William M . Rigdon Commander William M . Rigdon is most known for being the Assistant Naval Aide in the United States White House from 1942 to 1953 during the presidencies of Harry S . Truman and Franklin D . Roosevelt . Several of his works are in the Harry S . Truman Library & Museum . Life . Rigdon was born in Statesboro , Georgia in 1904 . He enlisted in the Navy in 1923 and eventually became a Commander under President Truman . He served as Assistant Naval Aide in the White House from 1942 to 1953 , but his most famous works were during the Truman Era . On August 1 , 1953 he retired from the Navy after 20 years of service . After the retiring from the Navy , Rigdon attended the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University from 1953 – 1954 and became the Executive Secretary of the Virginia Hotel Company in July 1954 . in 1964 , he published the " White House Sailor " , which was an account of his career during the Franklin and Truman Presidencies . It was co - written with James Derieux . The title is similar to that of Robert F . Cross ' s " Sailor in the White House " Truman Library Series . The William M . Rigdon Papers are kept in the Truman Library and document his service from 1945 to 1953 as Assistant Naval Aide to the President . The documents mainly consist of information about Harry S . Truman ' s official travel and vacations , and visits to the United States . by foreign Heads of State . The collection includes newspaper clippings , magazine articles , correspondence , charts , menus , price lists for food , and travel itineraries . Rigdon had been the Assistant Naval Aide under Franklin D . Roosevelt since 1942 , but the collection contains no documents dating from before 1945 . Commander Rigdon was in charge of arranging many of the details surrounding Truman ' s vacations , some official State visits , and some visits to the U . S . by foreign Heads of State . The Rigdon papers are diverse in content . The collection includes documents about the Potsdam Conference in July and August 1945 , and Truman ' s return to the United States on the USS Augusta when the first atomic bomb was dropped in Japan on August 6 , 1945 . President Truman made many recreational voyages aboard the Presidential yacht , the USS Williamsburg . The collection includes an array of price lists and menus for food served on Truman ' s voyages as well as handwritten mileage charts . Many of Truman ' s Whistlestop Campaign speeches from 1948 are in the collection , along with speeches supporting the Democratic Party during the 1952 election . Also included are handwritten notes , formal correspondence , meeting minutes , press releases , newspaper clippings , magazine articles , and maps . Photos are also included in the collection , but are cross referenced to the audiovisual collection . This collection reflects a more personal side of President Truman and his family . For instance , Margaret Truman wrote a short note which is included in the papers requesting which films she wanted her father to see while they were on vacation in Key West . Bess Truman discussed luncheon plans in another handwritten note . Yet another document lists the bets President Truman and many members of his Administration made on college football games one season . The collection also contains many subpoenas and trial proceedings from " The Royal High Court of the Raging Main " ( which were meant to be a joke ) from Truman ' s voyage on the in 1947 . Other materials at the Truman Library relating to William M . Rigdon and his duties as Assistant Naval Aide include oral history interviews with Commander William M . Rigdon and Donald J . MacDonald , the Leo W . Roberts Papers , the Robert Dennison Papers , and the President ' s Travel Logs , which were prepared by Rigdon . Other collections of Rigdon Papers are available at the Franklin D . Roosevelt Library and at Georgia Southern University .