"Franklin Roosevelt is the greatest soldier of the war, and he never hears a shot fired in anger."

David Rubenstein: "Who would you say is the person most responsible for the successful World War II victory of the allies? Would it be Winston Churchill, FDR, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, George Marshall, or just the average GI?"

Rick Atkinson: "Well, you know, there's 16.4 million Americans in uniform in a country of 130 million. The American army grows from 190,000 in 1938 to 8 million. I'll give it to the average GI sailor. Airman. Marine. Franklin Roosevelt is the greatest soldier of the war, and he never hears a shot fired in anger. He makes a lot of very difficult decisions. And he is the leader of the alliance. He's the one who's basically relying on George Marshall. He's making a lot of tough decisions, and he's making a lot of tough decisions against the advice of his senior commanders. Like the decision to go to Africa."

SUNDAYAmerica's Book Club with Rick Atkinson6pm ET on CSPAN

Download the FREE CSPAN Now App.

Discover the CSPAN Video Library at

Explore CSPAN's Free Educational Resources at

C-SPAN: Created by Cable in 1979. Offered as a public service.

Support CSPAN by Donating Today

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Subscribe:

CSPAN Podcasts

Newsletters

Visit the CSPAN Shop

#cspan