Franklin D. Roosevelt: Typed Letter Signed as President....

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Fascinating letter with World War II date, just a few weeks before D-Day, sent by FDR to Captain Frederick J. Bell, United States Navy, with original transmittal envelope from The White House. The letter, on The White House Washington stationery, is dated May 11, 1944. FDR writes: "My dear Bell,/ Thank you very much for the autographed copy of your book ‘Condition Red' which you so kindly sent to me by Captain Wood./ I think that it is a fine piece of work. You have a wealth of interesting material which you have presented in a well written, authentic style. I also like the map on the inside of the cover and the pictures at the end./ Wishing you the vest of luck in your literary, as well as your Naval career, I am/ Cordially yours,/ Franklin D. Roosevelt." Captain Bell was then serving in the Bureau of Naval Personnel in the Navy Department, Washington, D.C. The book to which FDR refers concerned Navy Destroyer actions in the South Pacific during World War II. Frederick Jackson Bell (1903-1994), a decorated Navy Admiral who wrote several books about the United States Navy, represented an automobile industry group and eventually became an Episcopal minister, died in 1994 at the age of 91 at the Veterans' Administration Medical Center in Miami, Florida. Admiral Bell (who was a Captain in the Navy at the time FDR sent him this letter) wrote about the Navy throughout his career, which began with his graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1924, and included command of a cruiser that rescued downed aircrews in South Pacific during World War II. His well-received Room to Swing a Cat (1938) told salty tales of the Navy of yore, of battles between frigates and the lot of ancient sailors. It was illustrated by his first wife, Pauline Gidden Bell.  Bell's Condition Red: Destroyer in the South Pacific (1944), which is reviewed by FDR in this letter, chronicled the exploits of the destroyer Greyson, which he commanded when the Marine Corps landed at Guadalcanal the year before. Written with humor, it was praised in reviews (including this review by the President of the United States) and became a best seller.  Admiral Bell retired in 1948 as a Rear Admiral and Director of Enlisted Personnel and became a Vice President of a financial consulting firm in Manhattan. In 1953, he became the executive Vice President for the National Automobile Dealers Association and, as its principal spokesman, defended dealers' sales practices. Admiral Bell also organized a committee to counter false and misleading advertising by dealers. Bell began studying for the clergy in the late 1960s and was ordained an Episcopal minister in 1971 at age 68. He was associated with the National Cathedral for 10 years. He was buried with full military honors on Tuesday, November 8, 1994 in Section 2, Grave  4735-C, Arlington National Cemetery. A wonderful letter from Bell's Commander-in-Chief, as well as literary critic, Franklin Delano Roosevelt during World War II.