John Eisenhower

John S. D. Eisenhower
John S. D. Eisenhower
	Eisenhower in 1990
45thUnited States Ambassador toBelgium
	In office; May 14, 1969 – September 28, 1971
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Ridgway B. Knight
Succeeded by	Robert Strausz-Hupe
Personal details
Born	John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower; August 3, 1922; Denver,Colorado,U.S.
Died	December 21, 2013(aged 91); Trappe,Maryland,U.S.
Resting place	West Point Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Spouses	; Barbara Thompson; (m.1947;div.1986) ; Joanne Thompson; (m.1988)
Children	David; Anne; Susan; Mary;
Parents	Dwight D. Eisenhower; Mamie Doud;
Alma mater	United States Military Academy(BS); Columbia University(MA); United States Army Command and General Staff College(MMAS)
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1944–1963 (active); 1963–1974 (reserve)
Rank	Brigadier general
Commands	Company D, 1st Battalion,5th Infantry Regiment; Company D, 1st Battalion,16th Infantry Regiment; 1st Battalion,30th Infantry Regiment;
Battles/wars	World War II; Korean War;
Awards	Bronze Star Medal; Army Commendation Medal; See more;

John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower(August 3, 1922 – December 21, 2013) was aUnited States Armyofficer, diplomat, and military historian. He was the second son of PresidentDwight D. Eisenhowerand First LadyMamie 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 asUnited States Ambassador to Belgiumduring theadministrationof PresidentRichard Nixon,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, atDenver General HospitalinDenver,Colorado,^[1]to futureU.S. PresidentandUnited States ArmyGeneral of the ArmyDwight D. Eisenhowerand 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 theUnited States Military Academy,graduating on June 6, 1944, the day of theNormandy landings,which his father was commanding.^[2]He later earned an M.A. degree inEnglishandcomparative literaturefromColumbia Universityin 1950, and taught in the English Department atWest Pointfrom 1948 to 1951.^[2]^[3]Eisenhower graduated from theArmy Command and General Staff Collegein 1955.^[4]

Military career

Eisenhower served in the U.S. Army duringWorld War IIand theKorean War,remaining on active duty until 1963; then serving in theU.S. Army Reserveuntil retirement in 1975 – attaining the rank ofbrigadier general.^[5]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, theSupreme Allied Commander.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.^[6]After seeing combat with an infantry battalion, he was reassigned to the3rd Divisionheadquarters.

Government career

During his father's presidency, Eisenhower served as Assistant Staff Secretary in theWhite House,on the Army's General Staff, and in the White House as assistant to GeneralAndrew Goodpaster.

In the administration of PresidentRichard Nixon,who had been his father's vice president, he served asU.S. Ambassador to Belgiumfrom 1969 to 1971. In 1972, President Nixon appointed Eisenhower chairman of theInteragency Classification Review Committee.^[7]In 1975, he served PresidentGerald Fordas chairman of the President's Advisory Committee on Refugees.^[8]

Later life and writing

As a military historian, Eisenhower wrote several books, includingThe Bitter Woods,a study of theBattle of the Bulge,andSo Far from God,a history of theMexican–American War.In aNew York Timesreview of the latter, historianStephen W. Searsremarked that Eisenhower "writes briskly and authoritatively, and his judgments are worth reading."^[9]Eisenhower wroteZachary Taylor: The American Presidents Series: The 12th President, 1849–1850(2008).^[10]^[11]He also wrote the forewords toBorrowed Soldiers,byMitchell Yockelsonof theU.S. National Archives,and toKenneth W. Rendell'sPolitics, War and Personality: 50 Iconic Documents of World War II.

In later years, he had been an opponent ofFrank Gehry's proposed design for the NationalDwight D. Eisenhower Memorial,which he said was "too extravagant" and "attempts to do too much."^[12]

Presidential elections

A lifelongRepublican,Eisenhower voted forDemocrat John Kerryin the2004 Presidential election,citing dissatisfaction with Republican incumbentGeorge W. Bush's management of U.S. foreign policy.^[13]

During the2008 presidential election,in which presidential candidateJohn McCainand vice presidential candidatesSarah PalinandJoe Bidenall had children serving in the armed forces, Eisenhower wrote about his wartime experience as the son of a sitting president in a cautionary opinion piece inThe New York Timesentitled "Presidential Children Don't Belong in Battle".^[14]

