The Dwight D. Eisenhower Society

65 YEARS AGO TODAY President Eisenhower outlined what he considered to be the essential foundation of any political party in a speech delivered at the Fourth Annual Republican Women’s National Conference on March 6, 1956: If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power. ... (National Archives Photo)

We Invite You to Join! Do you enjoy our Facebook posts? Are you interested in knowing more about General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower? Do you admire Ike’s qualities and accomplishments? The Dwight D. Eisenhower Society is a membership organization that sponsors education programs, grants and scholarships to help promote an awareness and appreciation of Eisenhower and to perpetuate his legacy of leadership. Check out our website, www.dwightdeisenhowersociety.org, and find out how to join and experience exclusive benefits, member activities, and special tours.

REMEMBERING L. ALEX WILSON Of those whose lives we celebrate this Black History Month, let’s not forget L. Alex Wilson. Wilson was the editor and general manager of the Tri-State Defender, a Memphis African American newspaper. In the fall of 1957, he was one of the many reporters in Little Rock covering the integration of Central High School by nine black students.... It was September 23, 1957. Up till then, the National Guard, on orders from Governor Faubus, had blocked the black students’ entry into the school. But, the Governor had by now been forced to withdraw the Guard and on this day the nine students were escorted by Little Rock police and state troopers through an angry mob of a thousand white protesters into the school for the first time. They were removed just three hours later for their own safety. In the midst of the mob was Alex Wilson doing his job. He was suddenly kicked in the back. Punched and kicked again. He fell, but immediately arose, and with great composure put his hat back on his head. A man jumped on his back and choked him. He was hit in the chest and then in the head with a brick. He rose again and with hat in hand stoically walked on. Bleeding and dazed, he made it to his car. He returned to his hotel room to write his story. He met his deadline, his story ran the next day. That next day, September 24th, photos of a lone, dignified black gentleman being beaten by a surrounding white mob in Little Rock, Arkansas appeared in major newspapers across the country. On that same day, President Eisenhower would send in the 101st Airborne Division to disperse the violent mob and to safely escort the nine black students into the doors of Central High each day. In his story, Wilson had written: I decided not to run. If I were beaten, I’d take it walking if I could not running Any newsman worth his salt is dedicated to the proposition that it is his responsibility to report the news factually under favorable and unfavorable conditions. Wilson eventually became editor of one of the nation’s leading African American newspapers, the Chicago Defender, where he continued to write passionately about racial equality. He died in 1960 at the age of 51 of Parkinson’s disease, believed to have been brought on by the beating he sustained on that fall day in 1957.

February 20th, 1954 - one of the more memorably peculiar dates in Eisenhower presidential history. The day began normally enough. President Eisenhower was enjoying a few rounds of golf while vacationing in Palm Springs. That evening though - that's when it got weird. Ike seemingly disappeared. Rumors spread. The Associated Press suddenly reported that the President had died of a heart attack. A few minutes later they retracted the story - oops, he's not really dead. The Pres...ident's spokesperson attributed his disappearance to an emergency trip to the dentist to fix a tooth he had chipped while eating fried chicken. But soon, there were those who came to insist that the dental visit was a cover story. The President, they claimed, was actually rushed to Edwards Air Force Base to meet with extraterrestrials who communicated with him telepathically and offered an exchange - a sharing of their superior technology in return for a promise to eliminate all of America's nuclear weapons, an offer which Eisenhower turned down. From chipped tooth to deadly heart attack to top secret nuclear disarmament talks with space aliens... And all Ike wanted was to simply enjoy a couple days of golf. (Photo: President Eisenhower during a round of golf in Palm Springs with actor Randolph Scott (left) and comedian Freeman Gosden.).

Eisenhower National Historic Site remembers today Ike's irreplaceable man...

By war’s end, it seemed to General Dwight Eisenhower that anytime he received a promotion, it was a harbinger of disaster. He was promoted to four star general on February 11th, 1943. Several days later would begin the series of battles collectively known as the Battle of Kasserine Pass. As American forces advanced eastward through the mountains of Tunisia in North Africa, the Germans counterattacked. It was the first time the American army faced German troops. The encounter ...is often ranked as one of the worst drubbings ever suffered by the United States Army. After a week of fighting, U.S. forces rallied and pushed the Germans back. But, the U.S. II Corps lost 6500 men, 183 tanks, 194 half tracks, 208 artillery guns, and over 500 trucks and jeeps. The poor performance of Ike's troops shook their morale and provoked the scorn of their British allies. However, it was an experience that ultimately benefited Eisenhower and the United States Army, one they were forced to learn from. Ike immediately made changes. He relieved the ineffectual U.S. II Corps Commander Fredendall and replaced him with General George Patton. He overhauled the Army's intelligence operations, established tougher standards for his officers, and made efforts to integrate artillery and air support. And he drilled into his troops the necessity of fighting as concentrated, unified divisions with combined arms - heavy firepower, armor, and infantry all working together. Eisenhower's next promotion, to five star general, was on December 20th, 1944. It came at the height of the German counteroffensive - the Battle of the Bulge. The very next day the Germans would completely surround the U.S. 10th Armored and 101st Airborne Divisions in the village of Bastogne. (Photo: Eisenhower in Tunisia with General Alexander, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces in North Africa discussing future operations.) To learn more about the Dwight D. Eisenhower Society, visit our website at www.dwightdeisenhowersociety.org

