| United States Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945), United States Army Air Force General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950), Chief of the Air Corps, and United States Army Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark (May 1, 1896 – April 17, 1984) at the Castelvetrano airport awaiting the arrival of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945). Roosevelt’s plane landed at the Allied operational airfield at Castelvetrano, Sicily, Italy at 1402 Hours. Roosevelt was greeted by Patton, Clark and Arnold. Roosevelt departed on a tour, via jeep, of the airfield. Several companies were drawn up for inspection by Roosevelt. This was followed by various other bestowings of honors given to and by Roosevelt, and by further inspections. Roosevelt was then photographed with the officers that he had decorated that day. Roosevelt and his party returned to his plane, which then departed Castelvetrano, Sicily, Italy for Tunis, Tunisia at 1535 Hours. Major Clarence John Boettiger (March 25, 1900 – October 31, 1950), his son-in-law, who had been traveling with the President, left the party here to return to his duty in Italy. United States Army Air Force General Carl A. “Tooey” Spaatz (June 28, 1891 – July 14, 1974) and General Walter Bedell “Beetle” Smith (October 5, 1895 – August 9, 1961) left the party here also. Major Doctor Edwin Russell “Eddie” Durno (January 26, 1899 – November 20, 1976) and Secret Service Agent James J. Rowley (October 14, 1908 – November 1, 1992), who had come to Sicily via another aircraft that morning, joined the party for the return flight to Tunis. General Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) remained and spent the entire day with Roosevelt. That month, Roosevelt decided that Eisenhower – not Chief of Staff George C. Marshall (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) – would be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. During this visit to Castelvetrano, a famous photograph was taken of Roosevelt sitting in a jeep with Eisenhower looking on. This would often be reproduced when discussing the relationship between Eisenhower and Roosevelt. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0631.jpg |
| Image Size | 676.34 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2924 x 2350 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 8, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Castelvetrano |
| State or Province | Sicily |
| Country | Italy |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NLR-PHOCO-A-482262 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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