Editorial Note
None of the American participants made a record of the discussion at this meeting. The information set forth above is derived from the President’s Appointment Calendar (Roosevelt Papers). Harriman’s memorandum to Churchill, post, p. 314, indicates that such matters as tank production were considered. Ismay’s presence at this meeting suggests that the British proposal for the establishment of a refugee camp in North Africa may also have been discussed. Ismay, who was responsible for keeping Churchill apprised of the American-British negotiations on this issue, urged the Prime Minister on May 24 (see Ismay’s memorandum, post, p. 342) to “go into action” with Roosevelt on this question.
At this meeting, but quite possibly after their advisers had departed. [Page 198] Churchill requested of Roosevelt that Marshall be allowed to accompany the Prime Minister’s party on a visit to Algiers following the conclusion of the Conference in Washington. The Stimson Diary for May 25, 1943 relates the following information regarding the Churchill request:
“Before luncheon I learned that last night in a solitary debate between the President and the Prime Minister over some one of the points in which they both differed and differed vigorously, the Prime Minister … fought to the end and finally said, ‘Well, I will give up my part of this if you will let me have George Marshall to go for a trip to Africa’; and the President traded on the spot, took the point, and let Marshall go. Marshall told me of it and said he rather hated to be traded like a piece of baggage. I think I know pretty well what the Prime Minister has in prospect. He is going to take Marshall along with him in order to work on him to yield on some of the points that Marshall has held out in regard to the Prime Minister’s desired excursions in the eastern Mediterranean; but to think of picking out the strongest man there is in America, and Marshall is surely that today, the one on whom the fate of the war depends, and then to deprive him in a gamble of a much needed opportunity to recoup his strength by about three days’ rest and send him off on a difficult and rather dangerous trip across the Atlantic Ocean where he is not needed except for Churchill’s purposes is I think going pretty far. But nobody has any say and Marshall is going to pack up his bag tonight and start on his hard trip tomorrow morning on about twelve hours’ notice.” (Stimson Papers)