"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and not feed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hope of its children…"
Outpour of a man who spent 37 years in military service, actively participating in both the World Wars. Dwight Eisenhower, before he led the USA for two terms as President, played a key role as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces to restrict Communism, from spreading to European countries.
Birth
Dwight David Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890, as the third son of David Jacob Eisenhower and Ida Elizabeth Strover, in the small town of Denison, Texas. Initially the child was named David Dwight Eisenhower but later on the names were reversed and he got to be identified as Dwight David Eisenhower. From his early days, the nickname ‘Ike’ was attached to him, which stayed through his days of Presidency.
Family History
Incidentally, the man who played a decisive role in defeating the German troops, himself belonged to a family that originally belonged to Germany. Dwight Eisenhower’s ancestors came from the Rhineland region of Germany and had migrated initially to Switzerland and later to the US.
Dwight’s father David was basically a simpleton, an introvert. Ida Strover was a woman of strong character and a dominating yet loving nature who often helped her husband when he failed to manage the household. David inherited 160 acres of land and $ 2,000. His disinclination to do business after he suffered a major loss in his merchandise shop, and inability to manage the property led David to bankruptcy. David fled to Denison, Texas to avoid the disgrace and humiliation. Two years later, the Eisenhowers moved back to Abilene, Kansas with their third child Dwight.
A father, weak and unable to meet even the primary needs to survive, along with poor surroundings; these were certainly not the best of influences a child is exposed to.
Childhood
Dwight was an ‘abnormally normal’ child, said one of his biographers. He neither showed any sign of a military genius, nor of a leader in his young days. He was an average boy, shy of girls, devoted to his brothers and above all, very adjusting in conduct. Without doubt, it can be said that he never showed any traits of a child prodigy.
Common in every other way, there was one trait that distinguished him from most children of his age. He was hard working, beyond the semantic expression of the phrase.
Young Ike had to sell vegetables at the local market and to some rich families of Abilene. Considering his father’s low income, Dwight worked hard after school hours and at times he had to work on the farm. The family struggled hard to make ends meet, and it was a real challenge for his mother to maintain even minimum living standards. When he was 10, his mother asked him to go out and manage the expenses if he wanted to study. He took charge of himself and decided to fight his way through the challenge to educate himself. This early development of fortitude and an inner strength helped him to work in the fields while studying at school.
The academic curriculum never fascinated him despite being an above average student during his high school years. Sports and athletics drove him more to school than did his study.
But, as the saying goes, "there ain’t no free lunch," the price of spending few hours on the track field and playground was paid in big hours, working hard on the farm in his teenage.
History was an exception as the young Dwight was remarkably good at remembering dates and events. None of his mates would have been taken by surprise if Eisenhower were to become a history teacher. But what destiny conceives in its womb always stays hidden until things reveal themselves. No one knew then that a common boy, who called himself just one among the local folk, would never enter a classroom to teach history, instead, he would go out in the world to create one and emboss his name in shining letters in the book of war history.
Ironically, Eisenhower, the man who headed the war planning division during World War II, had not even a vague idea of life ahead, when he graduated from high school. He wanted to have a university degree and so did his brother Edgar. Dwight arranged a pretty uncommon bargain with Edgar. It was decided that one of them would study for a year and the other would provide financial support. Next year they will exchange positions and consequently both will have a university degree at the end of eight years. Following the agreement with Edgar, Dwight took a job as a second engineer and fireman at the local ceremony, engaging in exhausting manual labor of 12 hours. Destiny was incubating a soldier in a man for the heroic role he was to play in the most disastrous war on earth.
Birth Of A Soldier
In response to a question about the influences that turned him to a military career, Dwight Eisenhower had a cold reply, "Unlike most men entering the military career," he said, "I had no childhood dreams of becoming a solider, nor did I have acquaintance that could incline me to opt for a military career. The decisive influences that led me to take up the soldier’s uniform were mere accidents."
Wars have always interested youngsters of a nation that has a fascinating military history. Dwight was no exception. The first decisive influence that drove him to develop an inclination for military career was Little. A very good friend of Dwight’s mother, Little had stayed at the West Point Military Academy, but had to return due to eye problems. Mr. Little made a strong impression on the young boy. His talks inspired Dwight and for the first time in life, he imagined himself in a military uniform.
An equally strong influence on Dwight was of a friend’s father, a doctor. Everett Hazlett. Dwight’s friend, Everett Hazlett, Jr. had gone to a military school for several years and had appeared for an entrance exam for the Naval Academy but had failed. Conversations with Everett Hazlett, Sr. stimulated Dwight's sense of competition. Both, father and son, made a strong impression on Dwight's mind and caused him to seriously consider a military career.
Dwight did not have the the slightest idea about how one went about summoning the political influence necessary to enter the Naval Academy at Annapolis. It seemed like a herculean task for Eisenhower. Finally, he seeked the help of a local editor, Mr. Heath, who was a good friend of his family and who eventually acted as an intermediary with one of the senators of Kansas. Senator Bristow turned out to be just the person whose help Dwight required. Eisenhower's first step forward in life came because a Republican of unorthodox breed vouched for him.
