General Eisenhower in the cockpit of a bomber during a visit to the Ninth Air Force in England, April 1944. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
General Dwight D. Eisenhower: respected military commander and 34th President of the United States.
Born David Dwight Eisenhower in Texas 1890, he graduated from military academy and served under General Douglas MacArthur before World War II began.
He rose to the rank of Brigadier General in 1941 and started working for US Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall. Operation Torch, which saw the Allies enter North Africa, was one of his major achievements.
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower saluting the shrine at National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle. (Photo by George Rodger/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)
His best known military operation was yet to come. After being made Full General and Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, Eisenhower took charge of the 1944 D Day Landings.
After the war, he was made US Army Chief of Staff. 1950 saw him running NATO forces in Europe. President Harry S. Truman asked him, though Eisenhower would later replace Truman in the White House. He served for 2 terms (1953 -1961). The campaign slogan “I Like Ike” is part of his legacy.
General Dwight Eisenhower playing golf, on the 16th green of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, Scotland October 10th 1946. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
As President he had success both at home and aboard. He’s credited not only with ending the Korean War but with trying to thaw the Cold War. Eisenhower strengthened Social Security and introduced the Interstate Highway System.
Despite his meteoric rise, Eisenhower had major setbacks. Tragically he and wife Mamie lost their young son Doud Dwight to scarlet fever. John however survived.
Eisenhower’s reputation as a military commandeer was rocked by the devastating battle of the Kasserine Pass (Tunisia) in 1943 with over 6,000 US casualties.
Future general and US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 – 1969, second from right) with his team during a backyard football practice in Abilene, Kansas, circa 1908. (Photo by FPG/Archive Photos//Getty Images)
He then suffered a heart attack in 1955. It’s felt his approach to civil rights was slow off the mark in the latter half of his term.
He wasn’t a fan of all out conflict. Back in 1945 he opposed the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As President he sent the CIA to defeat Communism, but disliked the tactics of Senator Joseph McCarthy at home.
After leaving office he moved to Pennsylvania, living the simpler life of an author on a farm he owned. Eisenhower passed away at the age of 78 in 1969.
General Dwight Eisenhower (left) and his party entering the tunnel leading to the Citadel of Julich, with Generals Simpson and McLain, Germany, 1945. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
President Eisenhower and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan sitting in the back of a Rolls Royce, flanked by a convoy of police on motorcycles as they drive through London, August 27th 1959. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
In a jeep, American former soldier and US President-elect Dwight D Eisenhower (1890 – 1969) (left, looking over his shoulder) talks with United Nations Commander in Chief General Mark W Clark (1896 – 1984) (back seat, center) and unidentified others during a tour of the 2nd US Infantry Division headquarters, Korea, December 5, 1952. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
American General Dwight Eisenhower (1890 – 1969) and Air Marshal Arthur Tedder (1890 – 1967), in front of a Sherman tank during tank and infantry demonstrations and invasion force manoeuvres, February 26, 1944. Eisenhower was later elected the 34th President of the United States. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
On a visit to the front lines, President Eisenhower eats with American soldiers
General Dwight Eisenhower and his party at the Citadel of Julich, with Generals Simpson and McLain, Germany, March 5th 1945. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
After the opening speech at a commemorative session of the United Nations, President Eisenhower sits center stage listening to San Francisco’s Mayor Robinson delivering his welcome address.
View of US President Dwight D Eisenhower (1890 – 1969) (left, with hand on hip) as he prepares to board a helicopter on the White House grounds, Washington DC, July 12, 1957. He was to leave for a ‘relocation point’ as part of nation-wide Civil Ddefense exercises. (Photo by United States Information Agency/PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
A motorcade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during a visit by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 – 1969), 1960. (Photo by Harvey Meston/Archive Photos/Getty Images)
General Dwight Eisenhower in his office during World War Two, London, January 18th 1944. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
President Dwigth D. Eisenhower (L) cooking steaks with former President Herbert C. Hoover. (Photo by Walter Sanders/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)
President Dwight D. Eisenhower (center) standing at ground breaking ceremony for new library. (Photo by Paul Schutzer/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)
General Dwight Eisenhower and his party walking through the tunnel leading to the Citadel of Julich, with Generals Simpson and McLain, Germany, March 5th 1945. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
General Dwight Eisenhower (left) and his party entering the tunnel leading to the Citadel of Julich, with Generals Simpson and McLain, Germany, 1945. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
