THOMASVILLE —The April meeting of the Thomasville Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) featured an interesting program on President Dwight Eisenhower by Georgia state Rep. Darlene Taylor. Thomasville Chapter Vice Regent Michelle Kimbler introduced the speaker. Rep. Taylor is a member of the Thomasville Chapter DAR and has served on many professional and community boards in the region. She is also the owner of Taylor Benefit Resources, Inc.
Rep. Taylor said that Dwight Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States and served from 1953 to 1961. She said, “He was a great leader and brought wisdom when it was needed most.” Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas, on October 14, 1890, and raised in Abeline, Kansas. He was the third of seven sons. He excelled in sports in high school and received an appointment to West Point. He was stationed in Texas as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He married Mamie Doud in 1916 and they had two sons. During Eisenhower’s early Army career, he served under Generals John Pershing and Douglas MacArthur. He requested an overseas assignment during World War I but was denied and instead served stateside with the Tank Corps in the National Army. Following the war, Eisenhower was promoted to brigadier general and to the rank of major general in 1942. He led the Allied invasion of French North Africa and supervised the Normandy Invasion on D-Day, June 6, 1944. After the war ended in Europe, he served as Army chief of staff from 1945 to 1948. He became president of Columbia University from 1948 to 1953. He took a leave of absence to serve as supreme allied commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1951.
In 1952, Eisenhower was persuaded to become a presidential candidate. His campaign slogan was “I Like Ike.” Eisenhower won a sweeping victory. In a rare boast, Eisenhower said, “The United States never lost a soldier or a foot of ground in my administration … By God, it didn’t just happen – I’ll tell you that!” Rep. Taylor gave this quote of Eisenhower, “Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free.” Eisenhower sought to improve Cold War-era relations with the Soviet Union, after the death of Stalin in 1953.
In September 1955, Eisenhower suffered a heart attack and was in the hospital for seven weeks. He came to Thomasville in 1956 to recuperate and enjoyed playing golf at Glen Arven Country Club. While visiting here, he made the decision to run for a second term as president.
Rep. Taylor said this is one of her favorite Eisenhower quotes, “May we pursue the right — without self-righteousness. May we know unity — without conformity. May we grow in strength — without pride in self. May we, in our dealings with all peoples of the earth, ever speak truth and serve justice.”
During his last two years in office, Eisenhower tried to make “a chip in the granite” of the cold war. He welcomed Nikita Khrushchev to Camp David and planned to meet him at a Paris summit in the spring, but just before the meeting, the Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane over their territory.
In his Farewell Address, Eisenhower surprised many Americans by warning them to ”guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.” Eisenhower and Mamie retired to their farm beside the Gettysburg battlefield. He died in Washington, D.C, on March 28, 1969.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 190,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world’s largest and most active service organizations. More than one million women have joined the DAR since it was founded. To learn more about the work of today’s DAR, visit www.DAR.org.
For more information about the Thomasville Chapter DAR, visit thomasville.georgiastatedar.org or facebook.com/ThomasvilleChapterNSDAR.