One of the
valuable items in the museum’s World War II exhibit is the aft steering wheel
from USS Augusta (CA 31), shown above. On August
14, 1941, this cruiser witnessed one of the most famous summits of the 20th
century, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister
Winston S. Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter at Argentia, Newfoundland.
The
complexities of the war situation (in which America was still officially
neutral) persuaded Churchill and FDR that the time had come to meet. In August 1941 the two men set out secretly
on naval vessels and rendezvoused, along with their staffs, at the new American
naval base at Argentia. The President embarked on the Augusta on August 5 in Vineyard
Sound, Massachusetts, transferring to the cruiser from the Presidential yacht Potomac
at 0617. For security purposes, the President's flag remained on Potomac
in New England waters. A Secret Serviceman, approximating the President in
size and affecting the Chief Executive's mannerisms when visible from a
distance, played a starring role in the drama. Press releases issued daily from Potomac led all who read
them to believe that FDR was really embarked in his yacht on a pleasure cruise.
As
for the meeting with Churchill, the most important result was the linking of
Britain and America in a moral partnership to defeat the Axis powers and seek
political freedom for all people in the postwar world. One participant said
that the meeting “gave meaning to the conflict between civilization and
arrogant, brute challenge.”
USS Augusta (CA 31) and USS McDougall (DD 358) at Argentia, August 1941. Seen from HMS Prince of Wales. Note the American and British sailors mustering together. (NHHC photograph collection.) |
As
for the Augusta, the heavy cruiser
(built by Newport News Shipbuilding and
Dry Dock Co. and launched on February 1, 1930) went on to distinguished service
during Operation Torch and the Normandy Invasion. The sturdy veteran, a
one-time flagship of the Asiatic Fleet, hosted President Roosevelt again after
the Yalta Conference in 1945 and President Truman en route to the Potsdam
Conference that same year.
(This blog post was written by HRNM Curator Joe Judge.)
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