December 24, 1941

I received word this morning that Churchill was anxious for a talk with me on the subject of the Philippines, so I spent the first part [Page 82]of the morning preparing for that besides attending to my other administrative work, I then went over to the White House with General Eisenhower of the War Plans Division to back me up in case I was asked questions that I couldn’t answer, and had a talk with Churchill upstairs in the main White House. He had fixed up a map room in a room near his bedroom and our talk took place in that. He was still in deshabille, wearing a sort of zipper pajama suit and slippers. I had brought maps of the Philippines and explained the location of the different troops on both sides, the course of the campaign, and its probable outcome in a retreat on Corregidor. Eisenhower then retired and I had a further talk with him about other matters in the various parts of the terrain. He explained to me particularly his views on the West African problem.