On Valentine's Day, February 14, 1964, Elvis presented actor/comedian Danny
Thomas, founder of Memphis, Tennessee's St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
with a very large Valentine. It came in the form of a yacht, the U.S.S. Potomac,
also known as the "floating White House, " as it was once used by former
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was given with the hope that the
hospital, which cares for children with ctastrophic diseases, could use it in
some way to raise much-needed funds.
The Potomac was built in 1934 as the Coast Guard cutter Electra. It weighs 376
tons, is 165 feet long and has a cruising speed of 10 - 13 knots. In 1936,
Roosevelt had it converted to the Presidential yacht, renaming it and
re-commissioning it as part of the U.S. Navy. FDR disliked flying, preferring
instead to travel by train or ship. He enjoyed the privacy and seclusion of
conducting government business aboard the yacht. During World War II, the
Potomac was the means used to take FDR to a top-secret meeting With Winston
Churchill.
After Roosevelt's death in 1945, the Potomac changed ownership and eventually
became a tourist attraction in Long Beach, California. In 1964, its then-owners
put it up for auction. Elvis Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker, on the
superstar's behalf, made the winning bid of $55,000 on January 30, 1964. The
original purpose was to give it to one of Elvis's favorite charities, the March
of Dimes, with the thought that they possibly could turn it into an FDR museum
to operate as a fund-raiser. However, they declined the gift because they felt
they could not afford to maintain it. The Miami Coast Guard also turned it down.
The press began to ridicule the Potomac as a "white elephant" until Danny Thomas
and St. Jude said they would gratefully accept the gift, which Elvis offered
them to do with as they pleased to raise money for the hospital. The Colonel
quickly arranged a press conference in Long Beach, California, where the ship
was still located, and, overnight, had the side of the ship facing the shore
freshly painted so it would look good for the presentation.
During the presentation press conference, Danny Thomas admired the beauty and
history of the ship and thanked Elvis on behalf of the children it would help.
He also noted that St. Jude Children's Research Hospital had been built near
where Elvis once lived on Alabama Street in Memphis. The hospital sold the
Potomac and it began another phase of its colorful history.
By 1980, it was seized by U.S. Customs in San Francisco for its role in a drug
smuggling plot. It then sank near Treasure Island, California. The Navy
re-floated it and sold it to the Port of Oakland, California for $15,000. The
Port of Oakland and a group of volunteers completed a $5 million restoration.
Today, it is a National Historic Landmark, operated by the Association for the
Preservation of the Presidential Yacht Potomac as a museum in tribute to FDR
(ironically and appropriately very much in line with Elvis' original vision when
he first purchased the vessel and offered it to the March of Dimes). It can be
visited in Oakland, California's Jack London Square.
Web site link:
//usspotomac.org/index.html
The March of Dimes and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital were two of many
charities Elvis supported through the years with annual donation checks.