At 17 years old, Joseph “Joe” Spotswood falsified his paperwork to join the Navy in 1944 as World War II was in full swing. He was aboard the USS Augusta during the Normandy invasion and took part in other battles during the war.
But that wasn’t the only fighting Spotswood did during his time in the military.
Spotswood had a passion for boxing, and as a brawler the sailor sometimes found himself squaring off against stronger and tougher opponents — and on at least one occasion, he did so in front of a sitting U.S. president on the deck of a Navy warship just as WWII drew to a close.
On Aug. 7, 1945, aboard the USS Augusta, a Northampton class cruiser, Spotswood participated in a Navy “smoker” in front of Truman, who was aboard the ship for his return from Europe, according to the sailor’s son, Chase Spotswood.
Photo courtesy of Chase Spotswood.
“He got to meet with Truman, shake his hand, and Truman grabbed a napkin and wrote on it, ‘Many thanks to Joe Spotswood for a wonderful fight,’ or something like that, and signed it President [Harry] Truman,” Chase Spotswood said of his father.
Smokers were boxing events held aboard Navy ships, whether in port or out at sea, according to Naval History and Heritage Command. The fights began as informal slugging bouts between sailors but, over time, became more prevalent, albeit not formally regulated.
Subscribe to Task & Purpose today. Get the latest military news and culture in your inbox daily.
Photo courtesy of Chase Spotswood.
The Navy said smokers were used as a way to boost morale, which is how Spotswood came to fight before Truman.
Spotswood’s smoker event occurred after the Potsdam Conference, where world leaders discussed terms for the end of World War II. As the summit concluded, Truman and other dignitaries boarded the USS Augusta for their return trip to the United States.
According to memos and newspaper clippings about Spotswood’s fight, which were provided to Task & Purpose by Chase Spotswood, it wasn’t just boxing that provided entertainment to the 33rd president of the United States but included a Navy band. However, for the main event, four weight-class boxing matches served as “prize fights” for the evening.
Image courtesy of Chase Spotswood.
Spotswood squared off against an opponent with the last name of Coulson. Task & Purpose was unable to confirm the complete identity of the other service members involved. Spotswood had told his son he was not favored going into the fight.
“The guy was bigger than him, had more reach, but dad outdanced him, running around the ring, and ended up knocking him out,” Chase Spotswood said. “He was very proud of the fact that he won that match. I think he probably surprised even Truman.”
Maybe even more surprising, according to Chase Spotswood, was that the boxing exposition abruptly ended after the ring collapsed during the last fight.
Though boxing matches aboard ships are rare today, Spotswood’s fight back in 1945 offered something he and his fellow sailors desperately needed.
“The smoker events, they were stress relievers,” Chase Spotswood said. “I’m sure there were some hooch or something made on board and passed around — it was like the holiday on the ship.”
Photo courtesy of Chase Spotswood.
Spotswood was aboard the USS Augusta at the start of America’s involvement in World War II, when Operation Overlord began in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944. He was aboard the same ship when the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on Aug. 6, 1945.
“They were on the ship and were the first people to know that the atom bomb had been dropped because Truman was on board when it was dropped,” Chase Spotswood said. “He announced [it to] the men on the ship. So, I guess that’s his part of history.”
Spotswood’s time aboard the Augusta is something he held dear long after he hung up his uniform and joined the civilian workforce following the end of WWII on Sept. 2, 1945. He was a Honda motorcycle dealer for years and had a common intro sales pitch for potential customers, recalled Chase Spotswood:
“He used to greet people on the showroom floor and say, ‘Shake the hand that shook the hand that shook the world.’”