January is National Soup Month! In celebration, you might like to try your hand at concocting Eisenhower’s Famous Vegetable Soup. Here are some of Ike’s tips for preparing the soup: 1. The best time to make vegetable soup is a day or so after you have fried chicken and out of which you have saved the necks, ribs, backs, un-cooked. (The chicken is not essential, but does add something.) 2. Procure from the meat market a good beef soup bonethe bigger the better. It is a rat...her good idea to have it split down the middle so that all the marrow is exposed. 3. After boiling the meat all day long, put the kettle containing the stock you now have in a very cool place, outdoors in the wintertime or in the ice box; let it stand all night and the next day until you are ready to make your soup. 4. One of the secrets of making good vegetable soup is not to cook any of the vegetables too long. 5. As a final touch, in the springtime when nasturtiums are green and tender, you can take a few nasturtium stems, cut them up in small pieces, boil them separately, and add them to your soup. The entire three-page recipe can be found on the Eisenhower Library website: https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov//files/file/vegetable_so

Our friends at Eisenhower National Historic Site remind us today how important it was to Ike that we should never forget...

Two of President Eisenhower’s most memorable Inauguration Day moments January 20, 1953: During the inaugural parade, with 750,000 in attendance, Ike was lassoed while in the reviewing stand by palomino-riding California cowboy, Marty Montana. January 20, 1961: After attending President Kennedy’s inauguration, Ike and Mamie were driven back home to their Gettysburg farmhouse via limousine. As they reached the Farm’s front gate, the accompanying Secret Service vehicle u-turned.... The agents honked the horn, waved farewell, and drove off back toward Washington. Ike would later say that was the moment it all hit home he was no longer President. (Photos courtesy of Eisenhower Presidential Library and National Park Service) To learn more about the Dwight D. Eisenhower Society, visit our website at www.dwightdeisenhowersociety.org

Dear Mr. President: The Southern Christian Leadership Conference in session at Memphis, in the state of Tennessee, extends its warmest commendation for the positive and forthright stand that you have taken in the Little Rock school situation. You have shown to the nation and the world that the United States is a nation dedicated to law and order rather than mob rule. In an hour so charged with the tragic possibility of world conflict, America can ill afford to be guilty of s...ins against her own way of life. So wrote Dr. Martin Luther King in the opening paragraph of a letter to President Eisenhower on November 5, 1957 in which he praised Eisenhower’s response to the Little Rock Crisis and requested that he move quickly to appoint the new Civil Rights Commission. Eisenhower appointed the Commission two days later. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 92 today, January 15th. Happy Birthday, Reverend King. (Photo: U.S. National Archives)

Dr. Shirley Warshaw, Director of the Fielding Center for Presidential Leadership at Gettysburg College, was pleased to receive a $4,000 grant from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Society. This year the Fielding Center is looking at national and international satellite issues. The Center will use the grant to invite at least two experts to campus to provide all campus lectures: one on the burgeoning private satellite business and one on how NASA is interacting with the private sect...or. Questions examined will be the number of satellites launched by the United States and the international community, the years they remain active, their primary function (military/spy or communications), the number of launches and the payload, and the location of satellite launch providers. This information is held by different agencies and not managed by any one agency. Students will not only catalogue this information but identify trends, which will be of help to policy makers. Dr. Warshaw said, We are excited to partner with the Eisenhower Society on these programs on an aspect of space policy given President Eisenhower’s commitment to a peaceful use of space. He was adamantly against the militarization of space and hoped to use American ingenuity for the peaceful exploration of space. To that end, he prompted the creation of NASA, which reported directly to him and not to the Pentagon which it still does. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy maintains oversight over NASA today. Programs will be scheduled this spring either virtually or a combination of in person and virtual presentation. Dates and times will be announced when known. To learn more about the Dwight D. Eisenhower Society, visit our website: dwightdeisenhowersociety.org

Dr. Daun van Ee, Editor of the Eisenhower Papers Project and an Eisenhower Society Trustee, shares some thoughts expressed by President Eisenhower back in 1957: