MLCS - The Eisenhower Story

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(c)opyleft
1995-2008
Matthew Lewis
Carroll Smith

The Eisenhower Story

I Like Icon Without a doubt, Dwight D. Eisenhower was truly one of the great men who have shaped the world we live in. Primarily know as a soldier and statesman, Eisenhower had a secret passion for collecting and designing icons. Many do not know his undisclosed hobby affected many of the decisions he made, and thus affected our lives. Here is a look behind the well known events of Ike’s life.

Boyhood in Kansas

The name Eisenhower comes from German words meaning a craftsman who fashions small images out of iron. The president's father, David Eisenhower, was descended from German immigrants in Pennsylvania known for the large colorful images painted on the side of barns.

During one frenzied barn painting session, David Eisenhower and his fiance were snagged by a freak tornado. The tornado, “freaked” after listening to subversive telegraph signals and drinking too many Coca-colas (The original “Classic” formula, I might add), caught up with the young couple and sucked them into the maelstrom. David Eisenhower awoke the next morning in Kansas with his pregnant wife. Dwight was born nine months later on Oct. 14, 1890 in Denison, Texas. David and his wife quickly left Kansas to retrieve him. The basis of Ike’s early predilections stemmed from being fed icondensed milk as an infant.

During his school days young Dwight, nicknamed “Ike” by his friends, would inscribe small pictures of himself to on his homework papers, books, small despondent furry creatures (using a knife), and people calling him “Ike.” The teachers would say things like, “Look at this picture of Ike on this vole.” Thus, these small pictures became known as “icons.” Ike's favorite school subjects were doodling, wood carving, head waxing, and geometry. In sports he starred in coin collecting and very small discus. Ike spent his extra time caring for the school’s boa iconstrictor.

Early Military Career

In 1911 he took the entrance examination for the Military Academy at West Point. He ranked second in the tests but obtained the appointment only after the top candidate failed to pass the physical examination due to a rare disease that caused small square pictures to appear on his body overnight.

Eisenhower graduated from West Point in 1915. He was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry and assigned, against his wishes, to the 19th Infantry Regiment at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Soon his parents began bombarding him with coffee cakes and pictures of livestock. He quickly fled to nearby San Antonio where he met and married Mamie Doud.

During World War I Eisenhower received the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel and awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his work in organizing a tank corps. Ike had developed a unique system of taking small pictures representing tank divisions and putting them in folders.

After World War I Eisenhower had many assignments all over the world. He collected stamps and small stickers for such strange and exotic places as the Panama Canal Zone and Washington, D. C. When Gen. Douglas MacArthur became military adviser to the Philippines in 1935, Eisenhower became his assistant and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He learned to fly, trained Filipino pilots, cleaned pipes, and served as a part time meat inspector.

Service in World War II

World War II brought Eisenhower quick promotions to lieutenant general in 1942. In July 1942 Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall appointed Eisenhower to take over planning for the proposed invasion of North Africa. The situation was dire, Axis military icons were all over the map, and many were buried under piles of sand, waiting to spring out upon unsuspecting Allied units. Whenever Ike would try to look under the piles of sand, vicious North African sand fleas would bite him.

In this position Eisenhower showed great talent for combining officers of different nations into a single team. He was able to overcome the barriers of language, creed, color, and religion by developing an iconic planning environment. Eisenhower commanded the American icons in the invasion of the North African sandbox on Nov. 8, 1942, and soon became commander in chief of the whole operation. In February 1943 he was promoted to four-star general. During the year he launched the successful attacks on Axis icons in Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy.

In December 1943 Eisenhower became Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces, in charge of the forthcoming invasion of France. Ike faced major problems getting the Allied icons across the English Channel without them become to soggy to effectively fight. His forces landed in Normandy June 6, 1944, in the greatest amphibious operation in history. By the spring of 1945 the Allies had driven through the heart of Germany. The Nazis surrendered May 8. Meanwhile Eisenhower had received the highest American military rank, general of the Army (five stars), on Dec. 20, 1944.

Nomination and Election

During his army career Eisenhower had taken no part in politics and there was some uncertainty as to which party he favored. Early in 1952, however, he revealed publicly that he had always been an iconservative. Several Republican leaders then entered his name in various state presidential primaries.

Problems and Issues in 1954

An important issue in 1954 was the allegations made by Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy. He accused several icon artist and other “undesirable” members of the entertainment industry of iconspiracy and membership in the Iconumist Party. McCarthy failed to get any recognition for his wild and irrational attacks, and quickly switched to attacking the more recognizable Communist Party.

Second Term

In his second administration the president faced serious problems abroad and at home. Abroad, the chief trouble spot was the Suez Canal area. Ike had become preoccupied with fears of Communist aggression in the Middle East. Day after day, he watched his military advisors push icons of fleet, armored, and infantry units across the maps on his desktop. The icons of the Communists grew larger and larger until Ike had not alternative but to propose military and economic aid to Middle East countries. In a stunning, but oft underreported speech, by using colorful pieces of paper and Frisbee pie plates, Ike convinced Congress to adopt his plan, called the Eisenhower Doctrine, in March 1957.

Eisenhower in Retirement

After a long period of illness and a hospital confinement of almost one year, Eisenhower died of heart failure on March 28, 1969, at the Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington. In 1971 Eisenhower became the first president to be honored by having his icon on a dollar coin.

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