The FReeper Foxhole Profiles President Dwight David Eisenhower - Oct 11th, 2003

Grolier.com ^ | Stephen E. Ambrose and George H. Mayer

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

...................................................................................... ...........................................

.

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

.

.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.

The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer.

If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions.

We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.

To read previous Foxhole threads or
to add the Foxhole to your sidebar,
click on the books below.

.

.

.

General of the Army
Dwight David Eisenhower
(1890-1969)

.

Dwight David Eisenhower, American general and 34th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES was the principal architect of the successful Allied invasion of Europe during World War II and of the subsequent defeat of Nazi Germany. As president, Eisenhower ended the Korean War, but his two terms (1953-1961) produced few legislative landmarks or dramatic initiatives in foreign policy. His presidency is remembered as a period of relative calm in the United States.

Newly weds, David Jacob and Ida Stover Eisenhower, September 23, 1885.

Eisenhower spent his first 50 years in almost total obscurity. A professional soldier, he was not even particularly well known within the U.S. Army. His rise to fame during World War II was meteoric: a lieutenant colonel in 1941, he was a five-star general in 1945. As supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, he commanded the most powerful force ever assembled under one man. He is one of the few generals ever to command major naval forces; he directed the world's greatest air force; he is the only man ever to command successfully an integrated, multinational alliance of ground, sea, and air forces. He led the assault on the French coast at Normandy, on June 6, 1944, and held together the Allied units through the European campaign that followed, concentrating everyone's attention on a single objective: the defeat of Nazi Germany, completed on May 8, 1945.

In 1950, President Harry TRUMAN appointed Eisenhower the supreme commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, thus making Eisenhower the first man to command a large, peacetime multinational force. His genius lay in getting people of diverse background to work together toward a common objective, but he was equally skillful as a strategist and administrator.

He displayed the same talents as president, but they did not produce the same spectacular results. The discipline characteristic of military organizations was unknown to American politics, and rebellion against his leadership occurred frequently--the more so because his REPUBLICAN party controlled CONGRESS during only two of Eisenhower's eight years in office. His dislike of politics was also a handicap. He calmed fears about Communist infiltration of the national government. He provided partial relief from the divisiveness engendered by his predecessor's approach to issues, yet Eisenhower's achievements seem less impressive in retrospect because he minimized the importance of racial tensions and of socioeconomic antagonisms that erupted so explosively in the 1960's.


His first known photo, seven year old Arthur, baby Roy, four year old Edgar and three year old David Dwight.

Although only a little above average in height and weight, Eisenhower dominated any gathering of which he was a member. His bald pate, prominent forehead, and broad mouth made his head seem larger than it was. He had a wonderfully expressive face, and it was impossible for him to conceal his feelings.

He had a sharp, orderly mind. No one thought of him as an intellectual giant, and outside his professional field he was not well read. He was not likely to come up with brilliant insights. But he could look at a problem, analyze it, see what alternatives were available, and choose from among them. His beliefs were those of Main Street; his personality that of the outgoing, affable American writ large.

Almost everyone liked him. His easy manners, his obvious concern with the welfare of others, his ability to listen patiently--all contributed to his popularity. Most important was his trustworthy nature. His grin, his mannerisms, and his generosity and kindness all exuded sincerity.

Childhood

Eisenhower's parents, David and Ida Stover Eisenhower, both belonged to the River Brethren, a fundamentalist Christian sect. David and Ida met as students at Lane University, operated by the United Brethren Church in Lecompton, Kans. They married in 1885. David's father, a prosperous farmer, gave him $2,000 and a 160-acre farm as wedding gifts. However, David hated the drudgery of farming and sold out, investing in a general store in Hope, Kans. Within three years the business failed, and David was broke. He fled to Denison, Texas, leaving behind a son and a pregnant wife. He worked as a laborer on a railroad for $40 a month and in 1889 sent for his family to join him in Texas. There Dwight was born on Oct. 14, 1890. When Dwight was less than a year old, David took a job at the Belle Springs Creamery in Abilene, Kans., and the family moved into a small house in Abilene. There David and Ida raised six healthy boys--a seventh son died in infancy--on a salary that never exceeded $100 a month. Each of the six surviving sons achieved success.


Promising West Point football player, Dwight Eisenhower, kicks in 1912. An injury would cut short Ike's collegiate football career, but he found success in other areas.

Ida ran a tightly organized household. The Eisenhowers raised almost all their own food, selling the surplus for cash. The boys worked to earn their spending money. David led weekly Bible reading sessions. He and Ida moved steadily toward a more primitive Christianity, eventually joining the Jehovah's Witnesses. None of their sons became notably devout--Dwight never joined a church and rarely attended a church service in his adult life--but none staged a dramatic rebellion against religion either. At the core of his parents' religion was an ingrained respect for the individual as a creature of God who had free will. They insisted that their boys be fully exposed to Christianity, but beyond that they did not impose their beliefs. The Eisenhowers also encouraged their children to be independent and self-reliant.

Although Dwight attracted little attention in the classroom, he stood out in athletic competition through grade school and high school. After graduating from Abilene High School in 1909, Dwight went to work in the creamery, partly to support an older brother in college. He took a competitive examination for an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, both because a free education was too good to pass up and because of the opportunity to play football. He passed the examination, then found that he was too old to go to Annapolis and instead in 1911 went to the Military Academy at West Point.

Military Career

Sports were his all-consuming interest. At the academy he was average in everything else. During his second year Eisenhower played halfback on the Army team, and sportswriters began to predict All-American honors for him, but a twisted knee during the season ruined his football career. The blow to his emotions was worse. His roommate described Eisenhower as a man who had lost interest in life. Eisenhower graduated in 1915, 61st in a class of 164.


Mamie, David Dwight ("Icky"), and Dwight Eisenhower, ca.1919

Marriage

Two weeks after reporting for duty as a 2d lieutenant of Infantry at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, he met Mamie Geneva Doud. He immediately embarked on a courtship. Miss Doud came from a wealthy Denver family and was accustomed to a life of ease and luxury, which a young Army officer could hardly offer. She tried to discourage her suitor, but he persisted, and on July 1, 1916, they were married in Denver. The union was an eminently happy one. They had two sons. One died as a child. The other, John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower, graduated from the Military Academy on the day Dwight Eisenhower launched the invasion of Europe. He later served as ambassador to Belgium. Mamie Eisenhower died in Washington on Nov. 1, 1979.

