Death shocks Adm. McIntire
Physician planned weekend visit
By Ned Brooks, Scripps-Howard staff writer
WASHINGTON – Among all the White House attaches, the man most profoundly shocked by President Roosevelt’s death was Vice Adm. Ross T. McIntire, the Navy physician who had watched over the executive’s health for 12 years.
So confident was Adm. McIntire of the executive’s wellbeing that he did not consider it necessary to be at Mr. Roosevelt’s side at the Warm Springs “Little White House.” He had intended to join the presidential part, over the weekend, play golf and return Monday with the president.
‘No indication of trouble’
In recent months, while rumors about Mr. Roosevelt’s health were thick in Washington, Adm. McIntire had maintained steadfastly that there was no cause for concern. Today he reiterated this conviction:
“Everything I have ever said about the president’s health was factual. As late as yesterday morning, there was no indication of trouble. The president was carrying on routinely as he had always done at Warm Springs.”
Adm. McIntire said the “only complaint” he had found about Mr. Roosevelt’s condition was his loss of weight. This, he said, offered no warning of the cerebral attack which resulted in the president’s death.
Tells of phone call
A half-hour after the White House flag had been lowered to half-staff, Adm. McIntire received newsmen in Secretary Stephen T. Early’s office. Grief and remorse were evident beneath his composure.
He told his story simply – how a telephone call at 3:05 p.m. had brought the news of Mr. Roosevelt’s fainting, how he had sent Dr. James Paullin of Atlanta hurrying to the president’s bedside, how a second conversation had been broken off suddenly and how, five minutes later, he got the final message: “The president has died; the end came very suddenly.”