April 20, 2026

The World of Churchill Collectables

by Brian Krapf

This custom-framed presentation certificate was a very special memento given only to the crewmen of the USS Quincy, to commemorate transporting President Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in February 1945. Quincy’s sailors were witnesses to an historical world event and were also entrusted with transporting the President during wartime. At Yalta, the Big Three met to discuss their vision for post-war Europe and the formation of the United Nations. During his voyage aboard Quincy, the President met three times with Prime Minister Churchill- before Yalta at Malta, during Yalta, and after Yalta in Alexandria. These were the last times the President and Prime Minister met, as well as FDR’s last diplomatic trip. The President passed away only a few months later.

The Yalta (Crimea) Conference was held 4–11 February 1945 and was the second of the three major wartime meetings of the Big Three allied nations. However, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill met prior to the conference in Malta, 30 January-3 February, to plan their strategy to deal with Marshal Stalin. The Prime Minister was aboard Quincy on February 2 for a luncheon and a meeting with FDR and the Combined Chiefs of Staff. By the time of the Yalta Conference, the allied leaders knew the war in Europe would soon be over. The Big Three met to discuss a postwar European peace framework, the Soviets’ involvement in the Pacific Theatre and the formation of the United Nations.

Following Yalta, FDR hosted several regional diplomatic meetings aboard Quincy. The President and his party returned to Quincy on 12 February, following the Yalta Conference, and the next day received King Farouk of Egypt and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia.
On 14 February, President Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, known in the West as Ibn Saud, met aboard Quincy. During the meeting, President Roosevelt tried to persuade Ibn Saud to give support for Jewish immigration to Palestine. President Roosevelt and Ibn Saud also entered a secret agreement in which the U.S. would provide Saudi Arabia with military assistance and training, and a military base at Dhahran. In return, the United States was pledged secure access to critical supplies of oil.

Ibn Saud suffered a medical condition that caused pain in his legs and feet and often created mobility issues that required a wheelchair. While onboard Quincy, he admired President Roosevelt’s custom-made wheelchair. FDR had brought two on the trip and gifted the one he wasn’t using to the king. Whenever the king entertained close friends at his Riyadh palace, he showed them his gifted wheelchair and once proclaimed, “This chair is my most precious possession. It is the gift of my great and good friend, President Roosevelt, on whom Allah has had mercy.” In reality, the king was physically larger than FDR and couldn’t use the wheelchair. However, Mrs. Roosevelt had a larger one built and shipped over.

Prime Minister Churchill again boarded Quincy on 15 February in Alexandria, Egypt. The Prime Minister and President met for three and a half hours to discuss Yalta and the agreements and progress made there.

After a diplomatic stop in Algiers for FDR to meet with Mediterranean allies who assisted in Operation Torch, the 1942 invasion of North Africa, Quincy sailed for home. The ship arrived in Newport News, Virginia on 20 February. FDR passed away only a few months later, on 12 April 1945. The sailors of the USS Quincy were privileged to accompany President Roosevelt on this very important journey and to witness two of the world’s greatest statesmen shape the post-war world.