Early Promotions

In 1917, shortly after the U.S. entered World War I, Eisenhower was promoted to captain. He wanted desperately to go to France to lead men in battle, but he was such an outstanding instructor and trainer of men that the Army kept him in the United States. In March 1918 he took command of Camp Colt, a tank training center at Gettysburg, Pa. There he spent the rest of the war, learning a great deal about armored warfare and about turning civilians into soldiers, earning a Distinguished Service Medal for his services, but getting no promotions or combat experience. He was promoted to major in 1920 and in the next year graduated from the Tank School at Camp Meade, Md. But outward signs of progress hid inner drift. He had little interest in his profession, spent most of his time coaching football teams on Army posts, and could not see much of a future for himself.


Dwight Eisenhower, far right, with three unidentified associates, in 1919 during the time the 29-year-old lieutenant colonel, four years out of West Point, participated in a transcontinental military convoy trek.

Then, in 1922, he was transferred to the Panama Canal Zone as executive officer for the 20th Infantry Brigade. There he met Gen. Fox Conner, who stimulated Eisenhower's interest in the profession of arms. Conner gave Eisenhower what amounted to a graduate course in military history. They spent hours talking about military and international problems. Conner told Eisenhower that a certain Col. George C. Marshall would lead the American forces in the next war--which he was certain would come--and urged Eisenhower to try for an assignment under Marshall. Conner also impressed on Eisenhower the idea that the next war would be worldwide and those who directed it would have to think in terms of world rather than single-front strategy. Even after he was a retired president, Eisenhower would say, "Fox Conner was the ablest man I ever knew."

Staff Assignments

In 1925, thanks to Conner's help, Eisenhower went to the Command and General Staff School in Leavenworth, Kans. He worked hard, graduating first in a class of 275. In 1927 he prepared a guidebook on European battlefields of World War I. In 1928 he graduated from the Army War College in Washington, D. C. By this time his reputation in the Army was that of an outstanding staff officer, uncommonly good at preparing reports.



From 1929 to 1933, Eisenhower served in the office of the assistant secretary of war. He produced a long report on industrial mobilization in the event of war. In 1933 he became assistant to the chief of staff, Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Although MacArthur was too flamboyant for Eisenhower's taste, MacArthur appreciated and depended on Eisenhower's administrative and writing abilities. When MacArthur went to the Philippines in 1935 as military adviser to the Commonwealth, he asked the War Department to detail Major Eisenhower to him as senior assistant. Eisenhower spent the next four years in the Philippines helping MacArthur build up the defenses of the islands. He made no secret of the fact that he disliked the duty and wanted command of troops.

In early 1940, Eisenhower, now a lieutenant colonel, became executive officer of the 15th Infantry Regiment at Fort Ord, Calif., but the Army quickly sent him back to staff work. In March 1940 he became chief of staff of the 3d Division at Fort Lewis, Wash., and in 1941 rose to colonel and chief of staff for Gen. Walter Krueger, commander of the 3d Army at Fort Sam Houston. In the summer of 1941 he made the plans for Krueger's 3d Army in the Louisiana maneuvers, the largest ever held in peacetime in the United States. Eisenhower did so well that for the first time he attracted some notice outside the Army. He was also promoted to brigadier general.

On Dec. 14, 1941, George Marshall, now Army chief of staff, called Eisenhower to Washington and put him in the War Plans Division with special responsibility for the Far East. Eisenhower was stuck behind a desk again, working 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. Marshall, who was trying to cut the deadwood out of the Army's general officer ranks and was looking for vigorous younger men to lead the war effort, was impressed. In March 1942, he made Eisenhower a major general and head of the Operations Division. In June he added another star and sent Eisenhower to London to take command of the U.S. forces in the European Theater of Operations.

[SAMWolf]

African and Italian Campaigns

Eisenhower spent his first weeks in London participating in one of the war's great strategic debates. Following Marshall's lead, he urged the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS, composed of the heads of services of Britain and the United States) to plan for an invasion of France in 1943, with a possible suicide invasion in 1942 if it appeared that the Soviet Union was about to leave the war. The British insisted on an invasion of North Africa, an easier task though less likely to produce significant results. It was one of many disagreements between the British and American commands on war strategy. President Franklin D. ROOSEVELT sided with the British. The CCS selected Eisenhower to command Operation Torch, giving him control of all British and U.S. ground, sea, and air forces involved. It was a unique command. Eisenhower's directive gave him far more power than Marshal Foch had exercised in 1918 in the only previous attempt to create a large allied command.

General Patton (left) confers with General Eisenhower at the beginning of the II Corps offensive.

On Nov. 8, 1942, the African invasion began. Eisenhower's forces landed near Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers. The Vichy French forces resisted. Eisenhower made a deal with their commander, Adm. Jean Darlan, giving Darlan civil control of North Africa in return for French cooperation in the war against Germany. Because Darlan was anti-Semitic and a collaborator with the Nazis and because Eisenhower was giving him vast powers, the arrangement brought a storm of protest on Eisenhower's head. By emphasizing the temporary, military nature of the deal, Eisenhower survived the storm.

On the ground, meanwhile, Eisenhower tried to rush his troops eastward into Tunisia before the Germans could establish themselves there. He failed. A long, dreary campaign followed, punctuated by the Battle of Kasserine Pass, in February 1943, in which the U.S. troops were caught by surprise but recovered and held their ground. In May the Germans surrendered. Eisenhower, now a full four-star general, added the British Eighth Army, under Montgomery, to his command and in July launched the invasion of Sicily. The island fell at the end of August, though most of the German defenders escaped. Eisenhower, meanwhile, had also been directing the secret negotiations for the Italian surrender.

On Sept. 8, 1943, Eisenhower's forces invaded Italy at Salerno. The Germans, who had occupied the country and were well prepared, fought a tough defensive campaign in the mountains, and progress was slow. Eisenhower was delighted when in December the CCS ordered him to leave Italy and go to London to take command of the forces gathering in England for the invasion of France.

Invasion of France

When Eisenhower took over Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), he found himself in command of the largest single undertaking ever attempted by man. The entire course of the war would likely turn on the success or failure of Operation Overlord. More than 156,000 men would hit the Normandy beaches on the first day, with 6,000 ships behind them and thousands of airplanes of every type overhead. To organize and direct this vast force, Eisenhower had a staff of 16,312 officers and enlisted men. He counted most of all, however, on two men. Marshall had backed him throughout the Mediterranean campaign and was giving him unlimited support in Washington. His own chief of staff, Walter Bedell Smith, was another source of strength. In the field his chief U.S. commanders were Gen. Omar Bradley, a West Point classmate and close friend, and Gen. George Patton. Eisenhower did not get along well with Montgomery, the British commander, but respected his ability.

