, noticed the row of midshipmen. My earlier assumption that these young men were devout Catholics had been validated, I thought. Once again, the young men gathered after Mass to hear the words of this most impressive man, whose name at the time was unknown to me. Within a short period, however, I would come to learn that the midshipmen who formed that circle were there as a result of their contact with a man I have called, "Tradition’s Pied Piper" - DavidAllen White. His is a story that should be told, for in getting to know the man, you will readily understand why he was such a force among the dozens of men - and two women - at the U.S. Naval Academy over a period of three decades.

The city of Winchester, Virginia, sits nestled in the Shenandoah Valley, with a population of slightly more than 27,000 inhabitants. During the U.S. Civil War, the city served as headquarters of a division of the Confederate Army commanded by "Stonewall" Jackson, and was exposed to constant attack by Union forces. Three major military engagements were fought in the city or nearby; at war’s end, Union troops occupied Winchester. It is ironic that what could not be done with a Union military occupation, the elimination of a Southern way of life, is now, slowly but surely, taking place in Winchester: growing numbers of "Yankee" transplants from suburban Washington are moving there. On a mild winter afternoon, I met David Allen "Doc" White, a marvelous storyteller, and author of the recent biography of Bishop Richard Williamson. What follows is the result of a lengthy interview we had in his home in Winchester. To begin at the beginning...

"My parents were natives of Eau Clare, Wisconsin." So begins the background of David Allen White: his father, a butcher, owned a small shop, but was driven out of business by the coming of supermarkets; his mother, a part-time secretary of the Congregational Church, known for its "bake sales and suppers." Growing up in that environment had a lasting impact on young David: from his attendance at Congregational services, he learned to memorize large segments of the Bible which "stayed with me to this day," a trait, he laments, Catholic Traditionalists do not emphasize enough. He can recite portions of Corinthians, as well as segments of

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Doc. White