WWII Author Describes US-British Relations

“The relationship between Britain and the America that began in World War II may seem pre-ordained, but it was far from certain until Pearl Harbor. The relationship was very fragile, and it was not an easy task to make it work,” according to Lynne Olson, author of "Citizens of London," said March 23.

Olson’s book tells the story of the Americans who were instrumental in forging this relationship, concentrating on Edward R. Murrow, Averell Harriman, and John Gilbert Winant. Winant was the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain who, Olsen said, was known and revered by virtually all the people of Great Britain.

Olson said that before Pearl Harbor, there was a debate in America about whether it was worth trying to save Britain. American aid was slim, American industry did not want to move to war production, and there was a strong isolationist attitude in Congress. She credits Murrow, Harriman, and Winant with smoothing the relationship between Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt.

The book has a large cast of characters who helped make the relationship between the two countries work. Among them are Gen. Eisenhower, Tommy Hitchcock. and the city of London. Hitchcock was the main force in getting the P-51 fighter into the air. Olson said London is the city that never gave up.

Olson explained how she arrived at the book's title: When Eric Sevareid was leaving London in 1940, she said, his last broadcast closed with “In years to come, men will speak of this war and say, ‘I was a soldier’ or ‘I was a sailor’ or ‘I was a pilot.’ Others will say with equal pride, ‘I was a citizen of London.’ ”