Future president Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower was appointed commanding general of the European Theater on this day in history, June 25, 1942.
Born in Texas and raised in Kansas, Eisenhower began his military career when he received an appointment to West Point, according to the White House website.
After graduating with the West Point class of 1915, Eisenhower was stationed in Texas as a second lieutenant.
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There, he met Mamie Geneva Doud. The two were married in 1916.
Eisenhower was in charge of a tank training center during World War I, said the Museum of the American G.I.
Following the war, Eisenhower worked in the Panama Canal Zone and attended the Army War College, graduating at the top of his class, said the museum.
Eisenhower continued to climb the ranks of the military, where he “excelled in staff assignments, serving under Generals John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur, and Walter Krueger,” said the White House website.
After the United States entered World War II, “Eisenhower took over the Army War Plans Division to draft a basic strategy for the war against the Axis,” said Military.com.
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Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army George C. Marshall tapped Eisenhower for his biggest promotion yet, on June 25, 1942, when he was made commanding general of the European Theater, also known as the supreme commander.
“Although he had not witnessed combat firsthand yet, his 27 years of knowledge and expertise stood out to George C. Marshall,” said the Museum of the American G.I.
Eisenhower’s leadership prowess and military skill was on display in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa by British and American troops in November 1942.
His military successes continued.
“By the end of 1943, Eisenhower had conducted successful landings in Sicily and Italy and negotiated an Italian surrender,” said Military.com.
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His star was not finished rising, however.
Eisenhower was named supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force for the invasion of Europe.
“Codenamed Operation OVERLORD, the attack across was to be the decisive act of the World War II,” said Military.com.
Today, Operation OVERLORD is better known as D-Day.
“It was Eisenhower’s job to surprise the Germans in the time and place of the landings. Complicating matters was the fact that the Allied resources were sufficient for only one invasion attempt,” said Military.com.
“After painstaking planning, Eisenhower launched the invasion on June 6, 1944.”
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After World War II, Eisenhower was appointed as chief of staff of the United States Army, a position he served until February 1948.
After a stint as the president of Columbia University, Eisenhower was convinced to run for president, said the White House.
Republicans “tried to interest Eisenhower in the Republican nomination, confident that his popularity would carry him to victory and certain that his internationalist policies were essential to success in the Cold War,” said the University of Virginia’s Miller Center website.
“Finally, in January 1952, Eisenhower announced that he was a Republican and that he would be willing to accept the call of the American people to serve as president,” that site noted.
With the help of the catchy slogan “I Like Ike,” Eisenhower was elected president on Nov. 4, 1952 — winning in a landslide over Democrat Adlai Stevenson II.
Eisenhower became the first Republican president in 20 years.
He went on to serve two terms (beating Stevenson again in November 1956).
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“Before he left office in January 1961, for his farm in Gettysburg, he urged the necessity of maintaining an adequate military strength, but cautioned that vast, long-continued military expenditures could breed potential dangers to our way of life,” said the White House.
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“He concluded with a prayer for peace ‘in the goodness of time.’”
