What level of troops are you talking about? Ike would have known within hours at most. The troops on the line would get it as it trickled down. They might get "Stars and Stripes" if their situation was static. In fact, you might check the Stars and Stripes archives to find out what date they printed the news. (Best bet is the next edition after he died, plus prep time of course.)
I am talking about Franklin and not Teddy. I was interested in knowing the date for regular troops in Europe...good idea about looking at the Stars and Stripes paper. Thanks
Remember, the S&S will be giving the details, their officers will have already relayed the news in the vast majority of cases. People just love to pass on bad news.
Well, Göbbels heard about it the next day April 13th. So would think the US troops heard it pretty soon,too. LIFE - Google-kirjat
Pretty rapidly I would assume, since it was carried in special editions of the major newspapers in the US that afternoon, and radio announcements went our in the clear that afternoon as well. April 12, 1945 New York Times. WASHINGTON, April 12-The White House announced late today that President Roosevelt had died of cerebral hemorrhage. The death occurred this afternoon at Warm Springs, Ga. A White House statement said: "Vice President Truman has been notified. He was called to the White House and informed by Mrs. Roosevelt. The Secretary of State has been advised. A Cabinet meeting has been called. "The four Roosevelt boys in the service have been sent a message by their mother, which said that the President slept (slipped) away this afternoon. He did his job to the end, as he would want to do." 'Bless you all and all our love,' added Mrs. Roosevelt. She signed the message Mother. "Funeral services will be held Saturday afternoon in the East Room of the White House. Interment will be at Hyde Park Sunday afternoon. No detailed arrangements or exact times have been decided upon as yet." See: http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/450412a.html It was also announced publically on the air waves at 5:45 in the afternoon of that very day, April 12th, interrupting radio "action shows" like the Lone Ranger. So I suppose that the news traveled pretty fast to the ETO as well. Here is a link to a collection of memorbilia which seems to cement the date of most people on the fronts knowing by April 13th. See: Other Items (From the Home Front and the Front Lines, American Treasures Exhibition, Library of Congress)
I was on Guam when the news of the President,s death was announced. We had recently returned from Iwo Jima and were reorganizing units as well as training replacements for the men we had lost. The news of FDR's passing was hard to accept becuase he had been president since 1932, when I was but 9 years old. I though of him as President for life. At first we thought his passing would have an adverse effect of the successful completion of the war. He was the Commander-in-Chief and we had all read and heard about his meeting's with Churchill and Stalin at Tehran, Yalta, etc. We considered him the guy in charge and calling all the shots. I had never heard anything about Harry Truman when he was sworn in. We hoped for the best and thank heavens Harry had the cojones' to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Had he not and we attempted to invade the Empire of Japan I would not have survived. The Marine Divisions in the Pacific were assigned to spearhead the initial assault on the homeland and we would have been annihilated. Lfkirby
Thanks to you for your service to our country and to me at this moment..I have a good idea of how my Uncle could have felt when he found out.
