Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

U.S. Ties to Britain Strengthened 67
July the decision had been made to escort, 39 and on August 20,
U.S. ships actually began escorting American and British merchant
ships in the North Atlantic to and from Iceland. 40
Th e decision to escort was a policy decision, in line with
that of continuing to support Britain and to oppose Germany.
Historian Patrick Abbazia described it as
the logical conclusion of . . . the President’s previous policy,
his determination to prevent the Germans from winning the
Battle of the Atlantic. It had little to do, as is sometimes said,
with the need to safeguard precious Lend-Lease cargoes as
such. 41
Roosevelt Meets Churchill; They Discuss
Japan’s Threatening Encroachment
on British in Far East
In August 1941 it was announced that FDR was leaving
Washington on an extended fi shing expedition. He left aboard
the Coast Guard cutter Calypso and fi shed off the coast of
Massachusetts for a couple of days. Th en he quietly transferred to
the American cruiser Augusta, which sped north to Newfoundland.
Churchill, traveling from England aboard the British battleship
the Prince of Wales, also headed for Newfoundland. Th e two ships
rendezvoused in Placentia Bay, just off Argentia, Newfoundland.
Th ere, from August 9 to 12, the two heads of state met, talked,
and entertained one another in turn, each on his respective ship.
On August 11 Churchill wired London from Argentia an account
of his conversations with FDR. He reported to his secretary of state
39 Ibid., pp. 213–16.
40 Langer and Gleason, Th e Undeclared War, p. 665.
41 Abbazia, Mr. Roosevelt’s Navy, p. 216.