Eisenhower (64 page)

Read Eisenhower Online

Authors: Jim Newton

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.
100
throughout John’s growing up:
John Eisenhower, exchange with author, Sept. 2010.
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.
  
9
as one reviewer put it: Saturday Review of Literature
, from jacket copy.
10
hundreds of thousands of dollars:
Ewald,
Eisenhower the President
, p. 57.
11
at least a month of bed rest:
See, for instance, Lasby,
Eisenhower’s Heart Attack
, p. 47.
12
“Don’t think about it”:
DDE, oral history interview with Adams, pp. 30–31.
13
“Father would have liked this”:
McCallum,
Six Roads from Abilene
, p. 123.
14
shiny blue vehicle:
Dec. 30, 1948, letter, Robert Schulz, aide to Eisenhower, to A. J. Aherns (and accompanying news coverage), AH-AK folder, box 1, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers, DDEPL.
15
even though it would have cost less:
DDE,
At Ease
, p. 360.
16
Churchill supplied an example:
John Eisenhower, interview with author, Oct. 7, 2010.
17
“weird and wonderful to behold”:
DDE,
At Ease
, p. 340.
18
would form the basis of NATO:
Even before drafting him for that assignment, Truman tried to lure Eisenhower to public life another way. In Aug. 1949, he asked George Allen, a mutual friend, to relay to Eisenhower the message that Truman could insure him Democratic support for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Eisenhower replied that he “would not consider it” (special note for Aug. 29, 1949, Eisenhower [Personal] 1949 folder, box 1, Robinson Papers).
19
“an unassailable position”:
Clay to DDE, April 13, 1951, Lucius D. Clay (6) folder, box 24, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers, DDEPL.
20
B
for Brownell:
Clay to DDE, May 18, 1951, Clay (6) folder, box 24, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
21
being unable to follow it:
DDE to Clay, Sept. 27, 1951, Clay (5) folder, box 24, Principal File, Pre-presidential Papers.
22
thousands chanted and sang: New York Times
, Feb. 9, 1952. Others have estimated the crowd as much larger, in the neighborhood of thirty-three thousand. That seems unlikely, given the Garden’s capacity in those years.
23
where he practiced his fly casting:
Slater,
The Ike I Knew
, p. 13.
24
“the symbol of that longing and hope”:
DDE to Swede, Feb. 12, 1952, Swede Hazlett 1952, Jan.-May folder, Name Series, box 17, Whitman File.
25
“I’ve not been so upset”:
DDE, Feb. 12, 1952, entry, in
Diaries
, p. 214.
26
tears ran down his cheeks:
Cochran, oral history interview, p. 25.
27
to seek their party’s nomination:
Feb. 22 letter, Drafting Eisenhower as a Candidate, box 4, Adams Papers.
28
“They want you to come home”:
Ibid.
29
“My attitude”:
DDE,
Mandate for Change
, p. 21.
30
“the first big test”: Time
, Feb. 11, 1952.
31
bigger impression on him:
DDE, interview with Relman “Pat” Morin, Jan. 3, 1967, p. 20, box 53, 1967 Principal File, Post-presidential Papers, DDEPL.
32
“Ike” scrawled across them:
Adams, oral history interview, p. 15.
33
“assure you of a warm welcome”:
Brownell,
Advising Ike
, p. 355.
34
“That definitely and specifically includes”:
DDE,
Crusade in Europe
, p. 444. See also DDE, interview with Morin, Jan. 3, 1967, p. 16.
35
whether they could carry the electorate:
Brownell,
Advising Ike
, p. 97.

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