The lives of most successful people reveal that they were people who somehow got into a chain of events that finally led them to their destiny. For Dwight, he was unaware of a life that would take him to the zenith of any career anyone could possibly imagine – the Supreme Commander and the President of the United States. With no hope of clearing the entrance test for the military academy, he appeared for the exam, both for the Academy at Annapolis and at West Point. The results astonished him. He stood first in the Annapolis test and second in the West Point test. Following his inner voice, he had appeared for both tests and that turned out to be a smart move. He had just missed the age criteria for the Naval Academy at Annapolis by a margin of just a a few months. At the age of 21, Eisenhower came across to the east to enter the West Point Military Academy.
In the Military Academy
Getting admission at West Point had been easier than Eisenhower had anticipated, but there was still one more challenge. Ida, his mother was reluctant to send him. She did not approve of Dwight’s decision, yet following her own percept she did not create hindrances in Dwight’s way; neither did she oppose him. Ultimately, he got enrolled as a West Point cadet.
Self-discipline was the most valuable trait he acquired during his stay at West Point. Academically, he was average and never excelled, still he maintained his position in the group of above average students. He stood 57th in a class of over 200 students in the first year. Continuing his excellent performance in history and English, he stood 61st in the final year of study at the military academy.
Unfortunately, Eisenhower injured his knee, which brought an end to his athletic career. Of the few things he always regretted, one was this injury because consequently he was told to resign from the football team. Inspite of such personal setbacks, he scored 2039 out of 2525 marks in the final year, and in June 1915, passed out of the academy as a Second Lieutenant..
The First Victory: Marriage
Wars are not just fought on battlefields but they appear in the face of most common life situations too. Marriage for Eisenhower was no less than winning a battle. While he was at the 19th Infantry at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, he met a pretty girl, Mamie Doud; a vivacious girl with good looks, brought up in an affluent family. Incidentally, they both met at a party and Dwight was taken by her spell. He proposed to Mamie. Initially, she had doubts about marrying a Second Lieutenant who may not be able to provide her with the lifestyle she was used to. She listened to her heart’s voice and accepted Dwight’s proposal.
For Dwight, however, everything was not immediately a bed of roses, as there were other young officers standing between him and Mamie, wooing Mamie. Dwight was Mamie’s ultimate choice. On July 1, 1916, they got married and stayed as a happy couple till death separated them.
Losing the Other Battle
Life’s events unfailingly follow a pattern of crests and troughs. The days with Mamie soon after marriage were the best in Dwight's life. If heaven is a state of mind, then those were the heavenly days for Eisenhower. Life was moving smoothly when life took a turn for the worst. Mamie had delivered a baby boy in 1917, whom they had nicknamed Icky. Dwight was very attached to the child. But scarlet fever snatched his son’s life away and shocked Eisenhower. He felt as if he had hit the bottom of the abyss of sadness. For months, he could not recover from the trauma.
Later in 1923, the Eisenhowers had another child, a boy once again. He grew up to be a brilliant student, who later stepped in his father’s shoes, graduating from West Point.
Army Career
Entering the army as a Second Lieutenant, Eisenhower reached the highest position of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces. Persistence, planning and preparing exceptionally good reports were the qualities that distinguished him from other officers.
In the early phase of his military career, he was almost an average officer, who seldom received any recognition. As an officer, he was competent and a task master, but never showed any signs of exceptional brilliance. During peace time, promotions were very slow in the army and Eisenhower experienced this languid process as he climbed the uphill journey for the major part of his career.
The first significant period in his life was between 1922 and 1924. He was a subordinate to a sharp and intelligent officer Fox Conner. Major General Conner was the operations officer and he had picked up Eisenhower to help him run his office in the war department. Association with Conner taught him what Emerson called, "the most valuable trait a man can ever achieve – the ability to do what should be done, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not." With Conner, Eisenhower learnt the value of military reading – incessant study of the classics of warfare. But the most important was that he never put a personal view forward – and that an order was an order.
Fox Conner was a farsighted man and predicted that George Marshall, then a junior officer, was to play a key role in the coming years of US military affairs. Often he would talk to Eisenhower regarding Marshall’s integrity, capability and sound judgments. Eisenhower took it seriously and always observed George Marshall as he moved gradually to head the US armed forces. Fox Conner was the man, who as a military man, had great influence on Eisenhower.
A few years later, Eisenhower got a precious opportunity to attend the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth. He was reluctant to go, thinking that he was incompetent to attend the school. Conner rekindled his faith. Dwight went to Leavenworth and worked very hard to lift himself above the level of his fellows. That was the first time he attracted notice of senior officers as he topped the class.
Beginning a career as Second Lieutenant, he got his first promotion as First Lieutenant in July 1916, followed by the post of Captain the next year. World War I shook the promotion order, and consequently Eisenhower was made a Major on ad-hoc basis and Lieutenant Colonel again on ad-hoc basis within a year. As the war ended, the sand settled in the water and officers reverted to their original posts. Two years later, in 1920 Eisenhower moved back to his permanent rank of Captain just to become a Major in few weeks. For 16 years he remained Major until in 1936 when he was promoted as Lieutenant Colonel.
