Remembering Ike
On March 28, 1969 (43 years ago today) Dwight David Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, died at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington D.C. from congestive heart failure. He was 78 years of age.
Eisenhower was the first outgoing President to come under the protection of the Former Presidents Act which entitled him to receive a lifetime pension, state-provided staff and a Secret Service detail. In the 1960 election to choose his successor, Eisenhower endorsed his Vice-President, Republican Richard Nixon against Democrat John F. Kennedy. He told friends, "I will do almost anything to avoid turning my chair and country over to Kennedy." He actively campaigned for Nixon, but in the final days leading up to the election he probably did Nixon more harm than good. He was asked by a reporter at the end of a televised press conference to list one of Nixon's policy ideas he had adopted. Eisenhower replied "If you give me a week, I might think of one. I don't remember." Kennedy's campaign used the quote in one of its campaign commercials. Nixon narrowly lost to Kennedy. Eisenhower, who was the oldest president in history at that time (then 70), was succeeded by the 43 year old Kennedy, the youngest president ever elected.
On January 17, 1961, Eisenhower gave his final televised Address to the Nation from the Oval Office. In his farewell speech, Eisenhower warned the country to be on guard for an over-zealous military. He said: "We face a hostile ideology global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose and insidious in method..." and warned about what he saw as unjustified government spending proposals and continued with a warning that "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex." He continued, "we recognize the imperative need for this development ... the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist ... Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."
Eisenhower had resigned his permanent commission as General of the Army before becoming President of the United States. Upon completion of his Presidential term, his commission was reactivated and Eisenhower again was commissioned a five-star general in the United States Army.
After leaving office, Eisenhower retired to his farm adjacent to the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In 1967, two years before Ike's death, the Eisenhowers donated the farm to the National Park Service. Never the most political of Presidents, in retirement he reluctantly performed some political duties. He spoke at the 1964 Republican National Convention and appeared with Barry Goldwater in a Republican campaign commercial from Gettysburg. However, his endorsement was given begridgingly because Goldwater had once called Eisenhower "a dime-store New Dealer".
On March 28, 1969, Eisenhower died of congestive heart failure at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.. The following day his body was moved to the Washington National Cathedral's Bethlehem Chapel. On March 30, his body was taken to the United States Capitol, where he lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda. On March 31, Eisenhower's body was returned to the National Cathedral, where he was given an Episcopal Church funeral service. That evening, Eisenhower's body was placed onto a train en route to Abilene, Kansas. His body arrived on April 2, and was interred later that day in a small chapel on the grounds of the Eisenhower Presidential Library. Eisenhower is buried alongside his son Doud, who died at age 3 in 1921. His wife Mamie was buried next to him after her death in 1979.
At Eisenhower's funeral, President Richard Nixon said of his former boss:
"Some men are considered great because they lead great armies or they lead powerful nations. For eight years now, Dwight Eisenhower has neither commanded an army nor led a nation; and yet he remained through his final days the world's most admired and respected man, truly the first citizen of the world."
Eisenhower was the first outgoing President to come under the protection of the Former Presidents Act which entitled him to receive a lifetime pension, state-provided staff and a Secret Service detail. In the 1960 election to choose his successor, Eisenhower endorsed his Vice-President, Republican Richard Nixon against Democrat John F. Kennedy. He told friends, "I will do almost anything to avoid turning my chair and country over to Kennedy." He actively campaigned for Nixon, but in the final days leading up to the election he probably did Nixon more harm than good. He was asked by a reporter at the end of a televised press conference to list one of Nixon's policy ideas he had adopted. Eisenhower replied "If you give me a week, I might think of one. I don't remember." Kennedy's campaign used the quote in one of its campaign commercials. Nixon narrowly lost to Kennedy. Eisenhower, who was the oldest president in history at that time (then 70), was succeeded by the 43 year old Kennedy, the youngest president ever elected.
On January 17, 1961, Eisenhower gave his final televised Address to the Nation from the Oval Office. In his farewell speech, Eisenhower warned the country to be on guard for an over-zealous military. He said: "We face a hostile ideology global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose and insidious in method..." and warned about what he saw as unjustified government spending proposals and continued with a warning that "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex." He continued, "we recognize the imperative need for this development ... the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist ... Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."
Eisenhower had resigned his permanent commission as General of the Army before becoming President of the United States. Upon completion of his Presidential term, his commission was reactivated and Eisenhower again was commissioned a five-star general in the United States Army.
After leaving office, Eisenhower retired to his farm adjacent to the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In 1967, two years before Ike's death, the Eisenhowers donated the farm to the National Park Service. Never the most political of Presidents, in retirement he reluctantly performed some political duties. He spoke at the 1964 Republican National Convention and appeared with Barry Goldwater in a Republican campaign commercial from Gettysburg. However, his endorsement was given begridgingly because Goldwater had once called Eisenhower "a dime-store New Dealer".
On March 28, 1969, Eisenhower died of congestive heart failure at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.. The following day his body was moved to the Washington National Cathedral's Bethlehem Chapel. On March 30, his body was taken to the United States Capitol, where he lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda. On March 31, Eisenhower's body was returned to the National Cathedral, where he was given an Episcopal Church funeral service. That evening, Eisenhower's body was placed onto a train en route to Abilene, Kansas. His body arrived on April 2, and was interred later that day in a small chapel on the grounds of the Eisenhower Presidential Library. Eisenhower is buried alongside his son Doud, who died at age 3 in 1921. His wife Mamie was buried next to him after her death in 1979.
At Eisenhower's funeral, President Richard Nixon said of his former boss:
"Some men are considered great because they lead great armies or they lead powerful nations. For eight years now, Dwight Eisenhower has neither commanded an army nor led a nation; and yet he remained through his final days the world's most admired and respected man, truly the first citizen of the world."