President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Arms: Or an anvil Azure
Crest: Five stars of five points conjoined in a pentagon Argent
Motto: Peace through Understanding
SOURCE/NOTES & CREDITS: Arms granted by the King of Denmark in conjunction with Eisenhower’s appointment as a Knight of the Danish Order of the Elephant. Illustration and text for background purposes by Joseph McMillan & the American Heraldry Society (AHS). New artwork and revised blazon by J.H. Gaylor with text adapted by D.Q. Wedvick from the AHS article on Eisenhower by Joseph McMillan and from the Wikipedia Article. Suggest going to the AHS for further reading at www.americanheraldry.org
Dwight David Eisenhower (Ike) the 34th President of the United States (1953-1961) was born on 14 October 1890 in Denison, TX, however the family moved to Abilene, KS in 1892 which Ike considered his home town. He entered West Point in 1911 and graduated in the middle of his class, the Class of 1915 (“the class the stars fell on” as 59 members in time became general officers). He missed warfront service in WW1. Instead he ran a training camp for tank crews at Camp Colt in Gettysburg, PA. After the Great War he served in the grade of Major for 16 years in which much time was spent working for various generals and in staff assignments. In 1925-1926 he attended C&GS at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, graduating first in his class of 245. He was immediately assigned in 1926 as a battalion commander at Ft. Benning, GA, which assignment lasted until 1927 when he again went back to work for the generals, including a stint as Douglas MacArthur’s Chief of Staff in the Philippines. His time at Ft. Benning was his only real command time before WW2. After a successful assignment as Chief of Staff for 3rd Army to include the “Louisiana Maneuvers” of 1941, he was promoted brigadier general on 3 Oct 1941.
In Nov 1942 he was appointed Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force of the North African Theater of Operations. Successful with North Africa, he then commanded the highly successful invasion of Sicily. Subsequently, he was appointed Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (SHAEF) and for “Operation Overlord” (Normandy) becoming a four star general, and in view of the successful invasion of France and the attack on Germany he was made General of the Army on 20 Dec 1944.
At the war’s end Ike became the Military Governor of the US Occupation Zone, then in Nov 1945, Chief of Staff of the Army until Feb 1948. In 1948 he became the 13th President of Colombia University until 1953. In 1953 he was elected the 34th President of the United States. In this office he was preceded by Harry S. Truman and was succeeded by John F. Kennedy. dqw 2012 0924
The Artwork is a rendition by John Hamilton Gaylor.
Wedvick Armorial, 216, Eisenhower, 2012 0924
