"Here is what [Eleanor Roosevelt] did in twelve hours:
she inspected two Navy hospitals, took a boat to an
officer's rest home and had lunch there, returned
and inspected an Army hospital, reviewed the 2nd
Marine Raider Battalion (her son Jimmy had been its
executive officer), made a speech at a service club,
attended a reception, and was guest of honor at a
dinner given by General Harmom.
. . .
When I say that she inspected those hospitals, I
don't mean that she shook hands with the chief medical
officer, glanced into a sun room and left. I mean
that she went into every ward, stopped at every bed,
and spoke to every patient: What was his name? How
did he feel? Was there anything he needed? Could she
take a message home for him? I marveled at her hardihood,
both physical and mental, she walked for miles, and
she saw patients who were grievously and gruesomely
wounded. But I marveled most at their expressions
as she leaned over them. It was a sight I will never
forget."
Source:
- William F. Halsey and J. Bryan, Admiral Halsey's
Story (New York: Whittlesey House, 1947), 166.