Death

Eisenhower died at Trappe, Maryland, on December 21, 2013.^[15]From the death ofElizabeth Ann Blaesingin 2005 until his own death, Eisenhower was theoldest living presidential child;^[16]on his death that distinction passed toLynda Bird Johnson,who still holds it as of 2023.^[17]His burial was atWest Point Cemeteryon 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, inFort Knox, Kentucky,into an Army family. She was the daughter ofCol.Percy Walter Thompson (1898–1974) and 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 marriedJulie Nixon,herself a presidential daughter;
Barbara Anne Eisenhower(1949–2022, born in West Point, New York);
Susan Elaine Eisenhower(b. 1951, Fort Knox, Kentucky);
Mary Jean Eisenhower(b. 1955,Washington, D.C.).

All of his daughters were presented as debutantes tohigh societyat the prestigiousInternational Debutante Ballat the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.^[18]

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 theCampbell Soup Company.She died on September 19, 2014, inGladwyne,Montgomery County,Pennsylvania.

In 1988, Eisenhower married Joanne Thompson. He lived inTrappe, Maryland,after moving there fromKimberton, Pennsylvania.^[19]

Military awards and decorations

U.S. military decorations
	Bronze Star Medal
	Army Commendation Medal
U.S. service medals
	American Defense Service Medal
	American Campaign Medal
	European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medalw/ 2 bronzeservice stars
	World War II Victory Medal
	Army of Occupation Medalw/ "Germany"Clasp
	National Defense Service Medal
	Korean Service Medalw/ 3 bronzeservice stars
Foreign unit awards
	Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
Non-U.S. service awards
	United Nations Service Medal
	Republic of Korea War Service Medal
U.S. Army badges
	Combat Infantryman Badge
	Glider Badge

Other honors

The city ofMarshfield, Missouri,chose Eisenhower as a 2008 honoree of theEdwin P. HubbleMedal of Initiative.^[20]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

Rank	Component	Date
Second lieutenant	Regular Army	June 6, 1944
First lieutenant	Army of the United States	January 23, 1945
Captain	Army of the United States	March 16, 1946
First lieutenant	Regular Army	June 6, 1947
Captain	Regular Army	May 14, 1951
Major	Army of the United States	August 16, 1951
Major	Regular Army	September 4, 1957
Lieutenant colonel	Army of the United States	May 31, 1960
Lieutenant colonel	Army Reserve	July 1, 1963
Colonel	Army Reserve	July 1, 1967
Brigadier general	Army Reserve	July 29, 1970
Brigadier general	Retired	August 31, 1975

^[21]

Family tree

Dwight D. Eisenhower
(1890–1969)

Mamie Doud
(1896–1979)

Richard Nixon
(1913–1994)

Pat Ryan
(1912–1993)

Doud Eisenhower
(1917–1921)

John Eisenhower
(1922–2013)

Barbara Thompson
(1926–2014)

Edward Cox
(1946–present)

Tricia Nixon
(1946–present)

Julie Nixon
(1948–present)

David Eisenhower
(1948–present)

Fernando
Echavarría-Uribe

Anne Eisenhower
(1949–2022)

Susan Eisenhower
(1951–present)

John Mahon

Mary Eisenhower
(1955–present)

Ralph Atwater

Andrea Catsimatidis
(1989–present)

Christopher Cox
(1979–present)

Anthony Cheslock
(1977–present)

Jennie Eisenhower
(1978–present)

Alex Eisenhower
(1980–present)

Tara Brennan
(1979–present)

Melanie Eisenhower
(1984–present)

Adriana Echavarria
(1969–present)

Amelia Eisenhower Mahon
(1981/82–present)

Merrill Eisenhower Atwater
(1981–present)

