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World War II-dated TLS as president, one page, 7 x 8.75, White House letterhead, February 10, 1942. Letter to Rear Admiral C. C. Bloch, commandant of the Fourteenth Naval District stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in full: “The paper weight which you had made from an engine part of a Japanese plane shot down during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, has arrived and is now on my desk. Your kindness in remembering my birthday is deeply appreciated.” In his own hand, Roosevelt adds Bloch’s first name, “Claude,” to the salutation. In fine condition, with two file holes to the top edge.
Eleven days prior, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had celebrated his 60th birthday, roughly two months after the devastating Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The following day, December 8th, Roosevelt delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress at the United States Capitol. The oration, one of the most famous in American political history, famously began with the words, ‘Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy…’ Thirty-three minutes after he finished speaking, Congress declared war against Japan and the U.S. officially entered WWII on the side of the Allies.
Claude C. Bloch (1878-1967) served as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Fleet from 1938 to January 6, 1940. Following this assignment, he reverted to his permanent grade, rear admiral, and commanded the Fourteenth Naval District at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. Shortly before the attack, he and Admiral Husband E. Kimmel discussed the possible sighting and sinking of a submarine by the USS Ward. The two ordered that another ship be sent to investigate. Bloch was cleared of any responsibility for the unpreparedness of the U.S. forces during the attack, which was ultimately blamed on Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and General Walter Short; Bloch remained as commandant until April 1942. He later served on the General Board of the Navy from 1942, retiring from the Navy that year with the rank of admiral. Bloch was the highest-ranking Jewish officer in the armed forces until well after World War II.
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