September 23
Portland, Oregon (Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation)

[The president views the launching of the cargo ship, the keel of which had been laid only ten days before. The President addressed the crowd afterwards.]

“I have been very much inspired by what I have seen and I wish that every man, woman and child in the United States could have been here today to see that launching and realize what it means in the winning of this war. You know I am not supposed to be here today (laughter) (the crowd really went wild), so you are possessors of a secret which even the newspapers of the United States don’t know, and I hope you will keep the secret because I am under military and naval orders, and like the ship that we have just seen go overboard, my motions and movements are supposed to be secret. I do not know whether they are or not. You are doing a wonderful piece of work for your country and for our civilization, and with the help of God we are going to see this thing through together.”

Front Seat: The President