Roosevelt Papers
The President’s Naval Aide (Brown) to the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the United States Fleet (Cooke)
Memorandum for Vice Admiral Cooke:
Subject: Details of White House Arrangements for Argonaut.
1. The Prime Minister and Ambassador Harriman have been informed that the President expects to arrive at Malta on board a man-of-war on the early forenoon of 1 February and to proceed at once by plane to Simferopol.
2. The State Department has been informed that the Catoctin will leave Naples on 22 January for Sevastopol and that the passage of the Dardanelles will be made about 24–25 January. She has been described as a naval auxiliary non-combatant vessel. The State Department has been directed to inform the President of Turkey of our intention and to arrange for the Catoctin’s passage of the Dardanelles and of the Bosporus.
3. It is requested that appropriate instructions be issued to the Catoctin to carry out the above and that appropriate instructions also [Page 28] be issued for her to communicate as necessary with Mr. Harriman and to do whatever may be necessary to assist in providing communications, furniture (if desired), provisions and supplies for the mission. I suggest that her instructions might authorize the commanding officer to use his judgment as to whether she should remain at Sevastopol or off Yalta.
4. It might be well for her to transport some army jeeps for use of the mission.
Vice Admiral, U. S. N.,
Naval Aide to the President