by Jim Newton
11 “Baseball, football, boxing”: DDE, interview with Pat Morin, Aug. 5, 1965, AP-1 Pat Morin folder, box 2, 1965 Principal File, Post-presidential Papers, DDEPL.
12 trick-or-treat with his older brothers: DDE, At Ease, p. 51.
13 “Which son do you mean?”: “The Eisenhowers of Kansas,” Reynolds–R. Reynolds folder, box 95, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
14 “would philosophize”: DDE, interview with Morin, Aug. 5, 1965, p. 3.
15 leg and the boy were saved: Ibid., p. 5.
16 “martyr to duty”: Gravestone in Abilene graveyard.
17 devotion to Westerns: John Eisenhower, exchange with author, Sept. 27, 2010.
18 “Never … negotiate with an adversary”: DDE, At Ease, p. 30.
19 “quiet, orderly movement”: Ibid., p. 82.
20 to work in a local doctor’s office: Ibid., p. 36.
21 “hot-tempered and quarrelsome”: Ibid., p. 34.
22 prospect of a free education: DDE, interview with Morin, Aug. 5, 1965.
23 entrance examination for Annapolis: Ibid.
24 too old to be admitted: DDE, At Ease, p. 105.
25 heard his mother cry: Susan Eisenhower, Mrs. Ike, p. 30.
26 “clear blue eyes”: Ibid., p. 34.
27 about ten days later: Morin to Mamie, note, and her reply, Nov. 4, 1965, Memoranda (for the Record of Files) (1), box 2, 1965 Principal File, Post-presidential Papers.
28 a 1912 football game against Tufts: Ann Whitman, April 5, 1960, entry, April 1960 (2) folder, box 11, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File; also DDE to C. B. Sawyer, July 23, 1953, 1-A 1952–53 (3) folder, box 2, Central Files, President’s Personal Files, DDEPL.
29 bored with his studies, lethargic: John Eisenhower, exchange with author, Sept. 2010.
30 “The fellows that used to call me”: DDE to Ruby Norman, Nov. 22, 1913, Correspondence from Dwight D. Eisenhower, box 1, Ruby Norman Lucier Papers, DDEPL.
31 friends convinced him to stay: Slater, The Ike I Knew, p. 207.
32 importance of a tidy barracks: DDE, interview with Morin, Aug. 5, 1965, p. 9.
33 unimpressive 125th in terms of conduct: Transcripts courtesy of DDEPL.
34 treated to Ike’s gag: Butcher, Three Years with Eisenhower, p. xiii.
35 “the handsomest man in the Corps”: Howitzer, Class of 1915, West Point.
36 second lieutenant in the U.S. Army: Copy of commission, U.S. Army Commissions, box 163, 1916–52 Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
37 “never gives me a thought”: DDE to Harding, n.d., labeled “#2, Summer of 1915” in file, Early Letters from DDE (2), Brooks Papers.
38 she sighed to her diary: Harding, June 15–Aug. 31, 1915, entries, 1915 Diary (folders 1 and 2), Brooks Papers.
39 to be able to afford one: Susan Eisenhower, Mrs. Ike, p. 12.
40 for the warmer winter: Ibid., pp. 10–12.
41 recall the price of a tamale: DDE, At Ease, p. 113.
42 to whom he was not yet engaged: Susan Eisenhower, Mrs. Ike, p. 36. See also, Wickman/Burg oral history interview with Mamie Eisenhower, p. 5.
43 it melted: Morin to Mamie, note, and her reply, Nov. 4, 1965.
44 met Ike’s family for the first time: Ibid.
45 He was charmed: Susan Eisenhower, Mrs. Ike, p. 42.
46 “Well, young lady”: Susan Eisenhower, Mrs. Ike, p. 45.
47 with pride the rest of her life: Ibid., p. 290.
48 “Ike never had the slightest notion”: David Eisenhower, Going Home, p. 23.
49 “I was inclined to display”: DDE, At Ease, p. 180. In At Ease, Eisenhower spelled his son’s nickname “Icky.” Others recall that it was rendered as “Ikky.” Since it was merely a nickname, there is no accepted spelling.
50 in his father’s embrace: This account is drawn largely from Susan Eisenhower, Mrs. Ike, which in turn relies on the memory of Mamie.
51 Icky loved yellow: Ibid., p. 73.
52 “the greatest disappointment and disaster”: DDE, At Ease, pp. 181–82.
53 her husband and his driver: Mamie’s letters from the period did not survive, but she saved Ike’s half of the correspondence, and those letters are preserved at DDEPL, as well as in a collection of the letters published by their son, John.
