Elliott Roosevelt Passes Away

Today in Masonic History Elliott Roosevelt passes away in 1990.

Elliott Roosevelt was an American Army officer, businessman and politician.

Roosevelt was born on September 23rd, 1910. He attended Hun School of Princeton. Later, like his brothers, he attend the Groton School, a college preparatory school. He refused to attend Harvard University and instead entered the job market. Eventually he settled in media and worked for the Hearst radio chain.

Roosevelt had dreams of becoming a pilot. Unfortunately vision problems excluded him from being a pilot. He instead went to work for Gilpin Airways a company owned by a family friend, Isabella Greenway. Greenway is most notable as the first female congresswoman from Arizona.

Like his brother James, Elliott found trouble throughout most of his life. This began in 1935 during the Air Mail Scandal. Elliott and other heads of airlines were accused of colluding to divide the Air Mail routes. This became the first of his issues.

In 1940, on Roosevelt's 30th birthday, he was given a commission in the United States Army Air Corps. The appointment occurred during the 1940 Presidential campaign and there were cries of nepotism. General "Hap" Arnold dismissed those claims stating Elliott Roosevelt earned the placement and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) had nothing to do with the appointment.

In the beginning of World War II, Roosevelt accompanied his father on many missions and conferences around the World. Prior to the Tehran conference, Elliott gained the favor, very briefly, of Winston Churchill when Elliott encouraged the use of bases in Africa, a step FDR was not ready to take. Elliott quickly fell out of favor though with Churchill in Tehran. At the Tehran conference, Stalin stated after the war he was going to execute fifty thousand officers and technicians to permanently incapacitate Germany. Elliott spoke out in favor of the plan, gaining the cheers of Stalin. Churchill responded by saying he'd rather be marched out into the garden right then and shot rather than see the plan used. Churchill remained hostile for some time to come.

Roosevelt became attached to a bomber wing and flew various reconnaissance flights in southern Europe and Africa. The claims he made though after the war regarding his record could not be verified and it is believed, and in some cases to be confirmed, much of his combat record was inaccurate.

In 1943, Arnold sent Roosevelt back to the United States on a fact finding mission regarding aircraft. Roosevelt and several others needed to evaluate various aircraft and make recommendations to Arnold. This became the second big scandal of Roosevelt's life. An employee of Hughes Aircraft, met Roosevelt and his team in Los Angeles. The men were taken around town in limousines. Eventually the team went to New York where the same Hughes Aircraft employee again took them around to parties and provided the men with escorts. In 1947, a Senate hearing determined the facts of the Warplane purchasing scandal.

After his Army service, Roosevelt was involved in a variety of careers. In 1965, Roosevelt was elected as Mayor of Miami Beach, Florida.

Roosevelt passed away on October 27th, 1990 due to congestive heart failure.

Roosevelt was a member of Architect's Lodge No. 519 in New York City, New York.

This article provided by Brother Eric C. Steele.