Dwight David Eisenhower: everyone called him "Ike"
People called him "Ike." Not just his close friends -- everyone calledhim "Ike." He won a presidential election on the slogan, "I like Ike." In fact, Ike was very well liked. British Field Marshall BernardMontgomery, Ike's British equivalent during World War II, didn't likeAmerican military leaders, but he liked Ike. "He has the power of drawing the hearts of men toward him as a magnetattracts the bit of metal," he said. "He merely has to smile at you, and Born in 1890, Dwight David Eisenhower won an appointment to WestPoint. However, he didn't serve as a battlefield officer until World WarII, and for some years his career seemed stalled at the level of LieutenantColonel, his leadership potential apparently unrecognized (1). World War II changed that. Ike led the Allied forces on to NormandyBeach. Somehow he got all those young men, who wanted nothing more to gohome to their wives, their mothers, their sweethearts, to instead ...
But, as it turns out, he was not. on the sheer faith, inspired in themby Ike, that enough of them would get through to finally put an end toHitler's monstrous war. Hechanged the course of world history, and then his defense of theConstitution at home helped change the course his own country was on. He came home to a country where institutionalized segregation and JimCrow laws dominated the life of all Black people in the South. His standin favor of the Constitution even against his own personal beliefs showedhim to be a true defender of our country. Athome and abroad, he showed us all what courage really was -- the strengthto do unpopular things as well as dangerous ones. Ultimately he sentin the National Guard. Itwasn't about what beliefs Eisenhower had grown up with in Kansas at theturn of the century; it was about enforcing the law of the land. Schools weresegregated, and since there were few accredited Black high schools in theSouth, most -- no matter how hard they worked on their education -- couldnot go to college, because their high school diploma was not accepted atmost colleges. He was certain, however,that we should not start with the schools (1). He supported the rule of laws and the Constitution,and the Supreme Court had ruled that segregation was unacceptable. By all accounts, he had quite atemper and really had to work to keep it under control sometimes (1). How did he get them to do that' Then, within five months of being elected, President Eisenhower --arguably the greatest soldier modern times has ever known -- brought an endto the Korean Conflict.
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