The invasion was scheduled for June 4, 1944, but a great storm over the English Channel forced postponement. That evening the weatherman predicted that the storm would abate by the morning of June 6, providing satisfactory landing conditions. Eisenhower had total confidence in his meteorologist, based on a month of checking on his predictions every day. After consulting with his field commanders and staff, Eisenhower tentatively decided to launch the attack. On June 5 he held a predawn conference. He could still order the ships to turn back. Outside, the wind howled and the rain seemed to come down in horizontal streaks. The weatherman stuck by his prediction. Most of Eisenhower's advisers wanted to go ahead. If he called off the invasion, it could not be launched for at least two weeks. Also, the secret of the landing site would almost certainly become known to the Germans because 160,000 men had been briefed. If the storm did not subside, however, the invasion landing craft would be tossed on the beaches and Overlord would fail. Only Eisenhower could decide. He thought for a moment, then said quietly but clearly, "O.K., let's go."



The weather cleared and the troops got ashore. For the next month and a half Eisenhower built up his forces in Normandy, meanwhile urging Montgomery to take more aggressive action in the vicinity of Caen so that the SHAEF forces could move on to Paris by the most direct route. Montgomery, however, insisted that his chief task was to tie down heavy German forces so that the Americans on his right could break out of the beachhead.

In late July the Americans did force a breakthrough, and the drive through France began. Almost immediately Eisenhower was locked in another controversy with Montgomery. The British general urged the supreme commander to give the British troops on the left all available supplies so that he could lead a drive into northern Germany. Eisenhower insisted on advancing along a broad front, with Bradley's American troops on the right staying about even with Montgomery's troops. Montgomery charged that Eisenhower's caution prolonged the war. Eisenhower believed that if he gave all the drastically limited supplies--SHAEF's major problem was the absence of deepwater ports--to Montgomery and allowed him to drive into Germany, the troops involved in the single thrust would be isolated and destroyed by the enemy. In addition, Eisenhower thought it politically impossible to halt the Americans--especially Patton--in the Paris region while Montgomery drove for Berlin and glory. He insisted on the broad front in the face of the strongest protests from Montgomery, the British chiefs of staff, and Prime Minister Churchill. He had his way, partly because of Marshall's support, mainly because of his own growing self-confidence.

Dwight Eisenhower talks to American paratroopers in England on June 6, 1944

By late autumn the SHAEF forces had outrun their supplies. Although they had driven the enemy from France, they had been unable to penetrate Germany. In December 1944 the Germans began a massive counterattack in the Ardennes region. In the resulting Battle of the Bulge, Eisenhower, his staff, and most of all the troops recovered quickly and soon plugged the breach in the Allied lines. Eisenhower, now wearing five stars, approached the Rhine along a broad front, destroying the bulk of the German forces in a brilliant campaign.

Berlin Controversy

The question now concerned the direction the advancing forces should take. Churchill wanted Eisenhower to capture Berlin and hold it until the Russians made concessions on Poland and other political questions relating to the fate of postwar eastern Europe. Eisenhower insisted that prior agreements between the Allied governments--agreements that had divided Germany into occupation zones and Berlin into sectors within the Russian zone--made the nationality of the troops who took Berlin meaningless. If the Americans took the city, he felt, they would suffer up to 100,000 casualties and would then have to give up most of Berlin, and all the surrounding area, to the Russians anyway. Besides, he argued, there was no possibility of getting large Allied forces into Berlin before the Russians took the city. Once again, the alliance was greatly strained, but Eisenhower held it together even while insisting on his own views. He sent his forces into southern Germany. His decision remains the subject of hot dispute.

The Germans signed the unconditional surrender document on May 8, 1945. Eisenhower headed the occupation forces for six months, then went to Washington to succeed Marshall as chief of staff. He presided over the demobilization of the American Army, made speeches urging national defense, and wrote an account of his war career. Although pressed by both major parties to accept a presidential nomination, he insisted that he had no interest in politics and instead in 1949 accepted the presidency of Columbia University. In 1950 he left Columbia to become supreme commander of the newly formed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces.

[SAMWolf]

Presidency

Prominent DEMOCRATS had tried unsuccessfully to draft Eisenhower for the presidency in 1948. After he became NATO commander, representatives of both parties continued to query him about his availability for 1952. Their interest was due to his widespread popularity and aloofness from partisan strife. Eisenhower was reluctant to enter politics unless he was drafted. The Democrats could have met his conditions and given him a virtually uncontested nomination. Yet he chose to declare that he was a REPUBLICAN because he believed that Democratic policies were promoting centralized government at the expense of individual liberty. However, Sen. Robert A. Taft of Ohio cherished the same conviction and believed that he had a better claim on the Republican presidential nomination. Taft headed a Midwestern faction strongly represented in CONGRESS. It opposed lavish welfare programs at home. It was generally for retrenchment of American commitments abroad and critical of the Truman administration for aiding Europe at the expense of Asia. Although strongly nationalistic, the Taft faction preferred to fight communism by weeding out American subversives than by containment overseas. So it supported the demagogic investigations of Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin, a Republican. In short, it wanted to make an all-out fight on President Truman's Fair Deal and believed that the Republicans had lost the last three presidential ELECTIONS by soft-pedaling major issues.



1952 Nomination and Election

Eisenhower preferred not to become a factional candidate, but the moderate Eastern wing of the party headed by Gov. Thomas E. Dewey of New York and Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., of Massachusetts persuaded him to announce his availability for the nomination. It soon became apparent that the Taft forces were strong enough to prevent a draft. So Eisenhower resigned as supreme commander and returned to the United States on June 1, 1952, to wage a hectic five-week pre-convention campaign. The Taft and Eisenhower forces were so evenly matched that the outcome depended on the decision of some 300 delegates pledged to favorite-son candidates. In the end, they coalesced behind Eisenhower, and helped unseat contested Taft delegates from three Southern states. Eisenhower was nominated by a narrow margin on the first ballot. A number of delegates who voted for him would have preferred Taft but did not think the latter could win in November. The same reasoning led them to support a moderate platform.



Many Taft supporters were bitter over the outcome, but they eventually rallied to Eisenhower. His selection of Sen. Richard M. NIXON of California as his running mate helped to restore harmony because Nixon was conspicuously identified with congressional investigations of Communists. Using the new medium of television effectively, Eisenhower turned the ensuing campaign into a triumphal procession. Large, enthusiastic crowds greeted him everywhere and applauded his appeals for patriotism and clean government. Neither his jerky delivery nor his failure to deal with controversial issues checked the Eisenhower tide. He easily defeated his Democratic opponent, Gov. Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois, piling up a margin of 442 votes to 89 in the ELECTORAL COLLEGE. In the popular vote, Eisenhower led Stevenson 33,937,252 to 27,314,992. The Republicans captured both Houses of Congress by narrow margins and made inroads in the hitherto Democratic South because of its opposition to Truman's civil rights program.

