>> it was believed that fala, the dog, provided a lot of comfort and solace to fdr through some of the when he was in office. >> the memorial also shows roosevelt as the public never saw him -- in a wheelchair. >> many americans did not know that -- during his presidency, that he had polio. >> in fact, the entire time fdr was president, he had to use a wheelchair. when he stood, it was only with the assistance of others. the press helped keep his illness a secret. they agreed not to take pictures of him in the wheelchair. this is one of the very few photos known to exist. >> in terms of the design of the fdr memorial, in the early 1990s, there was controversy. there was, "how do we wrestle with showing and depicting him?" in fact, we erred on the side of being realistic, telling the truth, telling the real story and showing him in a wheelchair and showing him seated, because he really was not able to stand. >> despite his disability, roosevelt was a towering world leader. he led the u.s. out of the depression and on to victory in world war ii. >> to then come out of world war ii in 194