The Time in 1943 That Eleanor Roosevelt Disappeared for 10 Days in the South Pacific

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2023

⏱️ 34 minutes

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Summary

Eleanor Roosevelt is undisputedly one of America’s most influential First Ladies. She used the office to promote international initiatives that stabilized global peace after the hellish destruction of World War Two, doing such things as securing the passage of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

But one thing few know is that for 10 days the First Lady went missing. In August of 1943, Eleanor was not attending to her domestic duties at the White House, in fact, she was nowhere to be found. Later, Americans would read in newspapers that Eleanor’s whereabouts had been discovered—she was on the other side of the world.

In an unprecedented mission which only a handful of First Ladies since have ever attempted, Eleanor’s assignment was to go undercover into a battle zone and report back, firsthand, what America’s servicemen and women were facing... and bring secret information back to the Oval Office. At a time when commercial air travel was unrefined (transcontinental flights took at least 20 hours and involved several fueling stops) and war was still active in the South Pacific, Eleanor faced dangers every day to complete her secret mission and boost troop morale.

Today’s guest is Shannon McKenna Schmidt, author of The First Lady of World War II: Eleanor Roosevelt's Daring Journey to the Frontlines and Back. She shares the largely untold story of Eleanor’s top-secret mission to the Pacific theater that had ripple effects throughout the 20th century.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Scott here with another episode of the History Unplugged Podcast.
0:08.1	Eleanor Roosevelt is indisputably one of America's most influential first ladies and one of
0:12.7	the most influential figures of the 20th century.
0:14.9	She chair the United Nations Commission that in 1948 accepted the Universal Declaration
0:19.8	of Human Rights, which was the Magna Carta of the post-war world.
0:23.6	But for Eleanor, she considered one of the most consequential events of her life to be
0:27.6	the 10 days that she went missing in the South Pacific.
0:30.3	Well, she didn't actually go missing, but she completely dropped out of public notice
0:34.4	and went undercover as a Red Cross volunteer to the Pacific Theatre.
0:38.7	She wanted to report back firsthand what America's servicemen were facing in the hottest
0:42.8	parts of frontline combat and see what soldiers were actually going through by visiting them
0:47.5	in Red Cross Centers and Field Hospitals.
0:49.6	At a time when commercial air travel was unrefined, when transcontinental flights,
0:54.0	approximately 20 hours, evolved several fuel stops, and when she was flying in war zones,
0:58.9	had the fly lights out to avoid enemy fire, she faced dangers every day to lose troop
1:03.2	morale.
1:04.2	Her health also took a hit, she lost 30 pounds, but she had a better understanding of how
1:08.2	troops were suffering and her trip was an international media sensation that rebooted morale
1:12.3	in the home front.
1:13.3	Today's guest is Shannon McKenna Schmidt, author of the First Lady of World War II, Eleanor
1:17.2	Roosevelt's Daring Journey to the Frontlines of Back.
1:19.6	She shares stories of Eleanor's top secret mission to the Pacific during the most intense
	...

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