Melinda Dart
Untold Stories of a Filipino Navy Steward and His Comrades as They Served Presidents Hoover, FDR, Truman & Eisenhower
This session will capture the amazing experiences of Irineo Esperancilla, a Filipino American who personally served the presidents behind the scenes in the White House, aboard presidential yachts (including the USS Williamsburg), as well as presidential retreats like Shangri-La/Camp David. From FDR’s secret signals, to Truman’s battle of the watermelon seeds, this session will reveal a glimpse of four presidents and their families that was not recorded in the history books!
Melinda M. Dart has been a military spouse for over twenty years, just like her grandmother and mother. She served a tour of duty in the Army, and is now an educator who currently works in adult education, with the mission to be a voice for those people serving in a country that is not their first home. She continues to research and write about her family’s history, specifically the Filipinos who served in the US Navy. Melinda’s recently published book is titled, A Glimpse of Greatness, the Memoir of Irineo Esperancilla. It is the remarkable account of a US Navy steward who personally served Presidents Hoover through Eisenhower.