Eisenhower brought to the presidency both the assets and limitations of a military background: a talent for administrative efficiency qualified by a deficient background in national problems outside the sphere of foreign relations. He established a chain of command, delegated broad responsibility to subordinates, and freed himself to grapple with the larger issues. He also attempted to learn about race relations, economic questions, and the intricacies of partisan politics. Although his knowledge grew steadily in all three areas, it seldom prompted him to vigorous action. He sought consensus above all else, and shunned bold, controversial programs. This tendency was reinforced by his belief that many problems would be better solved at the local level than through initiatives from Washington. Because he admired businessmen and relied heavily on them in staffing his administration, Eisenhower was exposed to little dissent from his advisers.

Domestic Issues: First Term

The initial domestic objectives of the new administration were to balance the budget, reduce the agricultural surplus by lowering price supports for farm products, and institute a loyalty program that would discourage the investigations of Senator McCarthy. Apart from Eisenhower's inexperience, other obstacles impeded his efforts. Groups accustomed to receiving financial aid from the federal government opposed the reduction of government expenditures, and Congress was reluctant to offend them. Farmers wanted to grow as much as they pleased while retaining high price supports. Worse still, factional differences paralyzed the small Republican majorities in both Houses of Congress. Control rested with the Taft faction. Taft had tried to cooperate with Eisenhower, but he soon died. Thereafter, congressional leadership was more obstructive.


Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower

As a result, it took Eisenhower three years to balance the budget, and his victory was illusory because mounting expenditures for foreign aid and defense soon produced a new deficit. He also secured a token cut in support prices for agriculture. At first his cautious efforts to outflank McCarthy were fruitless, but McCarthy overreached himself in 1954, was censured by the Senate, and lost his influence. Meanwhile, a mild economic recession had begun, and many people blamed the monetary policies of George M. Humphrey, the conservative secretary of the treasury.

The Supreme Court confronted Eisenhower with another problem in May 1954 by declaring segregation in public schools unconstitutional. It set no time schedule for compliance. Most Northern African Americans customarily voted Democratic, and Eisenhower might have converted some by pressing energetically for implementation of the court order. But he temporized, partly because he was fearful of arresting the movement of Southern Democrats into the Republican party.


Liberation of Ohrdruf Concentration Camp. General Eisenhower is in the middle of the photo.

The Republicans lost both houses in the off-year congressional elections of 1954, but by such slim margins that the outcome could not be interpreted as a rebuke to the President. The sequel was a period of dead-center government in which the Democratic leadership subjected Eisenhower to pinpricks. Senate Majority Leader Lyndon JOHNSON and House Speaker Sam Rayburn seldom challenged the President personally, but these skilled legislative leaders frequently outmaneuvered Eisenhower. On some issues, however, the Democrats supported Eisenhower in greater numbers than conservative Republicans. However, Eisenhower's mild proposals for a commission to study racial discrimination and for federal aid to education were killed by Southern Democrats. Because neither Eisenhower nor the bulk of the voters seemed interested in innovation, the deadlock caused little visible indignation.

Foreign Affairs: First Term

Eisenhower launched his administration with high hopes of ending the Cold War. Fulfilling a campaign pledge, the President-elect went to Korea in December 1952 to examine the military and diplomatic stalemate. After his inauguration, he quickly halted the fighting in Korea, but the negotiation of a cease-fire was the prelude to an uneasy truce rather than a genuine peace. He was more successful in securing the termination of the four-power occupation of Austria and the restoration of Austrian sovereignty in 1955. More comprehensive efforts to ease tension between the United States and the Soviet Union were less productive. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, who favored a firm stand against communism, strongly influenced the President. The administration promised to assume the diplomatic offensive and thereby free oppressed peoples behind the "iron curtain." The "new look" in foreign policy involved an intensification of ideological activity. There was more rhetoric than action, notably in the case of Hungary's abortive revolt against its Communist leaders.



Fresh hope for a détente revived in 1955 when the Russians agreed to a Big Four meeting at Geneva in July. Eisenhower, meeting with the leaders of the Soviet Union, Britain, and France, created the most excitement with an offer to permit aerial inspection of the United States by Russian planes if the Soviet Union would reciprocate. The Soviet delegates treated this and other proposals with respect, but at a subsequent meeting of foreign ministers in October 1955 it became apparent that the two sides were as far apart as ever on substantive issues.

Shortly thereafter the USSR began to arm Egypt, which was engaged in an undeclared war with Israel. The next year, after the United States had declined to finance a huge dam at Aswan on the Nile River, Egypt accepted a Soviet offer to do so. Egypt soon nationalized the Suez Canal, and on Oct. 29, 1956, England, France, and Israel attacked Egypt. With the Eisenhower administration refusing to support its own Allies and the Soviet Union championing the Egyptians, the invasion was quickly called off. The subsequent effort of the President to serve as an honest broker led to the restoration of a shaky peace, but the episode was the prelude to further Soviet penetration of the Middle East.

[SAMWolf]

Reelection in 1956

The expectation that Eisenhower would run for a second term was shaken when he suffered a heart attack in September 1955 while vacationing in Colorado. He recovered slowly, but by February 1956 felt well enough to announce his candidacy. Although an operation for ileitis in June 1956 raised fresh doubts about his political future, Eisenhower was again in good health by convention time. (He would also suffer a mild stroke in 1957, but it impaired his strength only briefly.) Yet uncertainty about his ability to survive a second term generated a movement to drop VICE PRESIDENT Nixon from the ticket in 1956 on the ground that he was an abrasive personality and would offend independent voters. Eisenhower did not encourage the dissidents, and Nixon was easily renominated.

President-elect Eisenhower in Korea - 1952.

The Democrats again selected Adlai Stevenson as their standard-bearer. The campaign was unusually free of issues. Eisenhower retained his image as a selfless public servant and confined his activities to nonpartisan appeals for support. The Democrats were afraid to attack him personally or to express direct doubts about his health. So they pictured the President as an amiable, naïve front man for Nixon and other "Red baiters." Voters were supposed to conclude that McCarthyism would be revived if the President died in office. These tactics failed. Eisenhower won 41 states and 457 electoral votes, while Stevenson won only 7 states and 73 electoral votes. In the popular vote, Eisenhower led Stevenson 35,589,477 to 26,035,504. Unfortunately for the Republicans, Eisenhower was far more popular than his party, which was unable to regain control of either house of Congress.

