May 22, 1949: The Death of James Forrestal

May 22, 1949: James Forrestal dies at Bethesda Naval Medical Center. He was only 57 years old, and the circumstances of his death are still debated.

James Vincent Forrestal was born on February 15, 1892 in Beacon, Dutchess County, New York. He attended Princeton University, but did not graduate. He became a Wall Street financier, and married Joseph Ogden. Both of them would be plagued by mental health issues.

He acted as a publicist for the Dutchess County Democratic Party, putting him in position to meet President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1940, FDR appointed him to a position that he, himself -- and also his distant cousin, President Theodore Roosevelt -- had previously held: Undersecretary of the Navy. In 1944, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox died, and Forrestal rose to his position.

Following the victory in World War II, the new President, Harry Truman, reorganized the country's national security apparatus. The National Security Act of 1947 created the Department of Defense, and Forrestal was appointed the 1st Secretary of Defense.

But he clashed with Truman on several issues: While Forrestal was happy to assist with the desegregation of the armed forces, he wanted to streamline them, cutting out several weapons systems, while, at the same time, wanting a tougher tone with the Soviet Union. He also opposed Truman's recognition of the independence of Israel, for fear that it would anger the Arab nations selling America their oil. (Truman knew that it would, but knew it was the right thing to do, anyway.)

Shortly before the 1948 Presidential election, he met with the Republican nominee for President, Governor Thomas Dewey of New York, who assured Forrestal that he would remain at his post in the new Administration. Washington Post columnist Drew Pearson heard about this, and published it in his "Washington Merry-Go-Round" column. Truman hit the roof. He also hit the campaign trail, and won the election. On March 28, 1949, 2 months into what amounted to his 2nd term, he asked for, and received, Forrestal's resignation.

Shortly thereafter, Forrestal was diagnosed with "severe depression, of the type seen in operational fatigue during the war." He checked into the National Naval Medical Center in suburban Bethesda, Maryland (now part of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center), with his room on the 16th floor of the 20-story tower.

He seemed to be on the road to recovery, having regained 12 pounds since his admission into the hospital. However, in the early morning hours of May 22, his body, wearing only in the bottom half his pajamas, was found on a 3rd-floor roof below the 16th-floor kitchen across the hall from his room. By his beside was a piece of paper on which he had written words from a recent translation of the ancient Greek play Ajax by Sophocles, and this was considered to be a suicide note.

He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and an aircraft carrier was named USS Forrestal in his memory, in service from 1955 to 1993.

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May 22, 1949 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Giants split a doubleheader with the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The Cardinals won the opener, 3-2. The Giants won the nightcap, 13-4. Over the 2 games, Stan Musial went 3-for-8 with a home run, a walk and 3 RBIs.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers also split a doubleheader, with the Cincinnati Reds, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The Dodgers won the 1st game, 3-0. Don Newcombe pitched a 5-hit shutout. The Reds won the 2nd game, 2-0. Ken Raffensberger allowed just 3 baserunners: a single by Gil Hodges, and walks by Hodges and Mike McCormick. But Dodger pitcher Joe Hatten allowed only 4, a double and 3 singles. Over the 2 games, Jackie Robinson went 2-for-6 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ted Williams went 1-for-5 with a walk. Mel Parnell not only pitched all 12 innings for the win, but singled home the winning run.

* A Philadelphia Athletics swept a doubleheader from the Cleveland Indians, 5-4 and 7-3 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. In the 1st game, the A's knocked Gene Bearden out of the box in the 1st inning, and Satchel Paige pitched 6 2/3rd innings of relief, but still got the loss.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Washington Senators, 6-4 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Danny Murtaugh, later to manage the Pirates to win 2 World Series, hit a home run. So did Ralph Kiner.

* The Boston Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* And the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Browns were rained out at Yankee Stadium. It was made up on an off-day, 2 days later. The Yankees won, 13-3, scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning. Bobby Brown and Yogi Berra hit home runs. Yogi had 4 RBIs, while Bobby and Phil Rizzuto, who had 3 hits, each had 3 RBIs. Vic Raschi started and won. Joe DiMaggio was injured, and did not play.