Dwight Eisenhower: War Hero to President

As the Korean War intensified, war-weary Americans turned to a new leader, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the hero of World War II, to bring them peace. “Ike,” as he was known to everyone, didn’t disappoint them.

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The Allies defeated the Axis powers—Germany and Japan—in World War II in no small part because of America’s brilliant generals—men like George Marshall, George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, Omar Bradley, and Dwight Eisenhower.

Of that illustrious group, only one—Eisenhower—reached America's highest office, serving as the 34th president of the United States.

What made him stand out among his contemporaries?

Dwight David Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890. Young Dwight, or “Ike” as he came to be known to everyone, was the third of seven children—all boys.

Of his childhood, the future president would later say, “We were very poor, but the glory of America is that we didn't know it...”

Looking for a ticket out of his hometown of Abilene, Kansas, Ike entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1911. He did little to distinguish himself academically, focusing more on football than his studies.

Upon graduating as a second lieutenant, he was posted to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. There, he met the petite, vivacious, and charming Mamie Doud. The daughter of a prosperous businessman, Mamie was used to cooks and servants but gave it all up for the spartan life of a military spouse when she married Ike in 1916. She would spend the next two decades moving from one dreary Army base to the next. But as long as she was with her husband, she was happy. “Ike was my career,” she said years later.

When America entered World War I in 1917, Eisenhower, to his frustration, was ordered to remain stateside to train others for combat. It was a bitter blow, and it set the pattern of Eisenhower’s life for twenty years. As others rose to senior positions, his career stalled. He seemed destined to serve great men, not to be one.

From 1935 to 1939, Eisenhower worked as Douglas MacArthur’s top aide in the Philippines, where they helped train the local army, giving the young man from Abilene his first real taste of international politics.

MacArthur was an extremely difficult personality who almost drove Ike to his wit’s end.

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