Domestic Issues: Second Term

Presidents seldom look as good in their second term as in their first, and Eisenhower was no exception to the rule. He struggled to maintain friendly personal relations with the Democratic leaders in Congress and largely succeeded. But his cordiality did not prevent them from ignoring some presidential recommendations and amending others. Mindful of his impending retirement and his decreasing ability to retaliate effectively, many Republican congressmen also became obstructive. This unstable coalition spearheaded a drive to increase the scope of welfare programs. Recognizing that he was unable to reduce governmental activities, Eisenhower fought to prevent them from getting larger. He was also embarrassed by congressional investigations of executive departments. The major casualty was Sherman Adams, his chief assistant and an influential adviser, who was forced to resign because he had accepted gifts from a textile manufacturer and lobbyist.



During his second term, Eisenhower also faced increasing repercussions from the 1954 school desegregation decision of the Supreme Court. Inclined to take the legally defensible but morally dubious position of acquiescing in delaying tactics, Eisenhower was obliged to act when a Southern mob obstructed token integration of a high school in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957. His initial efforts to get state authorities to enforce a federal court order were fruitless. So he dispatched military units to Little Rock and secured compliance with bayonets. The sullen attitude of local whites discouraged Eisenhower from further efforts at integration either by coercion or any other method. The adverse effect of his indecisiveness on African Americans was compounded by the tactics of Republican senators, many of whom voted with Southern Democrats to retain the rules permitting filibusters against civil rights legislation. Civil rights acts passed in 1957 and 1960 dealt rather ineffectively with voting rights.



Neither African Americans nor any other discontented group were inclined to support the Republicans when Eisenhower's magical name did not head the ticket. The GOP, also handicapped by a recession, suffered a disastrous defeat in the 1958 congressional elections as the Democrats sharply increased majorities in both the Senate and the House.

Foreign Affairs: Second Term

Eisenhower also encountered increasing frustration after 1957 in his attempts to moderate the Cold War. After a left-wing revolution in Iraq, Eisenhower airlifted a marine detachment to Lebanon in 1958 to forestall a similar uprising there. The immediate crisis soon subsided, and the troops were withdrawn, but the American position in the Middle East continued to deteriorate. In the same year, Vice President Nixon was almost killed by a hostile mob in Caracas, Venezuela, during a goodwill tour. Anti-American feeling erupted still closer to home when the radical Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba. Eisenhower outwardly ignored Castro's increasingly strident attacks on the United States but was criticized for both provoking and tolerating them.


President Dwight Eisenhower congratulates Korean War veteran Army Staff Sgt. Hiroshi H. Miyamura after presenting him the Medal of Honor. Miyamura earned the medal as a corporal during an April 1951 battle that resulted in his capture by Chinese soldiers. His award was kept secret for his safety until after his repatriation in August 1953.

Ill-fortune likewise dogged Eisenhower's final bid for an accommodation with the Russians. Premier Nikita Khrushchev boycotted a projected summit conference at Paris in May 1960. Khrushchev's excuse was the shooting down of an American U-2 plane that had been photographing installations in the USSR. Democrats criticized Eisenhower for jeopardizing peace with spy missions. They also charged that the administration was falling behind the Soviet Union in the development of missiles and other weapons of the space age. The secrecy that shrouded military planning precludes an objective judgment about Eisenhower's stewardship in that area. He did voice concern about the growing power of the Pentagon and of the "military-industrial complex." In any case, the combination of setbacks and partisan complaints about the administration's foreign policy were politically damaging on the eve of the 1960 election.

The 1960 Election

Long before the Republican convention, Eisenhower had groomed Nixon as his successor, giving the Vice President special assignments designed to command favorable publicity. The delegates enthusiastically ratified the choice. The Democrats nominated John F. KENNEDY, the youthful Catholic senator from Massachusetts, who combined an appealing personal style with an eloquent updating of NEW DEAL doctrines. Fearful that Eisenhower would unintentionally divert the spotlight from his protégé, Nixon's managers limited presidential participation in the campaign to the final weeks. Eisenhower's impact on Republican prospects was favorable but might have been greater had he been encouraged to intervene earlier. Kennedy reunited a large enough percentage of each group in the old New Deal coalition to win the election. Eisenhower transferred enough of his Democratic and independent support to Nixon to produce a close contest. Like the popular Whig generals of the 1840's, Eisenhower could win elections, but he could not convert personal loyalty into durable support for his party.


President Eisenhower became a member of the national Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America in 1948. He had been a staunch supporter of Scouting ever since his son was a Scout.

Retirement


The casket bearing the remains of the late General Eisenhower rests in state in Bethlehem Chapel at the Washington National Cathedral as members of the Joint Honor Guard maintain a Death Watch. 29 March 1969

During the initial years of his retirement, Eisenhower was healthy, active, and the recipient of many honors. Congress restored his rank as a five-star general, colleges conferred honorary degrees on him, and private organizations showered him with awards. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson treated him as an elder statesman, frequently soliciting his advice on international problems. These friendly relations survived Eisenhower's occasional attacks on Democratic policies and his efforts to rebuild the Republican party. He also established a repository for his papers at Abilene, Kans., and worked on his memoirs. When not traveling, he resided either on his farm at Gettysburg, Pa., or in the vicinity of Palm Springs, Calif. His recreational activities were concentrated on golf, hunting, fishing, and painting.


Funeral Services at the Eisenhower Center, Abilene, Kansas. 2 April 1969

Eisenhower did not endorse any candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1964, but encouraged a number whom he regarded as qualified to enter the race. He was disappointed when the delegates selected Sen. Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona because he thought the candidate was identified with an intemperate brand of conservatism. Eisenhower eventually endorsed Goldwater without becoming an active supporter.


Located across from the Eisenhower Home is the final resting place of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States. In November 1979 Mamie Doud Eisenhower was interred in the building. The Eisenhower's first born son, Doud Dwight was interred in 1966. The Place of Meditation was built with private funds under the auspices of the Eisenhower Presidential Library Commission.

A serious heart attack in August 1965 ended Eisenhower's active participation in public affairs. He was hospitalized frequently with a variety of complaints during the next three years and was an invalid after still another heart attack in the summer of 1968. Nevertheless, he endorsed Nixon for president and was gratified by his subsequent victory. His popularity never waned, and he topped the list of most admired Americans in a Gallup poll released in December 1968. Eisenhower died in Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., on March 28, 1969, and was buried at Abilene, Kansas.

