Between 1943 and 1945 Arnold experienced four heart attacks severe enough to require hospitalization . In addition to being by nature intensely impatient , Arnold considered that his personal presence was required wherever a crisis might be , and as a result he traveled extensively and for long hours under great stress during the war , aggravating what may have been a pre-existing coronary condition . His extended trips and inspection tours were to the United Kingdom in April 1941 and again in May 1942 ; the South Pacific in September 1942 , North Africa and China in January – February 1943 ; the Middle East and Italy ( where his party came under artillery fire ) in November – December 1943 ; London and Normandy accompanying Marshall in June 1944 ; Germany and Italy in April – May 1945 ; the Western Pacific in June 1945 ; and Potsdam in July 1945 . A lesser but more frequent factor may have been his difficulty in handling inter-service politics , particularly with the Navy , which steadfastly refused to recognize him as a Chief of Staff or his subordinate staff as equals . On Guam , with knowledge of the approaching atomic bomb decision , he negotiated with Nimitz over the Navy 's objections to basing the headquarters of the strategic air forces on the island
Potsdam
Potsdam Conference
Henry H. Arnold