Independence Day at Dodona Manor: The Four Freedoms

During Independence Day reflections at Dodona Manor on Saturday, George C. Marshall International Center board member Tom Greenspon took visitors back to 1941 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt outlined four freedoms that would become foundational post-war international principles.

In January 1941, Marshall’s wife, Katherine, was establishing the recently acquired Leesburg property as a weekend respite for the Army chief of staff. 

“She imagined they might come out here for weekends and it might become their permanent home after his tour of duty as the chief of staff ended. Even in the January cold, she was imagining summer flowers and what this place might look like today,” Greenspon said.