A BET ON THE BRITISH
When General Raymond E. Lee, the former U.S. military attaché in wartime London, died in 1958 at age 72, his obituary in the New York Times pointed out that no one “was ever more popular in that post both with the American residents in the British capital and with British Government officials.” The reason: throughout the Blitz—the German bombing campaign in 1940 and 1941—“he retained absolute faith that the Royal Air Force would be successful in the defense of the British Isles.”
The dapper attaché, who wore Savile Row suits and sported a jaunty straw hat instead of the more typical bowler, not only sounded convinced of his belief in victory but also sought to imbue that faith in others. At a time when the United States was still officially on the sidelines, Lee was increasingly irritated by the alarming reports filed by American journalists based in London, which he feared would undercut support for Britain. After the Luftwaffe pounded London for 57 straight nights, James Reston of the New York Times admitted that he and his colleagues “wrote some end-of-the-world stuff about all this.”
Lee decided to intervene directly, inviting the American correspondents to his office, where there was a pile of dictionaries on his desk. Noting that their dispatches frequently described London as “devastated,” he read them the definition of the word. Lee then asked them to look out the window, observing that the scene did not match that definition. “London is not devastated, gentlemen, and if you want one soldier’s opinion, it will not be devastated,” he said.
As well-known as he was to other Americans in London and top British officials at the time, Lee is largely forgotten today. He is overshadowed by the towering figures of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and a host of their more prominent aides. But Lee played a critical behind-the-scenes role in cementing the ties between their countries at the
