On this day, May 22, 1949, James Forrestal, the first Secretary of Defense, died.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

James Forrestal



1st United States Secretary of Defense
In office: September 17, 1947 – March 28, 1949
President: Harry S. Truman
48th United States Secretary of the Navy
In office: May 19, 1944 – September 17, 1947
Presidents: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman

Personal details
Born: James Vincent Forrestal; February 15, 1892; Matteawan, New York, U.S. (now Beacon)
Died: May 22, 1949 (aged 57); Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Resting place: Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, U.S.

James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense.

Forrestal came from a very strict middle-class Irish Catholic family. He was a successful financier on Wall Street before becoming Undersecretary of the Navy in 1940, shortly before the United States entered the Second World War. He became Secretary of the Navy in May 1944 upon the death of his superior, Col. Frank Knox. President Franklin D. Roosevelt requested that Forrestal take the lead in building up the Navy. In 1947, after the end of the war, President Harry S. Truman appointed him the first secretary of the newly created Department of Defense. Forrestal was intensely hostile to the Soviet Union, fearing Communist expansion in Europe and the Middle East. Along with Secretary of State George C. Marshall, he strongly opposed the United States' support for the establishment of the State of Israel, fearing that this would alienate Arab nations which were needed as allies, and whose petroleum reserves were vital for both military and civilian industrial expansion.

Forrestal was a supporter of naval battle groups centered on aircraft carriers. He tried to weaken the proposed Department of Defense for the Navy's benefit, but was hard-pressed to run it from 1947 to 1949 after Truman named him Secretary of Defense. The two men were often at odds, and Truman forced Forrestal's resignation.

Thereafter, Forrestal's mental health rapidly deteriorated, declining to the point in which he underwent medical care for depression. While a patient at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Forrestal died by suicide from fatal injuries sustained after falling out of a sixteenth-floor window.

In 1954, the USN's new supercarrier was named USS Forrestal in his honor, as is the James V. Forrestal Building, which houses the headquarters of the United States Department of Energy. He is the namesake of the Forrestal Lecture Series at the United States Naval Academy and of the James Forrestal Campus of his alma mater Princeton University.

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The only reason I knew the date when James Forrestal died is that I stumbled across this video clip just over a month ago. Forrestal would be in office for another seven weeks. How many of these Boy Scouts are still alive?

Boy Scouts visit the Pentagon building and meet U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal during Boy Scout Week 1949.

Location: Arlington Virginia USA
Date: 1949, February 9
Duration: 1 min 4 sec
Sound: NO SOUND
Clip: 65675075800
Eagle Scouts from the 12 regions of the Boy Scouts of America visit the Pentagon building in Arlington Virginia during Boy Scout Week 1949 (celebrating the 39th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America). The group of Boy Scouts on the steps of the Pentagon building. The Boy Scouts look around at the building and surroundings. The scouts walk up the stairs and enter the Pentagon building. U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal seated in his office. The Defense Secretary meets with the scouts and talks to them. He shakes hands with various Boy Scouts. The 12 scouts in the group are: Alan Fritts of Troop 11 in Mankato, Minnesota; Andrew L. Clement, senior patrol leader of Troop 2 in Raleigh, North Carolina; George Barron of Troop 17 in Franklin, Virginia; Daniel Abbott of Senior Outfit 16, in Newtonville, Massachusetts; James Roswurm of Troop 31 in Huron, Ohio; Charles S. Wilson of Troop 3, in Bristol Tennessee; H. Cumings Johnson of Senior Outfit 230 in Traverse City, Michigan; Joseph L. Cox of Troop 98 in Trenton, Missouri; Howard M. Williams of Explorer Post 345 in Houston, Texas; James C. Vincent of Sea Scout Ship 232 in Brookings, Oregon; James E. Gill of Air Scout Squadron 234 in Berkeley, California; L. Drury Cathers of Troop 22 in Gouverneur, New York.





Boy Scouts visit the Pentagon building and meet U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal during Boy Scout Week 1949.

[rsdsharp]

1. Forrestal is why we have the famous Iwo Jima photo.

Forrestal, as Secretary of the Navy, was present, on board ship, when the first flag went up. He wanted the flag, so he ordered it taken down, and brought to him. As a result, the flag was taken down, and a larger one put up in its place. It was the raising of the second flag that resulted in Joe Rosenthal’s iconic photo.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Thanks for the insight. I recall you added some thoughts to the "on this day" thread about the flag-raising.

I mean, last year's thread, not this year's. You can get to the old ones from here:

Fri Feb 23, 2024: On this day, February 23, 1945, the American flag was raised on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi -- several times.

If you don't have anything planned for the rest of the day, look into that Critical Past site. It's an easy rabbit hole to fall into.

Thanks again, and good morning.