When Eisenhower Died—March 28, 1969

Townhall.com ^ | March 28, 2019 | David Stokes

[laplata]

You make a good point. Many don’t realize that Ike was in the early tank corps for a short period. He served under Patton in those days.

Patton led tanks in WW I in Europe but Ike stayed in the States during the war.

Patton and Ike were almost decapitated when a cable stretched too tight snapped and whizzed past their heads.

[laplata]

“Colonel, there are 50,000 men on this island who would like to shoot that son of a bitch.”

I remember that scene from the movie “Patton”.

[LimitedPowers]

Thanks for the link!

[laplata]

Thanks for that.

[Redcitizen]

I got a chuckle out of this. I don't think there were any more free range Indians by then. lol. We were mostly settled down by then.

"In western Wyoming Eisenhower and a companion convinced the convoy that an Indian attack was imminent. Sentinels were posted that night, but when Ike and friend exchanged warrior yelps outside the perimeter a young officer on guard discharged his weapon. They had to stop a telegram being sent to the War Office reporting an encounter with hostile Indians. "

[awelliott]

Would that be about ‘The Great White Fleet’?

Not exactly. It's about a 1905 diplomatic mission that was the brainchild of TR. It was the largest such mission in history. He describes the mission, then pivots and makes a compelling case that his bumbling efforts seriously damaged US-Sino relations and paved the way for our involvement in WWII - particularly the Pacific Theater.

It was written by James Bradley, author of "Flags of our Fathers." He was obviously no fan of Teddy Roosevelt.

[Pelham]

Sounds interesting. I may have to get it.

[Bull Snipe]

I fear you are correct.

[foreverfree]

I was 7 1/2 yo. I remember watching some of the laying in state in the Rotunda and Ike being put on the train at Union Station and arriving the next day in Abilene. RIP Ike and thank you.

ff

[Verginius Rufus]

I think a lot of Republicans were hoping that Eisenhower would "roll back" Communism from the countries taken over during the Truman years and were dismayed when that did not happen. Robert Welch, founder of the John Birch Society, accused Eisenhower of being a Communist agent. (My mother had a copy of Welch's book laying out that claim.)

I recall a conversation about 1958 between my father and a friend of his (a fellow Marine officer) when the friend said "Eisenhower didn't do as much as he could" or "didn't do enough." I didn't venture to ask him what he meant by that (foreign policy or domestic policy)--probably wouldn't have understand his answer anyway.

I remember my father in 1956 telling me that they were going to vote for Ike. At that point I was in second grade and didn't really understand elections or know that there was another option. My parents had been fans of FDR in the 1930s as teenagers but by then were conservative Republicans.

[foreverfree]

Yep. A lot of people thought that the German Autobahn inspired Ike to build the Interstate Highway System.

But in fact it was that 1919 Washington DC to San Francisco Motor Transport Corps convoy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_Motor_Transport_Corps_convoy#Results

There's even more to the story of the gestation of the interstates than just that. Read "The Big Roads" by Earl Swift.

ff

[foreverfree]

I also remember watching Ike when he was president on black and white TV.

Yes, Ike was the first prez to take office after a) the coast to coast live TV hookup was completed and b) the tube boom got to firing on all cylinders.

ff

[laplata]

Yes.