Channels, Fall 2020

Page 48 Caldwell • Eisenhower Acclaimed historian Stephen E. Ambrose describes Eisenhower at West Point as “[taking] fromWest Point what was positive and reject[ing] that which was negative.” 11 He generally enjoyed and thrived during his time there, gathering many stories that he would later enjoy retelling. He was very involved in sports, extracurricular activities, getting in and out of various sundry scrapes, and remaining comfortably in the middle of his class in terms of academic achievement. While it was a positive time for him overall, Eisenhower did have some rough experiences. He had to adjust to a school structure that emphasized obedience to authority above all else and suffered disappointing physical injuries that temporarily derailed his ability to play football. 12 These obstacles were not insurmountable, however, and “Little Ike” (though not so little anymore) graduated fromWest Point in June of 1915, and received his orders to report to the 19th Infantry Regiment at Fort Sam Houston. That November, he went off to San Antonio, Texas, to begin his military adventure. Military Career Eisenhower was stationed at Fort Sam for roughly two years. During those two years, he met and married his wife, Mary (Mamie) Geneva Doud, coached football, and excelled in his assignments. Due to his previous coaching and teamwork experiences, he was called upon to use his skills as a trainer in the Army. Ike was driven by the “need to excel.” 13 He once remarked that he was self- required “to perform every du ty given me in the Army to the best of my ability and to do the best I could to make a creditable record, no matter what the nature of the duty.” 14 Thus, he undertook training his fellow soldiers with zeal, despite the assignment being far from his first choice, and was promoted to the rank of captain. Though seeming to do well, Eisenhower still struggled intensely with submitting to the authority over him versus exercising his own desires and individuality. This conflict would continue to cause internal tension within himself for the next several years of his military career, for he seemed to still be “rebelling unconsciously against a father and older brother who had saddled him with a deep streak of discontent about authority.” 15 The United States entered World War I in April of 1917. Eisenhower had a burning desire to get overseas and applied for overseas duty repeatedly, hoping to receive a placement in France. Instead, Ike received a reprimand from the War Department citing that they “did not approve of young officers applying for special duty; they were to obey orders and, in effect, let the War Department run the war.” 16 His dreams were dashed. Over the next few months, he was shuffled from place to place – first to Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia, then Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, and then to Camp Meade in Maryland. Through it all, he kept the 11 Ibid, 45. 12 Galambos, Eisenhower, 30. 13 Peter Lyon, Eisenhower: Portrait of a Hero (Boston: Little, Brown, 1974), 50. 14 Ibid. 15 Galambos, Eisenhower , 35. 16 Merle Miller, Ike the Soldier: As They Knew Him (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1987), 167.