Radio Coverage of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Funeral (April 14, 1945)
Added to the National Registry: 2014
Essay by Christopher H. Sterling (guest post)*

After years of wartime news events providing interruptions to scheduled programs, Americans were almost used to the repeated occurrence. But few expected the shocking news reporting the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in April 1945.

FDR’s Death: On Thursday evening, March 29, 1945, FDR had escaped the pressures of Washington, DC, heading south by train to the slower and calmer tempo of his “Little White House” in Warm Springs, Georgia. There, surrounded by a small group of family members and long-term friends, he sought to rebuild his energy for a planned appearance at the San Francisco conference that would found the United Nations.

It was not to be. After about a week of relaxing, including short motor trips nearby, FDR sat for sessions with a portrait painter. Then, just before lunch on Thursday, April 12th, he suffered a fatal stroke, dying a few hours later, at age 63. The first radio news flashes went out that afternoon. The next day, a slow procession by train bore the president’s body back north, first to Washington and then to his funeral at home in Hyde Park, NY. Radio reported its sad way.

Godfrey’s Role: FDR would be in Washington only briefly--about five hours laying in state in the White House’s East Room. What is remembered as his “funeral” was the brief procession from Washington’s Union Station to the White House and his brief laying in state.

Arthur Godfrey (1903-1983) was already a 15-year local radio veteran when, based on his role as the network’s morning man in the nation’s capital, he was added to CBS Radio's team of journalists covering the FDR procession taking place on Saturday, April 14th. Positioned near the White House, overlooking the procession’s route, Godfrey gave a detailed and emotionallywrought description, including of the caisson carrying the President's body. He was providing what in sports events today is often termed “color,” describing for those unable to see them, the people in the procession as well as those watching it go by, the overall scene, and some of the events of FDR’s brief, final stopover in Washington.

But the strain of appearing comfortable in his role was evident. “God give me strength to do this,” he was overheard to say off air. As President Truman’s car drove into sight toward the end of the procession, Godfrey finally choked and then broke down on the air, quickly returning listeners to the studio. His reaction was surely an emotional evocation of what many radio listeners shared.

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The WallBreakers

Arthur Godfrey Reports from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Funeral—April 14, 1945

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Tue Apr 14, 2020: April 14, 1945: Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral procession on the streets of Washington, DC

Low-power FM station WERA, in Arlington, Virginia, ran a show yesterday afternoon about the death of President Roosevelt. It consisted of radio broadcasts from the days following his death.

https://www.facebook.com/939941119429678/photos/a.942268432530280/2843874072369697/

Local radio personality Arthur Godfrey was covering the funeral from his vantage point on top of the Riggs Bank building at the northwest corner of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. He had been sent there by WJSV, which became today's WTOP. He was quite knowledgeable and detailed in his narrative. I urge you to give the podcast a listen.

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