Additional Sources:

www.probertencyclopaedia.com
memory.loc.gov
www.npg.si.edu
news.bbc.co.uk
www.history.org
www.multied.com
www.worldwar.nl
www-cgsc.army.mil
www.ames.lib.ia.us
i.timeinc.net
www2.tltc.ttu.edu
www.defenselink.mil
imglib.lbl.gov
www.army.mil
www.churchill-society-london.org.uk
www.gracegalleries.com
mcmsoftware.tripod.com
www.jewishgen.org
www.trumanlibrary.org
post369.columbus.oh.us
www.jhu.edu
users.ids.net
www.colgate.edu
www.eisenhower.utexas.edu

[SAMWolf]

'I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity'

'A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be temped to risk his own destruction.'

'History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.'

'The history of free men is never really written by chance but by choice -- their choice.'

'We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it.'

'Realizing that common sense and common decency alike dictate the futility of appeasement, we shall never try to placate an aggressor by the false and wicked bargain of trading honor for security. Americans, indeed all free men, remember that in the final choice a soldier's pack is not so heavy a burden as a prisoner's chains.'

'The Boy Scout movement merits the unstinted support of every American who wants to make his country and his world a better place in which to live. Its emphasis on community service and tolerance and world friendship promotes a speedier attainment of the enduring peace among men for which we all strive. By developing among its members both a spirit of sturdiness, self-reliance, and a realization of the need for cooperative effort in every major enterprise, the movement is a prime force in preparing tomorrow's men for their duty to themselves, their country, and their world. Here in the United States the Boy Scouts of America have accomplished much in its years of service. But today, more than ever before, we need expansion of its membership and influence.'

-- Dwight Eisenhower

[SAMWolf]

[Support Free Republic]

Strong Conservative Forums Help Prevent Candidates Like This From Winning Elections
	Finish Strong. Donate Here By Secure Server Or mail checks to FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794 or you can use PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com
STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD- It is in the breaking news sidebar!

[snippy_about_it]

.......FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!

.......Good Saturday Morning Everyone!


If you would like added to our ping list let us know.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole. It's OU-Texas Gameday here in the two states.

[Neil E. Wright]

G'day, Sam ... :)

Just stopped by to issue you a BRAVO ZULU for your OUTSTANDING work on these threads. Keep up the good work!

±

"The Era of Osama lasted about an hour, from the time the first plane hit the tower to the moment the General Militia of Flight 93 reported for duty."
Toward FREEDOM

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning EGC. Good luck on the game today.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Neil. Good to see you and thanks for stopping in the Foxhole today.

"General Militia of Flight 93"

I like that!

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Kentucky (BB-6)

Kearsarge class battleship
displacement. 11,520 t.
length. 375'4"
beam. 72'21/2"
speed. 16.9 k.
complement. 554
armament. 4 13", 4 8", 14 5", 20 6-pdrs., 8 1-pdrs., 4 .30 mg., 4 18" tt.

USS Kentucky (BB-6) was launched 24 March 1898 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.; sponsored by Miss Christine Bradley, daughter of Governor William Bradley of Kentucky; and commissioned 16 May 1900, Captain Colby M. Chester in command.

After fitting out in New York Navy Yard during the summer, Kentucky sailed 26 October 1900 for the Far East via Gibraltar and the Suez Canal. She joined the other American ships on the Asiatic Station at Manila February 1901 and 6 days later sailed for Hong Kong where she became flagship of the Southern Squadron under Rear Admiral Louis Kempff 23 March. Throughout the following year the battleship led her squadron as it watched over American interest In the Far East, visiting principal ports of Ch ina and Japan including Chefoo, Taku, Nanking, Woosung, Hong Kong, Amoy, Nagasaki, Kobe, and Yokohama.

Rear Admiral Frank F. Wildes also selected Kentucky as his flagship upon relieving Admiral Kempff 1 March 1902, but he transferred his flag to Rainbow 7 April. Rear Admiral Robely D. Evans, Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet, chose Kentucky as his flagship at Yokohama 4 November; and he continued to direct American naval operations in the Far East from her until she sailed from Manila for home 13 March 1904. After retracing her steps through the Suez Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar she arrived New York 23 May.

Upon completing overhaul in New York Nary Yard 26 October, Kentucky devoted the following year for tactics and maneuvers off the Atlantic coast with the North Atlantic Fleet. The battleship joined the welcome of the British Squadron at Annapolis an d New York in the fall of 1905 and then cruised along the eastern seaboard until 23 September 1906. On that day off Provincetown, embarked marines from Maine, Missouri and Kearsarge and landed them at Havana 1 October to protect American interests and property during the Cuban insurrection. She stood by to support forces ashore until 9 October before resuming battle practice and tactics in the North Atlantic.

Kentucky visited Norfolk 15 April 1907 to attend the Jamestown Exposition; and, after more exercises off the New England coast, she returned to Hampton Roads to join the "Great White Fleet" of 16 battleships for a world cruise that brought great prestige and honor to the Navy and the Nation. Rear Admiral Evans, Kentucky's former Flag Officer, commanded the fleet as it circumnavigated the globe receiving warm and enthusiastic welcomes at each port of call. As the famous voyage got underway from Hampton Roads 16 December, Kentucky passed in review before President Roosevelt as a unit in the 2d Squadron. After calling at Trinidad and Rio de Janeiro, the warships passed in order through the Straits of Magellan to visit Punta Arenas and Valparaiso, Chile. A stop at Callao Bay, Peru, was followed by a month of target practice out of Magdalena Bay, Mexico. The fleet reached San Diego 14 April 1908 and moved on to San Francisco 7 May. Exactly 2 months later the spotless warships sortied through the Golden Gate and sailed for Honolulu. From Hawaii they set course for Auckland, New Zealand, arriving 8 August. The fleet made Sydney 20 August and, after a week of warm and cordial hospitality, sailed for Melbourne.

Kentucky departed Albany, Australia, 10 September for ports in the Philippine Islands, Japan, China, and Ceylon before transiting the Suez Canal. She departed Port Said 8 January 1909 to visit Tripoli and Algiers with the 4th Division before reforming with the fleet at Gibraltar. Underway for home 6 February, she again passed in review before President Roosevelt upon entering Hampton roads 22 February, ending a widely-acclaimed voyage of good will in which she and her sister ships subtly but effectively demonstrated American strength to the world.

After local operations and repairs at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Kentucky decommissioned at Norfolk 28 August 1909. She recommissioned in the 2d Reserve 4 June 1912 but, save for a run to New York, did not operate at sea before being placed in ordinary in Philadelphia Navy Yard 31 May 1913.

The veteran battleship recommissioned at Philadelphia 23 June 1915 and sailed 3 July to train New York militia in a cruise from Long Island to ports in New England and Chesapeake Bay. She debarked the militia at New York and sailed to Portland to embark Maine militia for a training cruise. Returning to Philadelphia 31 August, she sailed 11 September for the coast of Mexico to watch over American interests during the unrest caused by the Mexican Revolution. She reached Vera Cruz 28 September 1915; and, but for a visit to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in March 1916, she remained on patrol off the Mexican coast until 2 June 1916.

