Saturday, 16 January
During the morning, the President had a number of callers, and for the sake of brevity, they are indicated as follows:
| Called | Departed | |
|---|---|---|
| 9:55 | The Prime Minister | 11:25 |
| 10:45 | The Rt. Hon. H. Macmillan (British Resident in N. Africa) | 11:20 |
| 10:50 | Mr. Robert Murphy | 11:20 |
| 11:00 | Lt. General Eisenhower | 11:15 |
The President, Mr. Hopkins, Lt. Colonel Elliott Roosevelt, and Lt. Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. were joined at luncheon today by Captain George Durno, Air Transport Command, who for many years before entering the Army, had covered the White House for the International News Service. Following luncheon, Chief Photographer’s Mate, Black, took some moving pictures and a number of still photographs at the luncheon party.
From 5:00 until 7:00 p.m., the following listed persons conferred with the President:
- General George C. Marshall
- Admiral E. J. King
- Lt. General H. H. Arnold
- Lt. General B. B. Somervell
- Rear Admiral C. M. Cooke, Jr.
- Brigadier General A. W. Wedemeyer
- Brigadier General John R. Deane
- Mr. Averell Harriman
The evening dinner party was somewhat unusual. Five members of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs) had been invited to take dinner with the President, Mr. Hopkins, Lt. Col. Roosevelt, Lt. Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. and Captain George Durno of the Air Transport Command. Their names are listed below:
| Captain Louise Anderson | WAAC |
| Captain Ruth Briggs | WAAC |
| Captain Mattie Pinette | WAAC |
| Captain Martha Rogers | WAAC |
| Captain Alene Drezmal | WAAC |
At 11:00 p.m., upon invitation of the President, the Prime Minister, General Alexander, Mr. Harriman, and Commander Thompson joined what was now an after-dinner party, departing at two o’clock the following morning.
No doubt, it may be safely said that not even by the wildest stretch of the imagination, could any of these Service ladies have foreseen that one evening, in a country far from their native land, they would be dining with the President of the United States, and later would be joined by the Prime Minister of Great Britain.