John Eisenhower | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium | |
| In office May 14, 1969 – September 28, 1971 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Ridgway B. Knight |
| Succeeded by | Robert Strausz-Hupe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower August 3, 1922 Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Died | December 21, 2013 (aged 91) Trappe, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
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| Relations | Doud Dwight Eisenhower (brother) |
| Children | |
| Parents | |
| Alma mater | |
| Profession | Army officer, historian, diplomat |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/ |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1944–1963 (active) 1963–1974 (reserve) |
| Rank | |
| Commands |
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| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | |
John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower (August 3, 1922 – December 21, 2013) was a United States Army officer and military historian. As a son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he ended his military career as a decorated brigadier-general. In the administration of President Richard Nixon (his father’s vice-president), he served as United States Ambassador to Belgium.
Early life and education
Eisenhower was born on August 3, 1922 in Denver, Colorado to future U.S. President and United States Army General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie; he was their second child. Their elder son, Doud, known affectionately as "Icky", died in 1921, at age three, after contracting scarlet fever. Eisenhower, like his father, attended the United States Military Academy, graduating on June 6, 1944, the day of the Normandy landings, which his father was commanding.[1]
Career
Eisenhower served in the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War, remaining on active duty until 1963; then serving in the U.S. Army Reserve until retirement in 1975 – attaining the rank of brigadier general.[2] A decorated soldier, Eisenhower found his World War II military career thwarted by fears for his safety and concern from the top brass that his death or capture would be a distraction to his father, the Supreme Allied Commander. Throughout World War 2, he was assigned to intelligence & administrative duties. This issue arose again in 1952 when Major Eisenhower was assigned to fight in a combat unit in Korea while his father ran for President. But unlike World War 2, John was able to see combat in Korea.[3] After a short stint in combat with an infantry battalion, he was reassigned to the safety of division headquarters. In 2008, he wrote about this experience in an opinion piece in The New York Times entitled "Presidential Children Don't Belong in Battle".[4]
During his father's presidency, John Eisenhower served as Assistant Staff Secretary in the White House, on the Army's General Staff, and in the White House as assistant to General Andrew Goodpaster.
In the administration of President Richard Nixon, who had been his father's Vice President, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Belgium from 1969 to 1971. In 1972, President Nixon appointed Eisenhower Chairman of the Interagency Classification Review Committee.[5] In 1975, he served President Gerald Ford as chairman of the President's Advisory Committee on Refugees.[6]
Marriage and children
Eisenhower married Barbara Jean Thompson on June 10, 1947, only a few days before her twenty-first birthday. Barbara was born on June 15, 1926, in Fort Knox, Kentucky, into an Army family. She was the daughter of Col. Percy Walter Thompson (November 8, 1898 – June 19, 1974) by his wife Beatrice (née Birchfield). Col. Thompson was commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. The Eisenhowers had four children:
- Dwight David Eisenhower II (born March 31, 1948, West Point, New York), who married Julie Nixon, herself a presidential daughter;
- (Barbara) Anne Eisenhower (born May 30, 1949, West Point, New York);
- Susan Elaine Eisenhower (born December 31, 1951, Fort Knox, Kentucky);
- Mary Jean Eisenhower (born December 21, 1955, Washington, DC).
The couple divorced in 1986 after thirty-nine years of marriage. In 1988, Barbara married widower Edwin J. Foltz, a former Vice President at the Campbell Soup Company. She died on September 19, 2014, in Gladwyne, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
In 1988, Eisenhower married Joanne Thompson. He lived in Trappe, Maryland, after moving there from Kimberton, Pennsylvania.[7]
Later life and death
A lifelong Republican, Eisenhower voted for Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election, citing dissatisfaction with Republican incumbent George W. Bush's management of U.S. foreign policy.[8] In later years, he had been an opponent of Frank Gehry's proposed design for the National Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, which he said was "too extravagant" and "attempts to do too much."[9]
He died at Trappe, Maryland on December 21, 2013.[10] From the death of John Coolidge in 2000 until his own death, Eisenhower was the oldest living presidential child.[11] His burial was at West Point Cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy.
Writing
As a military historian, Eisenhower wrote several books, including The Bitter Woods, a study of the Battle of the Bulge, and So Far from God, a history of the Mexican–American War. In a New York Times review of the latter, historian Stephen W. Sears remarked that Eisenhower "writes briskly and authoritatively, and his judgments are worth reading."[12] John Eisenhower also wrote the forewords to Borrowed Soldiers, by Mitchell Yockelson of the U.S. National Archives, and to Kenneth W. Rendell's Politics, War and Personality: 50 Iconic Documents of World War II.