At the time he graduated from West Point, he was elder to most of his classmates. This worried him as the rate with which promotions were given and the age he had reached – 46 years – in 1936, he could not dare dream of any rank higher that that of Colonel. Eisenhower was one of the few people who were really benefited on personal fronts due to war. Once again the air reverberated throughout the globe in anticipation of another war. Finally, war broke out again and accelerated the promotions in the US Army.
As early as in 1941, he became a Colonel, which he thought would have been his final position in the army. But soon he was made Brigadier General and a Major General on ad-hoc basis in 1942. The World War II had a catalytic effect on his career. In another year, he reached the position of General. But this too was a temporary promotion. Eisenhower was made a permanent General finally in December 1944.
No man has ever been recorded to rush to the top of a military rung as quickly as Eisenhower made it. At the age of 51, he was still a Lieutenant Colonel. And in a period of less than two years, he was a General. The first 25 years of his military career took him to reach the post of Lieutenant Colonel while in the next 25 months, he reached the post of General. An analogy will give a better idea of the speed with which Eisenhower rushed to the top. In a building of 10 floors, Lieutenant Colonel represents only the 2nd floor while the General represents the 9th floor.
What helped him move up the ladder was the wide experience he had in the different departments of the army. He had received transfers to most departments, which exposed him to maximum number of army men. ‘The most popular officer in the Army’ was a label he earned due to his wide acquaintances.
Never in his life as an army officer, Eisenhower had seen or participated in any combat till 1942. Usually, he had been doing paper work. Preparing reports was his unparalleled skill, which he was always given a chance to work with. He was a warrior who had to fight battles with pen and paper for over a quarter of century. Still, deep down in him lived a warrior with sword. Leading a combat operation or to become a commanding officer, was an ambition incubating in his mind.
Opportunity knocked his doors in 1942 when he was given the task of commanding the European Theater of Operations. The US Army’s decision proved to be a winning move as Eisenhower proved himself to the task. From 1942 to the end of World War II, he served as a key person leading the troops to defeat
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER <1890 – 1969 >
History reveals that at every instance of war, the politicians are the ones who give birth to it, seldom does it happen that a war gives birth to a politician. But some men are born to be an exception to every rule. Dwight Eisenhower, the man who rose to the pinnacle of political power as the 34th President of the United States of America was certainly a rare combination of a great warrior and an efficient politician.
The story of a man, who spent 37 of his valuable years in military service, entering as a Second Lieutenant and reaching the supreme position in the US Army.
Like a ray of light that conquers darkness effortlessly, this man, heading the Allied Forces, cleared his way through the German troops and emerged as an unparalleled hero of World War II. Playing a key-role as the Supreme Commander of NATO forces to destroy the Communist aggression, he re-established the major part of the world as a free enterprise.
Responding to the call of his nation, Eisenhower reached the heights of any man’s aspiration as he served for two peaceful terms as the US President.
October 14, 1890 Dwight D. Eisenhower was born at Denison, Texas.
June 14, 1911 Entered the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.
June 12, 1915 Graduated from West Point.
September 1915 Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.
July 1, 1916 Married Mamie Geneva Doud of Denver, Colorado.
Promoted to First Lieutenant
May 15, 1917 Promoted as a Captain.
September 24, 1917 Birth of first son, Doud Dwight Eisenhower.
October 14, 1918 Promoted to temporary Lieutenant Colonel.
July 2, 1920 Promoted to permanent rank of Major.
August 1927 to June 1928 Graduated from Army War College, Washington DC.
September 1935 to December 1939 Assistant Military Advisor to Philippines Government.
March 11, 1941 Promoted as Colonel (temporary)
April 1942 Appointed as Assistant Chief of Staff in charge of Operations Division for General George Marshall.
June 1942 Appointed as Commanding General, European Theater, London, England.
November 1942 Designated as Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces, North Africa.
December 1943 Appointed as Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces.
November 19, 1945 Designated as Chief of Staff, US Army.
June 7, 1948 Sworn as President of Columbia University.
December 16, 1950 Supreme Allied Commander, NATO forces.
June 4, 1952 Announced his candidacy for US Presidency, as a Republican candidate.
November 4, 1952 Elected for nomination in President’s race, in the Republican convention.
January 20, 1953 to January 20, 1961 Served the nation as US President for two terms of Presidency.
January 1961 to March 1969 Retired and lived at Gettysburg in a farm.
March 28, 1969 General Eisenhower died of a heart failure in Washington and was buried in Abilene.
Not Available
The only way to win World War III is to prevent it.
I hate war as only as a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its stupidity.
I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of their way and let them have it.
In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning indispensable.
A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.
On Atomic Weapons
Yes, of course they would be used. In any combat where these things can be used on strictly military targets and for strictly military purposes, I see no reason why they shouldn’t be used just exactly as you would use a bullet or anything else.
The older I get the more wisdom I find in the ancient rule of taking first things first. A process which often reduces the most complex human problems to a manageable proportion.
Dollars and guns are no substitutes for brains and will-power.
