"FDR's Funeral Train" by Robert Klara (2010)

Today is the 70^th anniversary of Franklin Roosevelt’s passing.  This is a re-post from 2010;

My mother used to tell me about the day that FDR died. She said that the whole sky went black, just like it does on a summer's day before a storm. But this was early April, though it had been unusually balmy for the last week or so. It was late afternoon before she recalled hearing the news on radio that the President had died earlier.

As preparations were being made for his funeral in Washington, DC and, his later internment at his home in Hyde Park, NY, a drama was being played out that would remain largely unwritten about for several decades.

The President had been at his usual retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia when he was fatally stricken with a heart attack. This was not unexpected, as he had been in poor health for many years. Along with his paralysis, his blood pressure at the BEGINNING of the War was 250/140. There were no drugs available for the doctors to counter this pressure, which surely built up over 3 full terms as President. He was literally a ticking time bomb.

Where the drama begins is the fact that The President's long time lady friend, Lucy Mercer Rutherford, was with him at the time he passed. And the drama continues as the First Lady seeks to uncover the truth about who was with her husband at the time of his death. With her detective skills in sharp order due to having served as her husband’s legs and ears on several cross country trips, she soon cracks the mystery. But the story continues on from there.

The President had a specially designed train for protection. The Presidential Pullman Car was named "The Ferdinand Magellan" and Roosevelt made regular trips on it; mostly to his home in Hyde Park, and sometimes out West. The car was 142 tons in weight. There was no precaution too great to take in protecting the President. These things are all well known.

What is less known are the special trips he made to side spurs along the way. There the President would remain for almost 12 hours at a time dallying with Ms. Rutherford. This was all about to become known to Mrs. Roosevelt as the train crossed the country, first from Washington to Warm Springs, then back to Washington for the State Funeral. From there the train would be loaded up again for the final journey to bury the President at Hyde Park, NY.

The trip was filled with even more high drama as the newly sworn President Truman tries to figure out the secret everyone is trying to keep from him. He needed to be told about the A-bomb but no-one wanted to be the one to breach security and tell him first. At the same time there is a suspected Soviet Agent on board, trying to find out what everyone else is whispering about. That all this occurs as the nation mourns the loss of the President while the country is still at war really ups the stakes.

Well researched by the author, Robert Klara has given us a slice of history that has been denied us until now. Using recently released documents and old diaries and letters, he has pieced together a story that would be the envy of any author of fiction. That it is real makes it all the better. It is also reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel, from the setting on the train to the wild cast of characters, who are, in this case real.

The DAR - Why They Matter Today

One of the most misunderstood organizations in America today is the Daughters of the American Revolution. Most people think of the group in a very narrow frame of reference, usually the unfortunate incident in 1939 when Marion Anderson was denied the role of singing at Constitution Hall before an integrated audience.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt arranged another concert on Easter Sunday at the Lincoln memorial, where she sang to a crowd of 75,000 people and millions more on radio. The DAR has long since renounced their mistake, and today the DAR is a rainbow coalition which represents the America we have become over the centuries since the Revolution.

Why is this important? To put it in its simplest form; as the demographic make-up of our country changes; through inter-marriage, adoptions, etc. the DAR strives to reflect that change while still retaining the integrity of those families who actually fought in the Revolution.

As the demographics change, many times the past gets lost in the jumble. The DAR is a way of stopping that loss. For instance, if you are of Chinese descent, and marry into an American family having roots going back to colonial times, your daughters are eligible to become members. The same holds true for the Sons of the Revolution. There is no color line anymore. It’s all in your family tree.

The point is this; though the DAR does not support any particular political party; through their work in preserving our nation’s heritage, they are the Keepers of our past. They are the ones who place the monuments and trace the history of our unique nation. It is largely through their efforts that so many of the monuments we all take for granted, are there in the first place.

But, the most important function of all performed by the DAR is the tracking of family histories in relation to the American Revolution. The ethnic make-up America of today is vastly different from Colonial times and the struggle for Independence. But the rainbow color of today’s DAR reflects the truth of the principles upon which we were founded. Even Marion Anderson would have to smile at that.

So, why am I so big on the DAR? Simple; both my wife Sue, and our daughter Sarah, are members. Sue's great grandfather; several times removed; was named Henry Pensinger and he fought at the Battle of Ticonderoga, loosing a leg in the process. You can look him up. He has a blog page at;

http://henrypensinger.blogspot.com/p/background-bartlyme-bentziger-spelling.html

And if you, or anyone you know, is eligible to join the DAR, please use the following link to start the application process. No matter what your ethnic background or nationality may be, if the ancestors on either side of your family fought for the freedom which we enjoy today, then the DAR hopes to reflect that difference.

http://www.dar.org/natsociety/ 

Sue Pensinger Williams - DAR

My wife, Sue Pensinger Williams, has just this week received her membership certificate for the Daughters of the American Revolution. This organization is comprised of women who have a blood relative in the family that fought, or died, in the American Revolution.

Sue's great grandfather, five times removed, was Henry Pensinger. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Militia when the Revolution broke out. He traveled across 2 mountain ranges to fight at the 2nd Battle of Ticonderoga, in upstate New York. This was no easy task. Just getting there took months of humping everything they would need over the mountains. Think of it, cannon, ammunition, guns, horses and food, all had to be carried to the scene of battle. It was this fight in which Henry Pensinger was injured, incurred frostbite and lost his leg. Then he first had to go home, over those same two mountain ranges. That he would have been in great pain the entire way goes without saying.

The Daughters of the American Revolution have had some darker moments in their history, most notably when they denied Marian Anderson permission to sing in front of an integrated audience at Constitution Hall in 1939. President Roosevelts wife, Eleanor, herself a member of the DAR, actually resigned over this and on Easter Sunday, Marian Anderson did sing, on the steps of the new Lincoln Memorial.

Since that time, the mission of the DAR has largely been one as the caretaker of the nations monuments, providing scholarships, and keeping track of all the descendants of the veterans of the American Revolution. The best part of this is that as people have intermarried over the years, the face of the DAR has become multi-cultural. And now my daughter, Sarah, is a member as well. I wonder what Pincus Max Marcus, my grandfather, who arrived here from Poland in 1911, would think of that!