Nov.13, 1948 - President Truman Sails the Williamsburg to the Dry Tortugas - a podcast by 43 Keys Media

November 13, 1948

    On March 19th, 1930 - A steel-hulled diesel powered yacht began construction at the Bath Iron Works. The yacht was finished and launched on Dec, 8, 1930 and delivered to its owner, wood-pulp magnate Hugh J. Chisholm. The yacht was names Aras and it was more than 243 feet long, it had a 36 foot beam, a draft of 14 feet, and displaced 1805 tons fully loaded. She had 2 Winston diesel engines that generated 1100 hp with a top speed of 13.5 knots.    Eleven years later on April 24, 1941, the US Navy acquired the Aras. She was re-named Williamsburg and thus the former pleasure craft was destined for military service as a gun boat.   The Williamburg was christened on Oct. 7, 1941 and began her service as a Naval gunboat. Williamsburg served many special missions for the military. She served as a command base for several Naval commanders and at one point even carried a delivery of 28 sealed boxes of gold bullion - valued at $1.5 million dollars to Washington from Iceland.    Just as the Williamsburg was slated for conversion to an amphibious force flagship for the Pacific, the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hastening the end of the war, and cancelling the slated conversion of the Williamsburg.   Instead, Williamsburg gained new employment as the presidential yacht, to replace the USS Potomac. In the following years, Williamsburg served two presidents - Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Truman made use of the yacht to conduct presidential tours to Florida, Bermuda, Cuba and the Virgin Islands. However, Dwight D. Eisenhower made only one cruise in the yacht, and shortly thereafter he ordered the yacht to be de-commissioned.   It was on this very yacht that today, November 13th, 1948, President Harry Truman, his wife and his daughter sailed the Williamsburg from Key West to the Dry Tortugas for the day.    The ship departed from Key West at 7:07am and just outside Key West Harbor, the Williamsburg was joined by the destroyer NOA, which acted as an escort for the passage to and from the Dry Tortugas.    The Presidential party lounged on the main aft deck for the majority of the trip, and had a noon lunch buffet on the aft deck for the entire party.    At 12:50pm, the Williamsburg dropped anchor off the Dry Tortugas and at 1:00pm, most of the party boarded a motor boat that had been sent out to Key West to ferry the party to and from the Williamsburg. A few of the party members stayed on the Williamsburg for the day to get in some fishing.    The rest of the party did a full tour of Fort Jefferson on Garden Key. At 2pm, the party that has visited Fort Jefferson returned to the Williamsburg and at 2:05pm, the Williamsburg and NOA got underway for the return trip to Key West.    The Williamsburg arrived back at Key West at 7:30pm and moored at the Naval Airstation. The Presidential Party left Williamsburg at 7:35pm.   Later that evening, while working on his mail after dinner, President Truman wrote a letter to the Mayor of Key West, which read:   My Dear Mayor Adams,   Please accept from a grateful heart this assurance of my appreciation of the wonderful welcome accorded to me by yourself and the good people of Key West and community. It warmed my heart and will long be treasure among my happy Key West memories.   May I also express to you and through you to the citizens of Key West, my hearty appreciation of such a fine message of congratulations. I read your thoughtful expressions and want all of you to know how much they mean to me.   Very sincerely yours, Harry S. Truman

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