The battleship called at Guantanamo Bay and Santa Domingo en route home to Philadelphia, where she arrived 18 June. Following maneuvers and tactics ranging north to Newport during the summer, Kentucky arrived New York 2 October and remained in the North River until the end of the year. She entered New York Naval Shipyard for repairs 1 January 1917 and was still there when the United States entered World War 1. She arrived Yorktown, Va., 2 May for duty as a training ship and trained recruits on cruises in Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic coast as far north as Long Island Sound. When the Armistice was signed 11 November 1918, she was training her 15th group of recruits, having already trained several thousand men for service in ships of the war-expanded Navy.

Kentucky entered Boston Navy Yard 20 December for overhaul. She sailed 18 March 1919 for refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay and then participated in fleet maneuvers and exercises ranging north from Norfolk to the New England coast. She arrived Annapolis 29 May to embark midshipmen and got underway 9 June for a summer practice cruise that took her to Cuba, the Virgin Islands, Panama, New York, Boston, and Provincetown. She returned Annapolis 27 August to debark her midshipmen and entered Philadelphia Navy Yard 30 August. She remained there until decommissioning 29 May 1920. Kentucky was sold to Dravo Construction Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., for scrapping 23 January 1924 in compliance with U.S. commitments under the Washington Treaty which limited naval armaments.

[GailA]

Ike sure beats the socks of ashley wilkes......he, he

[Samwise]

Good Morning, Snippy and eveyone.

Eisenhower is the first President that I remember. I think there is still an I Like Ike button at my mom and dad's house. I'll never forget the time I accidentally killed the goldfish I won at the school carnival. :^( My goldfish were named Ike and Mamie. RIP

[Valin]

On this Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on October 11:
1303 Boniface VIII, [Benedetto Gaetani], lawyer/pope (1294-1303), dies
1759 Mason Locke Weems, preacher (Episcopalian clergyman). Noted seller of books where he would fictionalize history. invented the story of George Washington and the cherry tree
1782 Steen Steensen Blicher Denmk, poet/short-story writer (E Binddstouw)
1821 Sir George Williams England, founder YMCA
1844 Henry John Heinz founded prepared-foods company (57 varieties)
1872 Harlan Fiske Stone NH, Supreme Court (1925-41) Chief Justice (41-46)
1884 Eleanor Roosevelt 1st lady/crusader
1896 Roman Jakobson linguist/Slavic scholar (Fundamentals of Language)
1897 Gen Nathan F Twining USAF (Neither Liberty nor Safety)
1897 George Preston Marshall NFL team owner (Washington Redskins)
1900 Cal Hubbard NFL tackle (Giants, Packers, Pittsburgh Pirates)
1902 Leon Belasco Odessa Russia, actor (Lucky Partners, My Sister Eileen)
1906 Earl "Dutch" Clark Colo, NFL hall of fame QB (Spartans, Detroit)
1910 Joseph Alsop political newspaper columnist (Men Around the President)
1914 Edward J Day US Postmaster General (1961)
1918 Jerome Robbins choreographer/composer (Tony-West Side Story)
1919 Art Blakey Pitts Pa, drummer (Billy Eckstine Band)
1925 Elmore Leonard American writer (Glitz, Mr Majestyk)
1925 Nancy Guild LA Calif, actress (Where Was I?)
1930 Harry Glass German DR, 1st E German Olympic medalist (bronze-1956)
1932 Dottie West Tenn, country singer (Here Comes My Baby)
1936 Charles Gordon Fullerton Roch, USAF/ast (STS T-1, T-3, T-5, 3, 51F)
1937 Ron Leibman NYC, actor (Norma Rae, Where's Poppa?, Beauty & Beast)
1943 Gene Watson country singer (Heartaches, Love & Stuff)
1944 Rodney Marsh athlete
1946 Felton Perry actor (Magnum Force, Sudden Death)
1946 Sawao Kato Japan, gymnast (Olympic-gold-1968, 72, 76)
1948 Daryl Hall rocker/songwriter (Hall & Oates-Sara Smile)
1950 Catlin Adams LA Calif, actress (Ms Loomis-Square Pegs)
1953 David Morse Beverly Mass, actor (St Elsewhere, House, Inside Moves)
1962 Joan Cusack Evanston Ill, comedienne (SNL)
1962 Leslie Landon LA Calif, actress (Etta Plum-Little House on Prairie)
1969 Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands
1971 Luke Perry Mansfield Ohio, actor (Dillon-Beverly Hill 90210)
1975 Kellie Martin actress (Life Goes On)

---

Deaths which occurred on October 11:
1303 Boniface VIII, [Benedetto Gaetani], lawyer/pope (1294-1303), dies
1424 Jan Zizka, Czech (army)leader (Hussite), dies of plague at 46
1531 Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss church reformer (Zwinglian), dies
1779 General Casimir Pulaski dies
1809 Meriwether Lewis capt of Lewis & Clark Expedition, dies at 35
1959 Bert Bell NFL hall of famer, dies at 64
1961 Leonard "Chico" Marx (Marx Brothers), dies at 74
1977 Dr Mason Gross professor (Think Fast, 2 for the Money), dies at 66
1985 Orson Welles dies at 70 of a heart attack
1985 Tex Williams country-western singer, dies at 68 of cancer
1986 Norm Cash 1st baseman (Detroit Tigers), dies at 51
1988 Waylon Flowers puppeteer, dies at 48
1990 Douglas Edwards WW II correspondant, dies of cancer at 73
1991 Redd Foxx comedian, dies at 68 from a heart attack

---

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1968 FERGUSON WILLIE C. JR.---OKLAHOMA CITY OK.
[02/73 REMAINS RECOVERED]
1968 HELLER IVAN LOUIS---GENESEO IL.
[03/73 REMAINS RECOVERED]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

