Chapter 18 Summary

Eleanor Roosevelt embarked on a long and dangerous trip to cheer soldiers in the South Pacific. The author implies that the real reason of her trip was that she missed her young friend, Joseph Lash, so much that she was determined to visit him in Guadalcanal. When Eleanor finally arrived in New Caledonia, military leaders considered her to be a nuisance. Admiral Halsey told her bluntly, that he could not spare a fighter escort to take her to Guadalcanal, even though she had permission from the President. She went on to New Zealand and Australia and pressed her case upon her return. She was able to meet up with Joseph Lash. She wrote him the next morning, "When the war is over, I hope I never have to be long away from you."

Her trip to the South Pacific was a huge success...