(April 12, 1945 - A Nation went numb)
Lest we all forget. Sixty-five years ago, on April 12, 1945 the sudden death of President Roosevelt sent shock waves all over the world. With the end of the war in Europe just weeks away, and the Pacific only four months more, President Roosevelt's passing was all the more poignant that he would not be able to celebrate a hard fought victory - that would come to his vice-President, Harry S. Truman and all the awesome responsibilities he now had.
The radio was filled for days with tributes and news reports on reactions from the average person on the street to what the Armed forces felt about the new President.
Cecil Brown (Mutual News Commentator): “Tonight the grief of one widow in Washington is shared by people everywhere. When Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt was informed of the death of her husband, her first words were these: She said, ‘I am more sorry for the people of America and the world than I am for us’. Mrs. Roosevelt must’ve said that because she well knew what her husband represented to the world.”
But April 12, 1945 was a day of shock and sadness and the beginning of a new era.
