“VICTORY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH JUSTICE.”

 By Linda Lee Greene, Author & Artist.



“Victory has nothing to do with justice,” noted author George Orwell in reference to the power of the imagination to rise above physical hardship and to find hope in living. This writer sees in it a fitting association with Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), President of the United States before and during World War II. Historians and biographers of FDR have noted the president’s almost supernatural optimism against the worst of odds, and his uncanny serenity when all around him unceasing tempests raged. Whether or not he was born with those facilities we do not know. But certainly, latent or not, he earned them in coming to terms with polio that struck him in his prime, the affliction that could not be cured, and that derailed what was regarded as his route in the upward trajectory of his career, as well as his life.  

Jaunty and eager behind the steering wheel of his Jeep, Mrs. Roosevelt and his closet personal advisor, Harry Hopkins accompanying him, FDR was parked at the entrance of the long drive that gained access to Hyde Park, his family retreat in Upstate New York. He awaited the arrival of Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston S. Churchill and his daughter, Mary. In just a few balmy August, 1943 days, the president and the prime minister would convene a war-plans conference in Quebec, Canada. This sojourn at Hyde Park was a short getaway prior to the intense work that faced them. Exhausted from the journey to Canada from England several days before, Mrs. Churchill remained in Quebec, ensconced at the Citadelle, Great Britain’s King George VI’s residence that ranged a high cliff above the St. Lawrence River.

Convinced of the power of his personality to influence the outcome of World War II and subsequent world affairs, FDR was flushed with anticipation at hobnobbing with his British friend once more. Mr. Churchill was similarly as strong in ego and opinion as was Mr. Roosevelt. How fascinating it would have been to have had an ear in on their discussions. Mary’s noncommittal assessment of them was summed up in seven words: “Papa and he (FDR) are an interesting contrast.”

It did Mrs. Roosevelt’s heart good to see her husband so thoroughly energized by the company of his two friends, as well as the prospect of the conference. Mr. Roosevelt was often quite worn down by his immense responsibilities—much more so than in earlier days of his long presidency. Encouraging his good mood, Mrs. Roosevelt set her agenda to coincide with the Churchill’s visit and joined her husband as solicitous and sunny hosts to their guests. Their lengthy marriage had narrowed in its conjugal aspects. Incompatibility in their personalities and infidelity and maybe simply attrition had altered its character, but still there was genuine friendship, devotion, coupled with a sincere eagerness for each other’s happiness and purpose. And of course, both of them were consummate patriots and would do whatever their country called upon them to do.

Mr. Roosevelt had given up fighting his leg braces and wheelchair and Mrs. Roosevelt had ceased battling to stay in the role appointed to her by tradition. She had moved beyond her position as a wife and mother, and in her case, her mother-in-law’s compliant daughter-in-law. She had stepped forward when her husband was struck down. She had learned to be his legs, his voice, and his heart in the public realm, and in the process, had found her own true self, and once found, she was not about to relinquish it! If she could no longer occupy his bedroom, she took to showing up in his office, or at table when he took his meals, or wherever she could gain access to his ear, because now, she had ideas and opinions of her own. And there in one of the new roles she carved out for herself in their marriage, she laid her concerns about the country at her husband’s feet. It was well known that he received her graciously and with interest and was inclined to accept her views, on occasion. He was more tight-lipped with her, though. As put forth by Mary in her book CLEMENTINE CHURCHILL, the Biography of a Marriage, because Mrs. Roosevelt traveled so much and made copious speeches, as well as wrote a daily newspaper column, Mr. Roosevelt was afraid she would forget and let something “secret,” slip out.      

While Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt and Mr. and Mrs. Churchill bore much in common: all of them hailed from the aristocracy of their nations; they were all classically educated and erudite; they were the leaders of their countries; and the thirty-eight-year Roosevelt marriage was prolific in the number of children it had brought into the world, as was the long marriage of the Churchill’s. The prime minister and his wife were soon to celebrate their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary.

With all their similarities, they couldn’t have been more different, however, and possibly most notably, in the nature of their marriages. The chasm between the Roosevelts was not a factor in the Churchill relationship. Mrs. Churchill never had a cause nor a desire to find fulfillment outside her marriage. Projects held no interest for her. Her husband was her project for the entirety of their nearly six decades together. Shared with readers by their daughter in the above noted book, Mr. Churchill said to his wife on the occasion of their thirty-fifth anniversary, “I love you more and more each year.”

Conditions within the borders of both the United States and Great Britain were dicey. Domestic politics was a tangled web for Mr. Roosevelt, and the Nazi threat was only a narrow body of water separate from Mr. Churchill’s island nation of Great Britain. Its cities were being bombed and its people maimed or dying. But word from the battlefields of the war was encouraging. The Germans and Italians were routed from North Africa. Sicily was well on its way to being conquered. The Allied assault on the mainland of Italy was on the near horizon. In North Africa, American troops were training for that impending campaign. Mussolini and his Fascist Italian government were toppled and a new and friendly government was in its place. Russia, the Allied partner, was on the offensive against Germany in the east. The Nazi submarine menace in the Atlantic was reduced severely. The Allies had destroyed nearly one-third of German U-boats at sea. In the Pacific Theater, the United States had turned back the Japanese at Midway, Guadalcanal, and the Solomon Islands. The tide was changed in both the European and Pacific Theaters of the war in the Allies’ favor.

Both Mrs. Roosevelt and Mrs. Churchill knew that the realities could, and more than likely would, wreck the best-laid plans, on the battlefield, and elsewhere. There was no better teacher in life of that fact than marriage to a politician. Both of their husbands were high with accomplishment and heady with their power. In their unique ways, both women sought to shield their husbands from their inevitable emotional crash when bad news filtered in. For the moment though, the four of them were content in the status quo—once again, and in particular, events were bearing out Mr. Roosevelt’s supernatural optimism. He had a vision of himself in his soul, and despite his broken body and improbable route to his stake as the 20^th century’s greatest US President and one of the greatest persons of his time, he brought his vision into being.©

Note: the above is a work of historical fiction based on actual events.



Image: Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the campaign trail.



Recommended Reading:

CLEMENTINE CHURCHILL, the Biography of a Marriage by Mary [Churchill] Soames.

A DAUGHTER’S TALE by Mary [Churchill] Soames.

THE ROOSEVELT PRESENCE, The Life and Legacy of FDR by Patrick J. Maney.



Books by Linda Lee Greene are available for purchase in eBook and soft cover at Amazon.com and by request at other booksellers.