The Eisenhower Legacy

Remembering Ike on the 35th Anniversary of His Death

Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, as the Member with the proud privilege of representing the 19th Congressional District, including Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, I have tremendous admiration and respect for this Nation's thirty-fourth President, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
When President Eisenhower left the White House in January of 1961, he and his wife Mamie settled down on their small farm in Gettysburg to enjoy their retirement together. This farm remains a popular tourist attraction today.
The former Supreme Commander of the Allied Troops on D-Day, Supreme Commander of NATO, and President of the United States passed away on March 28, 1969. On the 35th anniversary of this loss, John Burke Jovich, a Presidential Historian and constituent of the 19th Congressional District, wrote a remembrance of Ike that very effectively captured the character of this great American. I am honored to commend this article to my colleagues.

THE EISENHOWER LEGACY ..... REMEMBERING IKE ON 35TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH
It seems that Americans have a funny way of remembering their past presidents. Last November 22nd, for example, the 40th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, our nation was barraged with television specials and print commemorations focusing on JFK's life and death. Even during the non-milestone years, there is always some public reminder of President Kennedy on the 22nd of November.

But do we remember the deaths of those presidents who served immediately before and after Kennedy? Do we bother to observe the death of Harry Truman each December, or Dwight Eisenhower in March, Lyndon Johnson in January, or Richard Nixon each May?

Of course not.

None of those presidents were assassinated. They did not die suddenly in office. And all four lived into their senior years and enjoyed the elder statesman status that comes with presidential longevity.

It was thirty-five years ago today, March 28, when Dwight David Eisenhower passed away at Walter Reed Army Hospital. As his wife, Mamie, held his hand in hers, he spoke his last words to her and their son, John: ``I've always loved my wife. I've always loved my children. I've always loved my grandchildren. And I have always loved my country. I want to go; God take me.''

Americans called him Ike. He was the commanding military figure of the 1940s, the dominant national leader of the '50s, and the respected elder statesman of the '60s. He had an enduringly handsome grin, and Mamie's curls were as much a trademark in her day as Farrah Fawcett's locks became twenty years later.

Over the years, several historians have made the mistake of discrediting Eisenhower's two administrations over his habit of relying heavily on the advisement of presidential aides. While Ike did not possess quite the persuasive personality of Franklin Roosevelt or the cajoling force of Lyndon Johnson's in-your-face prevalence, he worked equally hard to achieve his goals.

As president, Eisenhower worked diligently with the United Nations to end the Korean War shortly after taking office. He lobbied behind the scenes to put the brakes on Joe McCarthy's red-baiting hearings. Ike dispatched federal troops to Little Rock to allow black students to safely enroll at the all-white Central High. It was on Eisenhower's watch, not those of Kennedy and Johnson, upon which NASA was initially formed and the Mercury 7 Space Program established. And it was Ike, in his last nationally-televised address as president, who warned the American people about the eminent dangers of the military-industrial complex, a full three years prior to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the tragic escalation of the Viet Nam War.

But perhaps the most crowning of all Eisenhower's achievements as president was his determined work with a Democratic Congress to establish this nation's interstate highway system, which today stretches some 42,000 miles across our land.

The idea for such a national undertaking occurred to Ike as a young first-ever Tank commander in the Army at Camp Colt (Gettysburg) during World War I. He witnessed what can happen when entire brigades of tanks and artillery became mired in mud or fell off impassable roads. He told fellow officers that if he ever achieved an important position in public service, one of his goals would be to create a magnificent system of highways for the convenience of all Americans.

Today, whenever you see one of those familiar blue and white signs adorned with five stars along the interstate that read, ``Eisenhower Interstate System,'' think of Ike.

Dwight Eisenhower was not a perfect individual. But his affable and honorable disposition made him friends all his life. He was a brilliant military tactician and a gifted leader among men. But he was also very much a common man who preferred watching ``Gunsmoke'' on the back porch of his Gettysburg farmhouse while eating a TV dinner atop a tray, as opposed to hosting a formal dinner at the White House.

One of the classic stories about Eisenhower occurred one evening in Washington. The President picked up the telephone and asked the switchboard operator to please get Senator Young on the line. After a couple of minutes, the senator respectfully said, ``Good evening, Mr. President.''

``Hello, Milt, I want to touch base with you about the status of our Agricultural bill. These Democrats on that committee are holding this thing up and .....''

The senator on the other end of the line attempted to interrupt Ike, saying, ``But Mr. President.....''

Eisenhower ignored him and kept on urging the senator to get fellow Republican senators together and ``talk some sense to those Democrats about this legislation.....''

The senator again tried to interrupt Ike, without success.

Finally, the senator raised his voice and said, ``Mr. President, this is Senator Steve Young, not Senator Milt Young.''

Stunned, Ike realized that the White House operator had mistakenly called the Democratic Senator Stephen Young from Ohio rather than the Republican Senator Milton Young from North Dakota.

Ike muttered, ``Oh damn,'' and hung up.

Despite the error, Senator Young of Ohio continued to like Ike.

And so did America.