By Eric Hammel
Dwight David Eisenhower began life as David Dwight Eisenhower in Abilene, Kansas, on October 14, 1890, the third of five sons. It is known that his given names were rearranged because he was named David after his father and that his mother called him Dwight to avoid confusion. The rearrangement became permanent and, at some point, legal. His schoolmates called him “Ike,” and that is the name that really stuck; no last name is ever needed when mention of him comes up, just plain Ike does the job.
A Cadet at West Point
Raised in humble circumstances within miles of the geographical and geodetic centers of the vast United States, Ike naturally focused his ambitions on a career in the Navy, sought an appointment to the United States Naval Academy as one in a long, long line of seekers after an excellent free college education. To help the two elder of his four brothers get started in college, as well as help feed the entire family, Ike put off his own dreams for a few years to simply earn money. Indeed, by the time he got around to seeking an appointment to Annapolis in 1910, he had slipped beyond the maximum age for a new cadet. He had to settle for his free education at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was appointed a cadet in 1911 and began as a brand new one on June 14 of that year.
photographed in June 1915.
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Ike was as much a diplomat as a military leader. Few Generals could have melded together a diverse group of allies with their individual interests as Eisenhower. His handling of relationships with De Gaulle and Montgomery were particularly telling. Through it all he managed to keep his well known temper in check in order to maintain a sense of unity among the military allies.