General Dwight D. Eisenhower - 5-star General & 34th
President of The United States
The statue and memorial that stands above all others on General's Overview is that of 5 star General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the allied forces during
WW2.
A member of a star-studded class that would ultimately produce fifty-nine generals, including
Omar Bradley,
Eisenhower was a solid student and graduated
61st in a class of 164. While at the academy, he also proved a gifted athlete until having his career cut short by a knee injury. Completing his education, Eisenhower graduated in
1915 and was assigned to the infantry.
Eisenhower was one of a select few who obtained the rank of a
5-star general on
December 20,
1944.
Known as an excellent staff officer, Eisenhower was selected as aide by
US Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur. When MacArthur's term ended in 1935, Eisenhower followed his superior to the
Philippines to serve as a military advisor to the
Filipino government.
Promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1936, Eisenhower began to clash with MacArthur on military and philosophical topics.
Opening a rift that would last the remainder of their lives,.
With the US entry into
World War II after the attack on
Pearl Harbor, Eisenhower was assigned to the
General Staff in
Washington where he devised war plans for defeating
Germany and
Japan.
Becoming Chief of the War
Plans Division, he was soon elevated to
Assistant Chief of Staff overseeing the Operations Division under Chief of Staff
General George C. Marshall. Though he had never led large formations in the field, Eisenhower soon impressed
Marshall with his organizational and leadership skills. As a result, Marshall appointed him commander of the
European Theater of Operations (
ETOUSA) on June 24,
1942. This was soon followed by a promotion to lieutenant general.
After extensive planning, Eisenhower moved forward with the invasion of
Normandy (
Operation Overlord) on
June 6, 1944.
Successful, his forces broke out of the beachhead in July and began driving across
France. Though he clashed with
Churchill over strategy, such as the British-opposed
Operation Dragoon landings in
Southern France, Eisenhower worked to balance
Allied initiatives and approved
Montgomery's
Operation Market-Garden in September. Pushing east in December, Eisenhower's biggest crisis of the campaign came with the opening of the
Battle of the Bulge on
December 16. With
German forces breaking through the Allied lines, Eisenhower quickly worked to seal the breach and contain the enemy advance.
Over the next month,
Allied troops halted the enemy and drove them back to their original lines with heavy losses. During the fighting, Eisenhower was promoted to
General of the Army.
With the surrender of Germany on
May 8, 1945, Eisenhower was named
Military Governor of the
US Occupation Zone. As governor, he worked to document
Nazi atrocities, deal with food shortages, and aid refugees.
Returning to the
United States that fall, Eisenhower was greeted as a hero. Made Chief of Staff on
November 19, he replaced Marshall and remained in this post until
February 6, 1948. A key responsibility during his tenure was overseeing the rapid downsizing of the army after the war.
Departing in 1948, Eisenhower became
President of Columbia University. While there, he worked to expand his political and economic knowledge, as well as wrote his memoir
Crusade in Europe. In
1950, Eisenhower was recalled to be the
Supreme Commander for the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Serving until May 31,
1952, he retired from active duty and returned to
Columbia.
Entering politics, Eisenhower ran for president that fall with
Richard Nixon as his running mate.
Winning in a landslide, he defeated
Adlai Stevenson. A moderate
Republican, Eisenhower's eight years in the
White House were marked by the end of the
Korean War, efforts to contain
Communism, construction of the inter-state highway system, nuclear deterrence, founding of
NASA, and economic prosperity.
Leaving office in
1961, Eisenhower retired to his farm in
Gettysburg, PA. He lived in
Gettysburg with his wife,
Mamie (m.
1916) until his death from heart failure on March 28,
1969.
Following funeral services in Washington, Eisenhower was buried in
Abilene, KS at the
Eisenhower Presidential Library.
Soldiers Walk is the largest contiguous
Memorial Park in the United States dedicated to our Veterans and all those have served since the
Revolutionary War.
The park is
1/2 mile long and has 23 memorials with 42 statues depicting
American conflicts throughout our history.
The park is funded completely by private donations.
The people of
Arcadia donate their time and services to maintain the park.
Please visit the website, where we will be completing a documentary on every memorial and conflict represented.
www.soldierswalkmemorialpark.com
- published: 02 Apr 2016
- views: 1