Bibliography

Title	Year	ISBN	Publisher	Subject matter	Interviews, presentations, and reviews	Comments
The Bitter Woods	1969	ISBN 9780898391060	Battery Classics	Battle of the Bulge		The original subtitle wasThe Bitter Woods: The Dramatic Story, Told At All Echelons - From Supreme Command to Squad Leader - of the Crisis That Shock the Western Coalition: Hilter's Surprise Ardennes Offensive;In a 1995 edition, the subtitle was simplified toThe Battle of the Bulge.
Strictly Personal: A Memoir	1974	ISBN 9780385070713	Doubleday
Allies, Pearl Harbor to D–Day	1982	ISBN 9780385114790	Doubleday	United Kingdom–United States relations in World War II
So Far from God: The U.S. War with Mexico, 1846–1848	1989	ISBN 9780394560519	Random House	Mexican–American War
Intervention!: The United States Involvement in the Mexican Revolution, 1913–1917	1993	ISBN 9780393313185	W. W. Norton & Company	United States involvement in the Mexican Revolution
Agent of Destiny: The Life and Times of General Winfield Scott	1997	ISBN 9780684844510	Free Press	Winfield Scott	Booknotesinterview with Eisenhower onAgent of Destiny: The Life and Times of General Winfield Scott,April 19, 1998.
Yanks: The Epic Story of the American Army in World War I	2001	ISBN 9780743216371	Simon and Schuster	United States in World War I,American Expeditionary Forces
General Ike: A Personal Reminiscence	2003	ISBN 9780743255721	Simon and Schuster	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Zachary Taylor	2008	ISBN 9780805082371	Macmillan	Zachary Taylor
Soldiers and Statesmen: Reflections on Leadership	2012	ISBN 9780826219701	University of Missouri Press	Winston Churchill,John Foster Dulles,Harry S. Truman,Mark Wayne Clark,George S. Patton Jr.,Terry AllenandTheodore Roosevelt Jr.,Douglas MacArthur,Omar Nelson Bradley,andMatthew B. Ridgeway

References

^Perret, Geoffrey (March 2, 2000).Eisenhower.Random House Publishing Group.ISBN 978-0-375-50470-9.
^^a ^b'John Eisenhower, Military Historian and Son of the President, Dies at 91,'The New York Times,Richard Goldstein, December 22. 2013
^"Class of 1944—Register of Graduates".Register of Graduates and Former Cadets 1802–1971 of the United States Military Academy.The West Point Alumni Foundation Inc. 1971. p. 535.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
^U. S. Army Register: United States Army Active and Retired Lists.Vol. I. U.S. Government Printing Office. January 1, 1957. p. 250.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
^"John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower".Internet Accuracy Project.
^"Obituary: Eisenhower's son John, at 91".New York Times.December 22, 2013.RetrievedNovember 27,2017– via Times Union.
^"History of the Information Security Oversight Office".archives.gov.The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.RetrievedMarch 23,2009.
^Woolley, John T.; Gerhard Peters."Remarks Upon Establishing the President's Advisory Committee on Refugees".The American Presidency Project.Santa Barbara, California:University of California.RetrievedMarch 23,2009.
^Stephen W. Sears(April 2, 1989)."Land Grab on the Rio Grande".New York Times.
^Eisenhower, John S. D. (2008). Jr, Arthur M. Schlesinger; Wilentz, Sean (eds.).Zachary Taylor: The American Presidents Series: The 12th President, 1849–1850.New York: Times Books.ISBN 9780805082371.
^Eisenhower, John S. D. (September 27, 2008)."Opinion | The children of presidents and vice presidents shouldn't be in combat".The New York Times.ISSN 0362-4331.RetrievedMarch 30,2018.
^Zongker, Brett (November 16, 2013)."Eisenhower Memorial Approval Delayed Into 2013".Associated Press. Archived fromthe originalon October 10, 2013.RetrievedOctober 1,2013.
^Eisenhower, John (September 28, 2004)."Why I Will Vote for John Kerry for President".The Manchester Union Leader.Archived fromthe originalon December 15, 2006.RetrievedMay 19,2007.
^Eisenhower, John (September 27, 2008)."Presidential Children Don't Belong in Battle".The New York Times.RetrievedSeptember 28,2008.
^Goldstein, Richard (December 22, 2013)."John Eisenhower, Military Historian and Son of the President, Dies at 91".The New York Times.New York.
^"Former President John Tyler's (1790–1862) grandchildren still alive".January 25, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 25,2012.If Elizabeth Ann Harding Blaesing was actuallyWarren Harding's daughter, she would have been the oldest surviving presidential child from 1995 to her death in 2005, at which point John Eisenhower would have become the oldest.
^Pasley, James (July 3, 2019)."Where Are They Now: First kids of the United States".Business Insider.RetrievedSeptember 26,2020.
^Times, NY (December 29, 1973)."Eisenhower Gathering Marks Debutante Ball".New York Times.RetrievedJune 12,2018.
^"John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower".Internet Accuracy Project.RetrievedNovember 26,2012.
^"Hubble Medal of Initiative."Marshfield Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
^Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Army, 1948. Vol. I. p. 528.

