Stimson Papers
Prime Minister Churchill to the Secretary of War (Stimson)
My Dear Stimson: May I offer to yourself and General Marshall my best thanks for the most interesting and instructive day which you have permitted me to spend with your troops.1 My only regret is that the time at my disposal did not allow a longer visit.
I have had considerable experience of such inspections and I can say that I have never been more impressed than I was with the bearing of the men whom I saw. The undemonstrative, therefore grim, determination which was everywhere manifest not only in the seasoned troops but in the newly-drafted, bodes ill for our enemies.
I should be grateful if you would convey my thanks to General Eichelberger and all who were concerned in making the many detailed arrangements which such a visit at short notice required. I very much appreciated their concern for my comfort and convenience.
Yours sincerely,
- Churchill, together with Brooke, Dill, and Ismay and their aides, were guests of Stimson and Marshall on June 24 during an inspection trip to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. For brief accounts of the trip, see Churchill, Hinge of Fate, pp. 386–387 and Alanbrooke, pp. 331–332. A photograph of Stimson, Marshall, Churchill, and Dill at Fort Jackson is reproduced following p. 483.↩