54 “There are also a couple of WAACS”: DDE to Mamie, Feb. 3, 1943, in Letters to Mamie, p. 93.
55 “go bothering your pretty head”: DDE to Mamie, Feb. 26, 1943, in ibid., p. 97.
56 “Your letters often give me”: DDE to Mamie, June 11, 1943, in ibid., pp. 127–28.
57 Kay was a welcome companion: David Eisenhower, Going Home, p. 24.
58 first dance at the end of the war: Clip of AP report is attached to Mamie to her family, date unclear, but apparently Aug. 1945, Family Letters 1945, box 4, Barbara Eisenhower Papers.
59 “When you have some spare time”: Summersby to DDE, May 31, 1948, Kay Summersby folder, box 112, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
60 “I can scarcely estimate”: DDE to Summersby, June 1, 1948, Kay Summersby folder, box 112, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
61 “Americans are funny”: John Eisenhower, interview with author, Oct. 7, 2010.
62 glamorized the relationship: Ibid.
CHAPTER 2: THE MENTORING OF SOLDIERS
1 reborn soldier from ancient times: Martin Blumenson, Patton, p. 29.
2 “Beatrice Ayer was polished”: Ibid., p. 38.
3 “I was afraid to bring the subject up”: DDE, At Ease, p. 171.
4 “speedy, reliable and efficient”: D’Este, Patton, pp. 296–97.
5 “They are destined for a separate existence”: Ibid., p. 297.
6 risk court-martial: D’Este, Eisenhower, p. 152. See also Korda, Ike, p. 152.
7 “Club Eisenhower”: Korda, Ike, p. 153.
8 Patton’s invitation to dinner: Charles H. Brown and John Ray Skates, “Fox Conner,” Journal of Mississippi History (Aug. 1987).
9 Patton’s answer: leadership: Patton to DDE, July 9, 1926, George S. Patton Jr. (6) folder, box 91, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers, DDEPL.
10 graciously credited Patton: Ibid.
11 angling for something more significant: DDE to Patton, Sept. 17, 1940, Patton (6) folder, box 91, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
12 “My advice is”: DDE to Patton, Feb. 4, 1943, Patton (4) folder, box 91, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
13 rolled out of the tent: Perrin H. Long to the Surgeon NATOUSA, memo, Aug. 16, 1943, Patton (4) folder, box 91, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
14 “The deleterious effects”: Ibid.
15 “I am attaching a report”: DDE to Patton, Aug. 17, 1943, Patton (4) folder, box 91, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
16 “those unfortunate personal traits”: DDE to Marshall, Aug. 24, 1943, George C. Marshall (9) folder, box 80, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
17 “I believe that he is cured”: Ibid.
18 apologized to those involved: Patton feigned contrition but did not mean it. Writing home to his “Darling B,” he expressed anger toward Pearson for reporting the slapping but offered no remorse for his own actions. Similarly, in a letter to Henry Stimson, secretary of war, Patton admitted that “my method was too forthright” and explained that Eisenhower had “very rightly” called his attention to the negative effect of his actions on public opinion. In that same letter, however, Patton described the man he slapped as a “cur” who was “skulking” and “by his cowardice … forcing other loyal and brave men to do his duty” (diaries for Nov. 1943, letters of Nov. 25 and 27, 1943, box 11, Patton Papers).
19 Patton’s latent anti-Semitism: Patton in his diary referred to Jews as “lower than animals” (Diary entry for Sept. 15, 1945, p. 751) and as having “no sense of human relationships” (entry for Sept. 16, 1945, p. 754). And, when criticized in the press in 1945 after comparing the Nazi party to Republicans or Democrats, he observed in his diary that “there is a very apparent S
emitic influence in the press” (Blumenson, Patton, pp. 281 and 287, as well as Diary entry for Sept. 22, 1945, p. 766).
20 “a report from you”: DDE to Patton, telegram, Sept. 25, 1945, Patton (1) folder, box 91, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
21 “Now the horrors of peace”: Blumenson, Patton, p. 280.
22 “I have lost”: DDE to Bea Patton, cable, Dec. 21, 1945, Patton (1) folder, box 91, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
23 “It might be advisable”: Conner to DDE, Oct. 6 (no year in original), Fox Conner folder, box 27, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
24 the crisis passed: D’Este, Eisenhower, pp. 161–64.
25 those that Conner had created: Brown and Skates, “Fox Conner.”
26 “Complete victory”: Ibid.
27 Mamie hated bats: DDE, At Ease, p. 184. See also oral history interview with Mamie, p. 19.
28 far away and homesick: Mamie to her parents, Dec. 16, 1922, Family Letters 1922, box 1, Barbara Eisenhower Papers.
