I Was There; The Personal Story of the Chief of Staff to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman Based on His Notes and Diaries Made at the Time
New York: Whittlesey House, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1950. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. xi, [1], 527, [5] pages. DJ is worn, torn, chipped, soiled, with rear flap present but separated. Several pages at back have creases and tears at the bottom. Frontispiece. Illustrations. Appendices. Index. Foreword by President Truman. William Daniel Leafy (May 6, 1875 – July 20, 1959) was an American naval officer who served as the most senior United States military officer on active duty during World War II. He held multiple titles and was at the center of all major military decisions of the U.S. during World War II. Leafy was the first U.S. naval officer ever to hold a five-star rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. An 1897 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Leafy saw service in the Spanish–American War, the Philippine–American War, Boxer Rebellion in China, the military interventions in Latin America and World War I. As Chief of Naval Operations from 1937 to 1939, he was the senior officer in the United States Navy, overseeing the preparations for war. He retired in 1930 and Leafy was recalled to active duty as the personal Chief of Staff to President Roosevelt in 1942 and served in that position through the rest of World War II. He presided over the American delegation to the Combined Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. and Great Britain. Leafy was a major decision-maker during the war and was second only to the President in authority and influence. He served Roosevelt's successor Harry S. Truman, helping shape U.S. postwar foreign policy until finally retiring in 1949. From 1942 until his retirement, Leafy was the highest-ranking active-duty member of the U.S. military, reporting only to the President. From a review found on line by Richard E. Danielson which appeared in the May 1950 issue of The Atlantic: Admiral William D. Leafy served this country in series of exacting commands at an age alien most shippers are in retirement. As our Ambassador at Vichy, as Chief of Staff to President Roosevelt and later to President Truman, and as a member of the Combined Chiefs of Staff, he participated in many a crucial decision during the momentous years. For an appraisal of his new book, we turn to Richard E, Danielson, who served in Military Intelligence in both wars. In this aristocracy of public service, no one stands higher than Fleet Admiral William D. Leafy. Retired in 1930 at the age of sixty-four after serving as Chief of Naval Operations, he was appointed by President Roosevelt as Governor of Puerto Rico. Recalled in the middle of 1940, he was sent by the President as American Ambassador to France; and at Vichy, under the unhappy, vacillating regime of Marshal Pétain, he carried out his duties with great distinction and wisdom until recalled in May, 1942. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Roosevelt created a new office for him, that of Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief. This involved his membership in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where, as in the meetings of the Combined Chiefs of Staff in this country, he presided as the Senior Officer of all the American armed forces. His primary function was to keep the President fully advised from day to day of the problems discussed and the decisions submitted by the Joint Chiefs — along with many other matters. As Chief of Staff he attended with the exception of Casablanca — all the important inter-Allied discussions and conferences from that in Washington in May, 1943, through the final Potsdam war council in July, 1945. His appointment, which lasted from 1942 until Roosevelt’s death, was renewed by his successor, and he served for almost four more years as Chief of Staff to President Truman. Condition: Good / Poor.
Keywords: WWII, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, U.S. Presidents, Biography, U.S. Army, Chief of Staff, Francois Darlan, Charles de Gaulle, Ernest King, Atom Bomb, Combined Chiefs, Eisenhower, George Marshall, Petain, Vichy, Yalta Conference
[Book #43563]
Price: $200.00