As I publish this blog entry, June 2026 comes to an end a few days before July 4th. The 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I have been prepping for this momentous birthday by reading about a leader who served our country as President and General with patriotic vim and vigor. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s life ended on March 28th 1969. Surrounded by his family he whispered, “I want to go: God take me.” He was ready to go home, back to Abilene, back to the heart of America , from whence he came. His great heart stopped beating. ( Excerpt from page 571, Eisenhower Soldier and President, Stephen E. Ambrose.)
It is easy to simply state he was a great leader during World War II. Ambrose clarified for me the minefields his presidential leadership navigated. Ike’s presidential plate was full starting with the compromised ending of the Korean War, the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union, his ambivalent feelings about the need to continue with de-segregation in the south, McCarthyism and Vietnam, never mind Castro and yes, his Vice President, Richard Nixon, along with misgivings about the growing culture of young men and women commonly titled hippies.
The years between the end of WWII and his first term as President, Eisenhower worked tirelessly resulting in the birth of NATO. He felt that by sharing costs and military we could stand up to the Soviet Union as it rattled it’s sword against eastern European countries. Ironically today we have United States leadership appearing to disconnect us from NATO.
At the risk of going against my rule of sharing too much of what I am reading, in case you want to read it yourself, I have two excerpts to share. My goal is always to reflect on my life and the times I am living mirrored by the literature before me, I believe to that end the following is worth highlighting.
From page 331; ….he had ended the war six months after taking office. What stands out is Eisenhower the leader. The Supreme Allied Commander of 1945, the victor who would accept nothing less than unconditional surrender, had become the peacemaker of 1953, a man who would accept a compromise settlement that left him far short of victory, much less unconditional surrender. There were fundamental differences in the two situations, obviously, but this should not obscure the truth. The truth was that Eisenhower realized that unlimited war in the nuclear age was unimaginable, and limited war was unwinnable. This was the most basic of his strategic insights.
Vietnam, Iraq (twice), Afghanistan, and Iran prove that the men, who would became president after Ike, never learned of Eisenhower’s truth in that strategic insight!
Another excerpt that resonates at present is found on page 350. To avoid public mention of any name unless it can be done with favorable intent and connotation; reserve all criticism for the private conference ; speak only good in public.
Ambrose points out that this was Eisenhower’s life long principle. From his letters and entries in his dairies we see how he felt about some of the allied Generals under his command, Senator McCarthy, and even Richard Nixon among others but he held his reservations about them “close to his vest”. His public leadership was predominately positive compromise.
He left office disappointed that he never built trust with the Soviet Union. He was focused on Castro enough to have a four point plan to “get rid” of Castro but left JFK to deal with him, the Soviets and Vietnam too. History was to show us that a pig is always a pig and you can’t put enough lipstick on it to have it bay to the moon while making it’s mate swoon. ( I know, a terrible play on words for the fiasco that became know as the Bay of Pigs!)
So here we are, a few days before our country’s 250th signing of the Declaration of Independence! We have the longest surviving written national constitution, ( Google). I hope and pray that my grandchildren will live in this country and not be as ambivalent about the health, stability, and fairness of the USA fifty years from now during their 300th birthday of the signing of the Declaration.
I now prepare to enter my ninth decade. I look out over the sea of my tomorrows and I realize I am part of the out-going tide, my adult children are the near future’s high tide and my grandchildren will be riding the freshness of the incoming tide. Our adult children display integrity and moral anchors that will stabilize our future and our grandchildren already display their parent’s strength with a healthy dose of smarts. Multiply my familial future strength by 10’s of millions of young American’s across our nation and the country’s future suddenly looks bright!
But! And it’s a big but! We have to realize that our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution are so much more than the parchment paper our Founders penned their names to. Too many Americans are still fighting for equality while looking for neighborhoods that will continue to plant trees of independence. We can not let our democratic principle of compromise, built on trust, give way to silos’ of distrust! Only positive intentions will keep our country’s lighthouses lit!
Thank you for reading.
Be at peace and joy.
Mark