freedoms we cherish. as he put it in his christmas message to servicemen around the world this christmas, the world is brightened when the hope of peace comes, when hope turns to substance, and the guns are quiet once again. it will come because you have pursued it with your courage and your skill. that was christmas 1968. the end of a difficult year for everyone. at the white house, the flip side of holiday joy will always be the weight of the office for the president and the first family. during the presidency and beyond. every day that we had in the white house was an extraordinary gift to our lives. but never more so than at christmas when we outwardly
univeral themes of the time. war, national security, peace, and prosperity, but occasionally it s the way the message is delivered that makes news. when the weight of 8800 pounds, it s the biggest satellite, more than rush s sputnik 3. but as to the awesome accuracy of its guidance system, all else is overshadowed by the amazing communications system it carries aloft. the atlas can receive messages from earth, record them from a command signal on the ground. says the president, my voice is coming to you circling from out of space. ike s granddaughter susan eisenhower gave us some first family insight on this remarkable moment. the backstory s fascinating because the pentagon was going
holiday, he had four sons in military service. first lady eleanor roosevelt said, i hope next year we ll all be home. but even at that time, roosevelt was secretly very ill and died a few months after the holiday. harry truman suddenly became president after fdr died in april of 1945 and he had to deal with ending world war ii around the globe, many problems in the aftermath of war, and at the same time, a crisis in his marriage. bess truman had been accustomed to being very much involved in what her husband was doing as a senator from missouri, but the second he became president, he had to read up on what a president should do and look at intelligence documents to the point that he felt that he didn t have very much time to explain to his wife what he was doing, and she was so furious at christmastime after months of
dangers which beset us and make for the children an evening of happiness in a world of storm. president roosevelt s last christmas as commander in chief came in 1944. he had just been re-elected to a fourth term, and with the war ending, he spoke on radio from his house at hyde park, new york. it is not easy to say merry christmas to you, my fellow americans, in this time of destrictive war, nor can i say merry christmas lightly tonight to our armed forces at their battle stations all over the world or to our allies who fight by our side. roosevelt felt the presidential waves and personal sacrifice of war. as the family gathered for the
officially begins. hello. you guys look great. mrs. clinton. nice to see you. nice to see you too. hi, mr. president. you re seeing the house for the holidays before anybody else has seen it because we just finished it about 2:00 this afternoon i think the final touches were put on, so we re delighted you can be here. it s a very glam look this year, very gold, very sill version very glam, don t you think? we wanted to do a winter wonderland. and when you think of winter, you think of silver and white and crystal, and there s so much gold in the house already, a little gold to tie it all together. we had the best help. the white house staff is beyond description. they re so wonderful. are you all looking forward to the holidays? very much. chelsea will be home pretty soorngs and we always love it. do you all have any plans for the holidays? our idea for the big holidays is go nowhere and do nothing.