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FRANKLIN, Ind. — An Indiana journalism professor discovered what may be the first known video footage of President Franklin Roosevelt being pushed in a wheelchair.
Roosevelt contracted polio in 1921 when he was 39 years old, and the illness left him unable to walk without leg braces or other assistance. It's believed he disliked being photographed in a wheelchair because he didn't want to be viewed as weak, although that is subject to debate. He preferred to be photographed standing up with the use of a cane or leg braces during his public appearances.
The American public never knew the president had a disability while he was in office.
"I kept running it back and running it back. Wait a minute, I have something here that is pretty darn interesting," Franklin College journalism professor Ray Begovich told NBC affiliate WTHR.
Begovich stumbled on the clip while researching for a biography on Indiana native Elmer Davis.
Davis joined Roosevelt aboard the USS Baltimore docked at Pearl Harbor in 1944. Davis worked for FDR during the war.
In the film clip, the president is helped out a doorway and escorted by aides down a slight incline behind a railing aboard the USS Baltimore. The wheelchair is not visible. However, the footage clearly shows a right-side view of the president, from approximately the elbow up.
The professor never found Davis in any of the unedited footage from the U.S. Navy, but he did find the president, even though he wasn't supposed to.
"In 1944, it would have been wonderful for Hitler to be seen getting beaten by a man in a wheelchair," Begovich said.
The black and white video shows sailors blocking the president as he's being led down a ramp in his wheelchair.
"You can tell. The president is 6'2" tall and yet look how much lower he is. Watching it over and over again, I think he realized what he was shooting and panned down and stopped or someone stopped him," said Begovich.
The professor found the clip at the National Archives. A spokesperson said they aren't certain if this is the only video of the disabled president, but it may be the first.
In 1944, it would have been wonderful for Hitler to be seen getting beaten by a man in a wheelchair.
–Ray Begovich
"We can't see the wheelchair, but we can clearly see the motion. It's my belief that if this little snippet exists, there is probably a lot more," said Begovich.
In every other video clip, President Roosevelt is seated. His famous terrier, Fala, also makes a special cameo.
"I hope it reminds people this president fought a great depression and World War II from a wheelchair. I hope we can encourage people with disabilities to run for national office," said Begovich.
The professor gave a DVD copy of the unedited film to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in the president's hometown of Hyde Park in New York.