29 “not the best introduction”: DDE, At Ease, p. 184.
30 “you have to start the ignition”: Susan Eisenhower, Mrs. Ike, p. 80.
31 attempt to hold on to her: Ibid., p. 83.
32 “Am finally getting Ike housebroken again”: Mamie to her parents, n.d., marked “Thursday,” box 3, Barbara Eisenhower Papers.
33 “He gave the appearance of being leisurely”: Brown and Skates, “Fox Conner.”
34 “Clausewitz all the way”: John Eisenhower, exchange with author, Sept. 27, 2010.
35 would test Europe before long: DDE, interview with Pat Morin, Aug. 5, 1965, AP-1 Pat Morin folder, box 2, 1965 Principal File, Post-presidential Papers, DDEPL.
36 “Dealing with the enemy”: Brown and Skates, “Fox Conner.”
37 “More and more in the last few days”: DDE to Conner, July 4, 1942, Conner folder, box 27, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
38 “I still long for opportunities”: DDE to Virginia Conner, Dec. 26, 1943, Cond–Connol (Misc.) folder, box 18, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
39 “no one influenced me as much”: DDE, oral history interview with Forrest C. Pogue, OH 10, p. 6, DDEPL.
40 wherever they were located, bear his name: DDE, At Ease, p. 214.
41 move on ragged marchers: DDE, interview with Morin, Aug. 5, 1965.
42 “Get him away”: DDE, oral history interview with Henle, OH 106, p. 3.
43 “That mob was a very angry looking one”: Washington Post, July 29, 1932.
44 just lost the 1932 election: Lisio, President and Protest, p. xiii.
45 for waiting so long: Clippings from Bonus March folder, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
46 Reluctantly, he went: DDE, At Ease, p. 219.
47 unexpected effects on their mission: DDE, Diaries, p. 18.
48 “He is tickled pink”: Ibid., p. 21.
49 “Oh hell”: Ibid., p. 22.
50 “He had an obsession”: DDE, oral history interview with James, OH 501, p. 5.
51 “The best leadership”: DDE to John, July 29, 1952, Eisenhower Writings 1952 (1), box 2, Personal Papers of Whitman.
52 “Best clerk I ever had”: William Manchester, American Caesar, p. 182. See also Korda, Ike, p. 227.
53 just across the border: Mamie to her family, Dec. 4, 1941, Family Letters (3), box 3, Barbara Eisenhower Papers.
54 “I’ll give you one name”: Atkinson, Army at Dawn, p. 43.
55 “The Chief”: DDE, oral history interview with Pogue, OH 10, p. 3.
56 made vegetable soup: John Eisenhower, exchange with author, Sept. 30, 2010.
57 hunt for a place to live: Mamie to her family, Dec. 20, 1941, Family Letters (3), box 3, Barbara Eisenhower Papers.
58 “spoiled rotten”: Mamie to her family, July 15, 1929, Family Letters 1929 (2), box 1, Barbara Eisenhower Papers.
59 excellence in a promising officer: DDE, interview with Morin, Aug. 5, 1965.
60 “Yes, sir”: Ibid.
61 “I’m sorry, too”: Marshall to Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers, April 22, 1944, George Marshall Papers, quoted in Perry, Partners in Command, p. 19.
62 “our general line of action”: DDE, Crusade in Europe, p. 18.
63 “Of course,” Marshall replied: DDE, interview with Morin, Aug. 5, 1965, p. 21.
64 “I have never pondered”: Ibid.
65 “They may excuse failure”: DDE, Crusade in Europe, p. 22.
66 “seemingly hopeless”: DDE, interview with Morin, Aug. 5, 1965, p. 21.
67 “I agree with you”: Ibid.
68 “Here’s the man who can fight”: DDE, oral history interview with Pogue, OH 10, p. 5.
69 open to improvisation: DDE, interview with Morin, Aug. 5, 1965.
70 “marked ability and conspicuous success”: Pearson is quoted in D’Este, Eisenhower, p. 279; the formal recognition comes from U.S. Decorations and Certificates, box 163, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
71 “Father died this morning”: DDE, entry for March 10, 1942, in Diaries, p. 50.
72 “My only regret”: Ibid., entry for March 12, 1942, p. 51.
73 rejecting the importuning of others: DDE, Crusade in Europe, p. 34.
74 permitted Eisenhower’s cheerier disposition: Smith’s role is thoughtfully—and exhaustively—chronicled in Crosswell’s Beetle.
75 more direct strike on Europe: Office of the Chief of Military History, Command Decisions, p. 129.
76 “I am to be that … commanded”: DDE, July 26, 1942, entry, in Diaries, p. 74.