References

Eisenhower, John S. D. (1974).Strictly Personal(1st ed.). Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.ISBN 0-385-07071-3.
McCaffree, Mary Jane;Innis, Pauline (1997).Protocol: The Complete Handbook of Diplomatic, Official and Social Usage(4th ed.). Washington: Devon.ISBN 0-941402-04-5.

External links

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Ridgway B. Knight	United States Ambassador to Belgium 1969–1971	Succeeded by Robert Strausz-Hupé

[1] Perret, Geoffrey (March 2, 2000).Eisenhower.Random House Publishing Group.ISBN 978-0-375-50470-9.

[:0-2] 'John Eisenhower, Military Historian and Son of the President, Dies at 91,'The New York Times,Richard Goldstein, December 22. 2013

[3] "Class of 1944—Register of Graduates".Register of Graduates and Former Cadets 1802–1971 of the United States Military Academy.The West Point Alumni Foundation Inc. 1971. p. 535.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.

[4] U. S. Army Register: United States Army Active and Retired Lists.Vol. I. U.S. Government Printing Office. January 1, 1957. p. 250.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.

[Accuracy-5] "John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower".Internet Accuracy Project.

[6] "Obituary: Eisenhower's son John, at 91".New York Times.December 22, 2013.RetrievedNovember 27,2017– via Times Union.

[7] "History of the Information Security Oversight Office".archives.gov.The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.RetrievedMarch 23,2009.

[8] Woolley, John T.; Gerhard Peters."Remarks Upon Establishing the President's Advisory Committee on Refugees".The American Presidency Project.Santa Barbara, California:University of California.RetrievedMarch 23,2009.

[9] Stephen W. Sears(April 2, 1989)."Land Grab on the Rio Grande".New York Times.

[10] Eisenhower, John S. D. (2008). Jr, Arthur M. Schlesinger; Wilentz, Sean (eds.).Zachary Taylor: The American Presidents Series: The 12th President, 1849–1850.New York: Times Books.ISBN 9780805082371.

[11] Eisenhower, John S. D. (September 27, 2008)."Opinion | The children of presidents and vice presidents shouldn't be in combat".The New York Times.ISSN 0362-4331.RetrievedMarch 30,2018.

[12] Zongker, Brett (November 16, 2013)."Eisenhower Memorial Approval Delayed Into 2013".Associated Press. Archived fromthe originalon October 10, 2013.RetrievedOctober 1,2013.

[13] Eisenhower, John (September 28, 2004)."Why I Will Vote for John Kerry for President".The Manchester Union Leader.Archived fromthe originalon December 15, 2006.RetrievedMay 19,2007.

[14] Eisenhower, John (September 27, 2008)."Presidential Children Don't Belong in Battle".The New York Times.RetrievedSeptember 28,2008.

[15] Goldstein, Richard (December 22, 2013)."John Eisenhower, Military Historian and Son of the President, Dies at 91".The New York Times.New York.

[16] "Former President John Tyler's (1790–1862) grandchildren still alive".January 25, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 25,2012.If Elizabeth Ann Harding Blaesing was actuallyWarren Harding's daughter, she would have been the oldest surviving presidential child from 1995 to her death in 2005, at which point John Eisenhower would have become the oldest.

[17] Pasley, James (July 3, 2019)."Where Are They Now: First kids of the United States".Business Insider.RetrievedSeptember 26,2020.

[18] Times, NY (December 29, 1973)."Eisenhower Gathering Marks Debutante Ball".New York Times.RetrievedJune 12,2018.

[19] "John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower".Internet Accuracy Project.RetrievedNovember 26,2012.

[20] "Hubble Medal of Initiative."Marshfield Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival. Retrieved March 4, 2011.

[21] Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Army, 1948. Vol. I. p. 528.

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Early life and education

Military career

Government career

Later life and writing

Presidential elections

Death

Marriage and children

Military awards and decorations

Other honors

Dates of rank

Family tree

Bibliography

See also

References

References

External links