John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower (August 3, 1922 – December 21, 2013) was a
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
officer, diplomat, and military historian. He was a son of President
Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady
Mamie Eisenhower. His military career spanned from before, during, and after his father's presidency, and he left active duty in 1963 and then retired in 1974. From 1969 to 1971, Eisenhower served as
United States Ambassador to Belgium
In 1832, shortly after the creation of the Kingdom of Belgium, the United States established diplomatic relations. Since that time, a long line of distinguished envoys have represented American interests in Belgium. These diplomats included men ...
during the
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...
of President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, who was previously his father's vice president and also father to Eisenhower's daughter-in-law.
Early life and education
John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower was born on August 3, 1922, at
Denver General Hospital in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Colorado, to future
U.S. President and
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
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
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
, graduating on June 6, 1944, the day of the
Normandy landings
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
, which his father was commanding.
['John Eisenhower, Military Historian and Son of the President, Dies at 91,' ''The New York Times,'' Richard Goldstein, December 22. 2013] He later earned an M.A. degree in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
and
comparative literature from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1950, and taught in the English Department at
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
from 1948 to 1951.
Eisenhower graduated from the
Army Command and General Staff College in 1955.
Military career
Eisenhower served in the U.S. Army during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and the
Korean War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Korean War
, partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict
, image = Korean War Montage 2.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
, remaining on active duty until 1963; then serving in the
U.S. Army Reserve until retirement in 1975 – attaining the rank of
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...
.
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
Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances. It originated as a term used by the Allies during World War I, and is currently used only within NATO for Supreme Allied Com ...
. During World War II, he was assigned to intelligence and 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 II, John was able to see combat in Korea. After seeing combat with an infantry battalion, he was reassigned to the
3rd Division headquarters.
Government career
During his father's presidency, John Eisenhower served as Assistant Staff Secretary in the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
, on the Army's General Staff, and in the White House as assistant to General
Andrew Goodpaster
Andrew Jackson Goodpaster (February 12, 1915 – May 16, 2005) was an American Army General. He served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), from July 1, 1969, and Commander in Chief of the United States European Command (CI ...
.
In the administration of President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, who had been his father's vice president, he served as
U.S. Ambassador to Belgium
In 1832, shortly after the creation of the Kingdom of Belgium, the United States established diplomatic relations. Since that time, a long line of distinguished envoys have represented American interests in Belgium. These diplomats included men ...
from 1969 to 1971. In 1972, President Nixon appointed Eisenhower Chairman of the
Interagency Classification Review Committee. In 1975, he served President
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
as chairman of the President's Advisory Committee on Refugees.
Later life and writing
As a military historian, Eisenhower wrote several books, including ''The Bitter Woods'', a study of the
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...
, and ''So Far from God'', a history of the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...
. In a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' review of the latter, historian
Stephen W. Sears
Stephen Ward Sears (born July 27, 1932) is an American historian specializing in the American Civil War.
Early life and education
Sears is a graduate of Oberlin College.
Career
As an author, he has concentrated on the military history of the A ...
remarked that Eisenhower "writes briskly and authoritatively, and his judgments are worth reading." Eisenhower wrote ''Zachary Taylor: The American Presidents Series: The 12th President, 1849–1850'' (2008). 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''.
In later years, he had been an opponent of
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions.
His works are considered ...
's proposed design for the National
Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial is a United States presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and the 34th President of the United States.
...
, which he said was "too extravagant" and "attempts to do too much."
Presidential elections
A lifelong
Republican, Eisenhower voted for
Democrat John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
in the
2004 Presidential election, citing dissatisfaction with Republican incumbent
George W. Bush's management of U.S. foreign policy.
During the
2008 presidential election, in which presidential candidate
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...
and vice presidential candidates
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...
and
Joe Biden all had children enlisted in the armed forces, he wrote about his wartime experience as the son of a sitting president in a cautionary opinion piece in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' entitled "Presidential Children Don't Belong in Battle".
Death
Eisenhower died at Trappe, Maryland, on December 21, 2013. From the death of
Elizabeth Ann Blaesing in 2005 until his own death, Eisenhower was the
oldest living presidential child; on his death that distinction passed to
Lynda Bird Johnson, who still holds it as of 2022. His burial was at
West Point Cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy.
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 (1898–1974) by his wife Beatrice (née Birchfield). Col. Thompson was commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. The Eisenhowers had four children:
*
Dwight David Eisenhower II (b. 1948, West Point, New York), who married
Julie Nixon
Julie Nixon Eisenhower ( Nixon; born July 5, 1948) is an American author who is the younger daughter of former U.S. president Richard Nixon and his wife Pat Nixon. Her husband David is the grandson of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower ...
, herself a presidential daughter;
* (Barbara)
Anne Eisenhower
Barbara Anne Eisenhower (May 30, 1949 – July 30, 2022) was an American interior designer based in New York City.
Early life
On May 30, 1949, Eisenhower was born in West Point, New York. Eisenhower's father was John Eisenhower, a U.S. military ...
(1949–2022, born in West Point, New York);
*
Susan Elaine Eisenhower (b. 1951, Fort Knox, Kentucky);
*
Mary Jean Eisenhower
Mary Jean Eisenhower (born December 21, 1955) is an American humanitarian. She is the chairman emeritus (and former president and chief executive officer) of People to People International. She is a granddaughter of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, ...
(b. 1955,
Washington, D.C.).
All of his daughters were presented as debutantes to
high society at the prestigious
International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
John and Barbara 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
Campbell Soup Company, trade name, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has gro ...
. She died on September 19, 2014, in
Gladwyne,
Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.
In 1988, Eisenhower married Joanne Thompson. He lived in
Trappe, Maryland, after moving there from
Kimberton, Pennsylvania
Kimberton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in East Pikeland Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The zip code is 19442. Originally settled in the late 18th century, it was not named until 1817. Like m ...
.
Military awards and decorations
Other honors
The city of
Marshfield, Missouri chose Eisenhower as a 2008 honoree of the
Edwin P. Hubble Medal of Initiative. 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
[Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Army, 1948. Vol. I. pg. 528.]
Family tree
Bibliography
Notes
References
*
*
External links
*
*
John Eisenhower – Internet Accuracy Project*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenhower, John
1922 births
2013 deaths
Eisenhower family
United States Military Academy alumni
United States Army personnel of World War II
United States Military Academy faculty
Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
United States Army personnel of the Korean War
United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni
American biographers
American military historians
Children of presidents of the United States
American male biographers
Maryland Republicans
Military personnel from Colorado
Military personnel from Pennsylvania
Nixon administration personnel
Pennsylvania Republicans
United States Army generals
Writers from Denver
Writers from Maryland
Writers from Pennsylvania
Ambassadors of the United States to Belgium
Burials at West Point Cemetery