77 “We are standing”: DDE to Marshall, Nov. 7, 1942, Marshall (11) folder, box 80, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
78 “I have operational command”: DDE, Nov. 9, 1942, entry, in Diaries, p. 81.
79 “Deficient of experience”: Atkinson, Army at Dawn, p. 285.
80 “I find myself”: DDE to Marshall, Nov. 9, 1942, Marshall (11) folder, box 80, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
81 “many commanders but no leaders”: Patton to Bea, Dec. 5, 1942, Diary, Dec. 1942, box 10; Patton to Bea, Jan. 11, 1943, Jan. 1943 folder, Patton Papers.
82 lit up anyway: Atkinson, Day of Battle, p. 51.
83 French ports and facilities: Draft agreement, Dec. 2 or 3, 1942, Jean Darlan folder, box 33, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
84 “I am pleased that you”: DDE to Marshall, Nov. 17, 1942, Marshall (11) folder, box 80, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
85 Giraud took his place: On Christmas Day, Ike wrote a note of sympathy to Darlan’s widow. In it, he described Darlan as “a most valuable ally and a competent supporter.” But one can hardly infer Ike’s true appraisal from this note. The letter is in Darlan folder, box 33, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
86 “At the moment there seems nothing”: Marshall to DDE, May 6, 1943, Marshall (10) folder, box 80, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
87 “quite a great man”: Patton to Bea, Feb. 19, 1943, Diary, Feb. 1943, box 10, Patton Papers.
88 “I didn’t feel I could sleep”: Kennedy, Freedom from Fear, p. 687.
89 “my most cherished mementos”: DDE, Crusade in Europe, p. 208.
90 “You will enter the continent”: Ibid., p. 225.
91 “We’ll take care of this”: DDE, interview with Morin, Aug. 5, 1965.
92 “No one can stop it now”: Morgan, Past Forgetting, p. 191.
93 “Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre”: June 5, 1944, original note is at DDEPL.
94 “Under the command of General Eisenhower”: Korda, Ike, p. 479.
95 “the beginning of the end of the war”: Morgan, Past Forgetting, p. 193.
96 “He would sit there and smoke”: Ibid., p. 194.
97 complete his infantry training: DDE, At Ease, p. 287.
98 “was just one big grin”: Morgan, Past Forgetting, p. 195.
99 “there isn’t an officer”: John Eisenhower, Strictly Personal, p. 63.
101 “No matter how sharply”: Morgan, Past Forgetting, p. 197.
102 “Dad told him to go ahead”: John Eisenhower, Strictly Personal, p. 217.
103 focused charge toward Berlin: Roland G. Ruppenthal, “Logistics and the Broad-Front Strategy,” in Office of the Chief of Military History, Command Decisions, p. 325.
104 energies on strategic victory: I am indebted to Colonel Clint Ancker for his insights into Eisenhower’s strategic gifts as a commander. Author interview, March 5, 2010.
105 “only man who could have made things work”: Atkinson, Day of Battle, p. 49.
106 “slightly hair-brained”: DDE letter to “Pug” Ismay, Dec. 3, 1960, DDE Dictation Dec. 1960, box 55, DDE Diary Series, Whitman File.
107 for fear he would be overcome: DDE to Marshall, April 15, 1945, Marshall (6) folder, box 80, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
108 “Then suppose we get rid of that sign”: William Opper letter, Feb. 12, 1953, and Robert L. Schulz reply, March 2, 1953, Personal Data Concerning the President, 1952–53 (2), box 1, Central Files, President’s Personal File, DDEPL.
109 “You will, officially and personally”: DDE, Crusade in Europe, p. 426. Jodl was tried at Nuremberg, found guilty of war crimes, and hanged. Friedeburg killed himself two weeks after the surrender.
110 “You have completed your mission”: Marshall to DDE, cable, May 7, 1945, Marshall (6) folder, box 80, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
111 the greatest general of all: DDE, oral history interview with James, OH 501, p. 6.
CHAPTER 3: LEARNING POLITICS
1 whisked to NATO headquarters: Brownell, Advising Ike, p. 93.
2 “that fell like a lead balloon”: Ibid., p. 101.
3 taught himself bridge: Time, Feb. 6, 1956.
4 up to serving as his partner: John Eisenhower, Strictly Personal, p. 210.
5 picked an emissary to reel in the general: Brownell, Advising Ike, p. 91.
6 “the most highly respected man”: Brownell, oral history interview, OH 362, p. 45, DDEPL.
7 manuscript on Friday, March 26: Douglas Black, memo, April 1, 1948, Eisenhower (Personal) 1948 folder, box 1, Robinson Papers.
8 was published that fall: DDE, At Ease, pp. 325–29.