Foskett, James H. Papers

Dates: 1919-1959

Naval Aide to President Truman, 1946-1948

The papers of James H. Foskett include correspondence, printed materials, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs, handwritten notes, speeches, and other materials related to Foskett's military career, personal life, and duties as Naval Aide to President Harry S. Truman.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 1 linear foot, 4 linear inches (about 1,800 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor gave to the U.S. government her copyrights in this material and in any other material received by the U.S. government and maintained at the Harry S. Truman Library. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Willie L. Harriford, Jr. (1962); Jan Davis and David Clark (2016); Alec Graham (2016).
Updated by: Alec Graham (2016) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.


[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1898 (August 19)

 

Born James Hicks Foskett, Wollaston, Massachusetts

1917-1918

 

Attended University of Michigan

1918

 

Enlisted in the U.S. Navy

1925

 

Promoted to Lieutenant

1927-1929

 

Post graduate work at U.S. Naval Academy

1928 (June 9)

 

Married Florence Paul Kane

1934

 

Promoted to Lieutenant Commander

1939

 

Promoted to Commander

1942

 

Promoted to Captain

1942-1943

 

Head of Joint Intelligence Committee in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations

1943-1944

 

Naval Liaison Officer on Staff of Commander in Chief, Levant Fleet

1944-1945

 

Commander of U.S.S. Savannah

1945

 

Commander of U.S.S. Augusta

1945-1946

 

Chief of Staff to the Commander, Nineteenth Fleet

1946-1948

 

Naval Aide to the President

1946

 

Promoted to Rear Admiral

1948-1949

 

Commander, Cruiser Division 12

1949-1952

 

Director, Standing Group, Military Committee of NATO

1952-1954

 

Chief, Military Assistance Advisory Group to Norway

1954

 

Retired from the U.S. Navy with the rank of Vice Admiral

1961 (May 22)

 

Died, North Kingstown, Rhode Island

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of James H. Foskett include correspondence, printed materials, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs, handwritten notes, speeches, and other materials related to Foskett's military career, personal life, and duties as Naval Aide to President Harry S. Truman. The collection is arranged in one series, a Subject File.

The Subject File contains correspondence between Foskett and others, including his wife, naval officers, President Truman, White House staff members, and foreign dignitaries from Argentina, Greece, and South Africa. There is significant correspondence with President Truman, and more between Foskett and other White House staff members about issues concerning the President. In addition to correspondence, the Subject File also contains clippings from newspapers, mostly describing Foskett's trips visiting nations such as Argentina and South Africa, as well as the President's trip to the Potsdam Conference. Some biographical information concerning Foskett can be found in these clippings, and in other printed materials. The printed materials also include information on the Yalta Conference and the President's trip to Rio de Janeiro.

There are many military-related documents in this collection, including the diary and reports of the U.S.S. Huntington between September 1947 and December of 1948. These reports and the diary contain information on goodwill trips to South Africa and throughout the Mediterranean Sea. The Subject File contains military orders dating from 1919 to Foskett's retirement in 1954. Foskett's personal diaries contain his daily notes and appointments from 1938 to 1954. The Subject File contains three scrapbooks made up primarily of more clippings. These scrapbooks cover the years from 1946-1948 when Foskett was serving as Naval Aide to President Truman. One scrapbook is devoted entirely to a visit by Rear Admiral Foskett to Argentina, where he met with President Juan Peron.

More information on the individuals who served as Naval Aide for President Truman can be found in the papers of Clark Clifford, the papers of Robert Dennison, and the Naval Aide to the President Files of the papers of Harry S. Truman.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Container Nos.

 

Series

1

  SUBJECT FILE, 1919-1959
Correspondence, printed materials, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs, handwritten notes, speeches, and other materials related to James H. Foskett's military career, personal life, and duties as Naval Aide to President Harry S. Truman. Arranged alphabetically by folder title and thereunder chronologically.
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

FOLDER TITLE LIST

SUBJECT FILE, 1919-1959

Box 1

  • Biographical Material
  • Books
  • Clippings
  • Correspondence
  • Diaries
  • Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas Trip
  • Identification Cards
  • Information for Aides at the White House

Box 2

  • King Paul of Greece
  • Memorabilia
  • Official Duty Orders
  • Photographs
  • Potsdam Conference
  • President's Vacation Cruise; August 16-September 2, 1946
  • Printed Materials
  • Reports on Cruise of the USS Huntington
  • Scrapbook, 1946, June-1947, July
  • Scrapbook, 1946, August-1948, November
  • Scrapbook, 1948, November 2-9
  • Speeches
  • Truman, Harry S.

Box 3

  • USS Huntington Diary
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]