Military awards
| U.S. military decorations | |
|
Bronze Star Medal |
|
Army Commendation Medal |
| U.S. service medals | |
|
American Defense Service Medal |
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American Campaign Medal |
  |
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal w/ 2 bronze service stars |
|
World War II Victory Medal |
|
Army of Occupation Medal w/ "Germany" Clasp |
|
National Defense Service Medal |
 |
Korean Service Medal w/ 3 bronze service stars |
| Foreign unit awards | |
|
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation |
| Non-U.S. service awards | |
|
United Nations Service Medal |
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Republic of Korea War Service Medal |
| U.S. Army badges | |
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Combat Infantryman Badge |
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Glider Badge |
Other honors
The city of Marshfield, Missouri chose Eisenhower as a 2008 honoree of the Edwin P. Hubble Medal of Initiative.[13] His grandson, Merrill Eisenhower Atwater spoke on his behalf at Marshfield's annual Cherry Blossom Festival. The medal recognizes individuals who demonstrate great initiative in their chosen field.
Dates of rank
| Insignia | Rank | Component | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Second Lieutenant | Regular Army | June 6, 1944 |
 |
First Lieutenant | Army of the United States | January 23, 1945 |
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Captain | Army of the United States | March 16, 1946 |
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First Lieutenant | Regular Army | June 6, 1947 |
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Captain | Regular Army | May 14, 1951 |
 |
Major | Army of the United States | August 16, 1951 |
|
Major | Regular Army | September 4, 1957 |
 |
Lieutenant Colonel | Army of the United States | May 31, 1960 |
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Lieutenant Colonel | Army Reserve | July 1, 1963 |
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Colonel | Army Reserve | July 1, 1967 |
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Brigadier General | Army Reserve | July 29, 1970 |
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Brigadier General | Retired | August 31, 1975 |
Family tree
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See also
Bibliography
- The Bitter Woods. Battery Classics. 1969. ISBN 9780898391060.; Da Capo Press, 1995, ISBN 9780306806520
- Strictly Personal Doubleday, 1974, ISBN 9780385070713
- Allies, Pearl Harbor to D–Day. Doubleday. 1982. ISBN 9780385114790.; Da Capo Press, 2000, ISBN 9780306809415
- So Far from God: The U.S. War with Mexico, 1846–1848. Random House. 1989. ISBN 9780394560519.; University of Oklahoma Press, 2000, ISBN 9780806132792
- Intervention!: The United States Involvement in the Mexican Revolution, 1913–1917. W. W. Norton & Company. 1993. ISBN 9780393313185.
- Agent of Destiny: The Life and Times of General Winfield Scott. Free Press. 1997. ISBN 9780684844510.
- Yanks: The Epic Story of the American Army in World War I. Simon and Schuster. 2001. ISBN 9780743216371.
- General Ike: A Personal Reminiscence. Simon and Schuster. 2003. ISBN 9780743255721.
- Zachary Taylor. Macmillan. 2008. ISBN 9780805082371.
- A Morning in June: Defending Outpost Harry. University of Alabama Press. 2010. ISBN 9780817316693.
- Soldiers and Statesmen: Reflections on Leadership. University of Missouri Press. 2012. ISBN 9780826219701.
Notes
- ^ 'John Eisenhower, Military Historian and Son of the President, Dies at 91,' New York Times, Richard Goldstein, December 22. 2013
- ^ "John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower". Internet Accuracy Project.
- ^ "Obituary: Eisenhower's son John, at 91". New York Times. December 22, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2017 – via Times Union.
- ^ Eisenhower, John (September 27, 2008). "Presidential Children Don't Belong in Battle". The New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ "History of the Information Security Oversight Office". www.archives.gov. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
- ^ Woolley, John T.; Gerhard Peters. "Remarks Upon Establishing the President's Advisory Committee on Refugees". The American Presidency Project. Santa Barbara, California: University of California. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
- ^ "John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower". Internet Accuracy Project. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- ^ Eisenhower, John (September 28, 2004). "Why I Will Vote for John Kerry for President". The Manchester Union Leader. Archived from the original on December 15, 2006. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
((cite web)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Zongker, Brett (November 16, 2013). "Eisenhower Memorial Approval Delayed Into 2013". Associated Press.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (December 22, 2013). "John Eisenhower, Military Historian and Son of the President, Dies at 91". The New York Times. New York: The New York Times Company.
- ^ "Former President John Tyler's (1790–1862) grandchildren still alive". January 25, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012. If Elizabeth Ann Blaesing was actually Warren Harding's daughter, she would have been the oldest surviving presidential child from 1995 to her death in 2005, at which point John Eisenhower would have become the oldest.
- ^ Stephen W. Sears (April 2, 1989). "Land Grab on the Rio Grande". New York Times.
- ^ "Hubble Medal of Initiative." Marshfield Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Army, 1948. Vol. I. pg. 528.
References
- Eisenhower, John S. D. (1974). Strictly Personal (1st ed.). Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-07071-3.
((cite book)): Invalid|ref=harv(help) - McCaffree, Mary Jane; Innis, Pauline (1997). Protocol: The Complete Handbook of Diplomatic, Official and Social Usage (4th ed.). Washington: Devon. ISBN 0-941402-04-5.
((cite book)): Invalid|ref=harv(help)
External links
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