---

On this day...
1492 Columbus' ships sight land on the horizon (Bahamas)
1521 Pope Leo X titles King Henry VIII of England "Defender of the Faith"
1531 The Catholics defeat the Protestants at Kappel during Switzerland's second civil war.
1737 Earthquake kills 300,000 & destroys « of Calcutta India
1776 Brig Gen Arnold's Lake Champlain fleet defeated by British
1779 Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski was killed while fighting for American independence during the Revolutionary War Battle of Savannah, Ga.
1797 British naval forces defeat Dutch off Camperdown, the Netherlands
1811 The Juliana, the 1st steam-powered ferryboat, begins operation
1862 The Confederate Congress in Richmond passes a draft law allowing anyone owning 20 or more slaves to be exempt from military service.
1864 Slavery abolished in Maryland
1865 Pres Johnson paroles CSA VP Alexander Stephens
1868 Thomas Alva Edison filed papers for his first invention: an Electrical Vote Recorder, to rapidly tabulate floor votes in Congress. Members of Congress rejected it.
1877 Outlaw Wild Bill Longley, who killed at least a dozen men, is hanged, but it took two tries; on the first try, the rope slipped and his knees drug the ground.
1890 1st 100 yard dash under 10 seconds (John Owens 9-4/5 secs, Wash DC)
1890 Daughters of the American Revolution founded
1913 Phila A's beat NY Giants, 4 games to 1 in 10th World Series
1919 1st transcontinental air race ends
1922 1st woman FBI "special investigator" appointed (Alaska Davidson)
1923 German mark falls to 10 billion per œ, 4 billion per $
1925 NY Giants play 1st NFL game, lose to Providence 14-0
1927 Lou Gehrig elected MVP
1932 1st political telecast (Democratic National Committee) at CBS, NYC
1936 "Professor Quiz", 1st radio quiz show premieres
1943 NY Yankees beat Cards 4 games to 1, in 40th World Series, 10th WS win - NY Yankees become 1st team to win 10 World Series
1945 Chinese civil war begins, Chiang Kai-Shek vs Mao Tse-Tung
1948 Cleve Indians beat Boston Braves, 4 games to 2 in 45th World Series
1958 2nd US Moon probe, Pioneer 1, reaches 113,810 km, falls back
1961 USAF Major Robert M White takes X-15 to 66,100 m
1962 1st appearance of a Gabor sister on the Merv Griffin Show
1962 2nd Vatican Council (21st ecumenical) convened by Pope John XXIII
1967 Yoko Plus Me art exhibit opens in London (the me is John Lennon)
1968 Apollo 7 the first manned Apollo mission, was launched with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard,.made 163 orbits in 260 hours
1968 Billy Martin named manager of Twins
1968 Panama revolts
1969 Soyuz 6 launched; Soyuz 7 & 8 follow in next 2 days
1971 Frank McGee becomes news anchor of the Today Show
1972 Prison uprising at Washington DC jail
1975 "Saturday Night Live" premieres with guest host George Carlin
1975 Islander's Bryan Trottier's 1st career hat trick
1977 Soyuz 25 returns to Earth
1978 Aristides Royo elected president of Panama
1979 Allan McLeod Cormack & Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield win Nobel Prize for medicine for developing the CAT scan
1980 Cosmonauts Popov & Ryumin set space endurance record of 184 days
1981 LeRoy Irvin sets yards gained on punt returns record (207 yds)
1981 Unknown rocker Prince opens for Rolling Stones at LA Coliseum
1981 Yanks beat Brewers 7-3 & win only Eastern Championship Series
1982 English ship Mary Rose, which sank during an engagement with France in 1545, raised at Portsmouth, England
1983 Last hand-cranked telephones US went out of service as 440 telephone customers in Bryant Pond, Maine, were switched over to direct-dial
1984 NASA launches space vehicle S-208
1984 VP candidate debate-Geraldine Ferraro (D) & George Bush (R)
1985 Atlantis returns to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB
1985 Pres Reagan bans importation of South African Krugerrands
1986 Reagan & Gorbachev open talks at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland
1987 200,000 gays march for civil rights in Washington
1990 Center for Urban archaeology opens in NYC South Street Seaport Museum
1990 Octavio Paz wins Nobel Prize for literature
1990 Oil hits a record $40.42 per barrel
1991 Anita Hill testifies Clarence Thomas sexually harrassed her
1991 Chip Beck ties PGA lowest 18 hole score of 59
1998 Pope John Paul II decreed the first Jewish-born saint of the modern era: Edith Stein, a nun killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz.
2000 Texas Governor George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore met in their second debate, in which they spent the first half politely discussing foreign policy, and the second half clashing over domestic issues.

---

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Panama, Panama Canal Zone : Revolution Day (1968)
Sri Lanka : Deepavali
US : General Pulaski Memorial Day (1779)
Western Samoa : National Day
Western Samoa : White Sunday (2nd Sunday) (Sunday)
Canada : Thanksgiving Day (Monday)
Florida : Farmers' Day (1915) (Monday)
Hawaii : Discoverer's Day (Monday)
US : Columbus Day (1492) (Monday)
Virgin Is & Puerto Rico : Friendship Day (Monday)
Get Organized Week Ends
Mental Illness Awareness Week Ends
Kiss Your Car Day
Auto Battery Safety Month
Value of Play Month
National Sarcastics' Awareness Month

---

Religious Observances
RC : Commemoration of the Motherhood of Mary
RC : Commemoration of St Mary Soledad, foundress of Handmaidens of Mary
Jewish : Sukkot

---

Religious History
1521 Leo X conferred the title "Fidei Defensor" (Defender of the Faith) upon England's Henry VIII. Three popes and 13 years later, Henry severed all ties with Rome to establish the Church of England.
1551 The 13th Session of the Council of Trent opened, during which major decisions were reached regarding the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist.
1895 Birth of Avis B. Christiansen, devotional author. One of the most prolific hymnwriters of the 20th century, two of her most enduring hymns today are "Up Calvary's Mountain" and "Precious Hiding Place."
1914 During World War I, the Cathedral of Notre Dame suffered minor damage during an air raid on Paris. (Notre Dame, the most famous of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages, is distinguished for both its size and antiquity.)
1954 Presbyterian apologist Francis Schaeffer wrote in a letter: 'Doctrinal rightness and rightness of ecclesiastical position are important, but only as a starting point to go on into a living relationship -- and not as ends in themselves.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

---

Thought for the day :
"A good pun is its own reword."

---

You might be a bachelor if...
you've often wondered how many empty pizza boxes constitutes a collection.

---

Murphys Law of the day...(The Pollyanna Paradox)
Every day, in every way, things get better and better; then worse again in the evening.

---

Astounding fact #480,724
Margaret Gorman --- 1st Miss America. She was 16 and 30-25-32 (1921).

[The Mayor]

[firewalk]

Thanks for the ping
bttt

[krb]

Is Ike the guy who decided we needed to send our boys straight up cliffs and get shredded up by machine gun fire in order to take back Europe?

[manna]

Present!

[snippy_about_it]

Thank you SAM. Great read today, I never knew so much about Ike. Seems to me we don't really hear a lot about him when talking of presidents.

This was very educational for me and I learned a lot today. "I like Ike".