George McKee Elsey (February 5, 1918 – December 30, 2015) was an American naval commander who was an advisor to Presidents

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. He also served as a speechwriter and political strategist for Truman during the 1948 election.

Life

Elsey was born in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...

and was raised in

Oakmont, Pennsylvania Oakmont is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is a Pittsburgh suburb and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 6,303 as of the 2010 Census. ...

. He studied history at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. A commander in the

U.S. Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

, he was a duty officer in the White House Map Room, 1941–46, accompanying Truman to the

Potsdam Conference The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris Pe ...

; Assistant to

Clark Clifford Clark McAdams Clifford (December 25, 1906October 10, 1998) was an American lawyer who served as an important political adviser to Democratic presidents Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy Carter. His official governme ...

, the Special Counsel to the President, 1947–49; Administrative Assistant to the President, 1949–51; and Assistant to the Director,

Mutual Security Agency The Mutual Security Agency (1951–1953) was a US agency to strengthen European allies of World War II through military assistance and economic recovery. History The Mutual Security Agency was established by the passing of the Mutual Security Ac ...

, 1951-53. Having served as Vice-President of the organization between 1958 and 1961, Elsey became President of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

in 1970, serving in that post until 1982. He died in

Tustin, California Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city is located next to the county seat, Santa Ana, and does not include the unincorporated community ...

on December 30, 2015. He provided an oral history to the Truman Presidential Library in July 1969. His participation in Truman's 1948 campaign was documented in ''

Race for the White House ''Race for the White House'' is an American political television show that discusses various presidential election campaigns throughout United States history. It premiered on March 6, 2016, on CNN. The series is narrated by Kevin Spacey, well know ...

'', which included interviews with Elsey. The episode aired a few months after Elsey died. George Elsey's papers are curated by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Hyde Park, New York.

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elsey, George 1918 births 2015 deaths People from Palo Alto, California People from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Harvard University alumni Princeton University alumni American Red Cross personnel United States presidential advisors Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel Truman administration personnel United States Navy officers Writers from California Writers from Pennsylvania American speechwriters United States Navy reservists