Comments for SusanEisenhower.com

Comment on The Eisenhower Memorial: Moving Forward by Jay Burnham

Jay Burnham — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:05:59 +0000

Having met your grandfather at his Gettysburg farm following a tour of the battleground by your father in the early ’60s, I have remained an admirer my entire life. He left an impression that I will never forget. I support your cause and agree with you 100% regarding his legacy and the need to memorialize it in a more fitting and appropriate manner.

Comment on The Eisenhower Memorial: Moving Forward by Patricia Bresee

Patricia Bresee — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:43:41 +0000

As a Kansan who once visited the inspiring Abilene memorial to our famous (and beloved, I might add) citizen, I also object to the proposed Washington plans and support the Eisenhower family in their protests. I do not know if Ike’s homecoming speech was intended to set the tone for his whole life. It was a rather intimate speech to those who loved him — those who knew him and his family from his younger days in Abilene. The “barefoot boy” reference might have been familiar to his Kansas audience. Surely it refers to the poem by that title written by John Greenleaf Whittier. This poem was one I read as a child, too, for it still appeared in our Kansas textbooks. “Blessings on thee, little man,/Barefoot boy with cheeks of tan/….With the sunshine on thy face…I was once a barefoot boy.” The purpose of the poem was a wistful, but happy look at the past. Ike’s purpose in casually using it just might have been because he was trying to graciously put others at ease with the reminder that he was like them. I hope you will help create an image of Ike that shows him as the adult we proudly considered our own kin, with his kind smile and his face toward the sun!

Comment on The Eisenhower Memorial: Moving Forward by Mack Teasley

Mack Teasley — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:08:24 +0000

Dwight D. Eisenhower’s strong Kansas roots are on display in his hometown of Abilene by way of museum exhibits in the Eisenhower Presidential Library and may be experienced by those touring his boyhood home located on its original site at the library complex. The town of Abilene [my town also!] even has a boyhood statue of young Ike located downtown. Tens of thousands of visitors each year are thus able to see Eisenhower’s roots first-hand when they visit Abilene, which is the appropriate location for such a tribute to his heritage as a “barefoot boy from Kansas.” Washington, D.C. is not the place to focus on Ike the youth. The Eisenhower Memorial should convey to future generations the legacy of General Eisenhower as the victorious Supreme Allied Commander in WWII and first commander of NATO and President, Eisenhower as the steadfast leader who guided our nation safely through eight years of the Cold War.

Comment on Let’s Engage on the Real Issues with Ike’s Memorial by The Eisenhower Memorial: Moving Forward « SusanEisenhower.com

The Eisenhower Memorial: Moving Forward « SusanEisenhower.com — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:23:18 +0000

[...] The Eisenhower Memorial: Moving Forward February 8, 2012 tags: eisenhower memorial by Susan Eisenhower Please also see Susan’s other blog posts on the Eisenhower memorial, “The Eisenhower Memorial: Another Front in the Culture Wars?” and “Let’s Engage on the Real Issues with Ike’s Memorial” [...]

Comment on The Eisenhower Memorial: Another Front in the Culture Wars? by The Eisenhower Memorial: Moving Forward « SusanEisenhower.com

The Eisenhower Memorial: Moving Forward « SusanEisenhower.com — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:23:16 +0000

[...] by Susan Eisenhower Please also see Susan’s other blog posts on the Eisenhower memorial, “The Eisenhower Memorial: Another Front in the Culture Wars?” and “Let’s Engage on the Real Issues with Ike’s [...]

Comment on The Eisenhower Memorial: Moving Forward by Michael Heyeck

Michael Heyeck — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:57:33 +0000

I applaud Susan’s efforts and those of her entire family. A 14 year-old boy pondering his life and impact on his country is exactly the opposite of what a memorial should be. This would connote an introspective memorial focused on the boy which Ike would have detested. The people should see Ike’s legacy from the nation’s point of view as General, as President. Imagine the Lincoln memorial with him as a child in a log cabin instead of him presiding for all time over a union he preserved. The MLK memorial, which is testament to a great man who influenced a powerful yet peaceful movement, is marred by the lack of true context of a quote indelibly etched in the stone for all time. Let’s not make another mistake that lives an eternity.

Comment on Let’s Engage on the Real Issues with Ike’s Memorial by Karen Kellogg Fain

Karen Kellogg Fain — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:20:22 +0000

LauracomL,
You are so right. History has proven all that DDE provided for us. I am a liberal Democrat now, having been raised by Eisenhower Republlicans. I was soundly driven from the Republican party during the 60′s, when the radical Democrats in the South, took over the mantel of the Republican party which they now totally control.

Comment on Let’s Engage on the Real Issues with Ike’s Memorial by Karen Kellogg Fain

Karen Kellogg Fain — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:11:09 +0000

I totally agree with the Eisenhower family. I remember when Pres. Eisenhower had his heart attack and recuperated here in Denver at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital, and when he and Mrs. Eisenhower would visit her mother Mrs. Dowd, in Denver. He was our hero, and the idea of seeing him as a “Huck Finn” type of character on The Mall is so distastful. The idea that this commission is trying to rush it, because of the age of Gehry and others is riduculous. A smoke screen to get what they want. I think there are enough things in our modern world that Pres. Eisenhower would be appalled about, such as our involvement in a ground war in South East Asia. Let him be portrayed as the giant he was, and how history has proven what a forsightful man he was. Many of us remember the days when the John Birch Society tried to portray him as a Communist sympathizer and tried to impeach his Supreme Court Appointee. Please do not allow him to be portrayed as a country bumkin. Karen Kellogg Fain, Aurora, Colorado

Comment on The Eisenhower Memorial: Moving Forward by George S. Wills

George S. Wills — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:03:43 +0000

Marsh Freeman has expressed the accurate view from the perspective of history and the meaning of Dwight Eisenhower for American history . I have had the privilege of working with the Eisenhower Foundation , in connection with the Museum program expansion during the 1990′s and believe that Dwight Eisenhower’s early years in Abilene , Kansas are appropriately honored and recognized there . Ms. Freeman is correct , and the National Memorial in Washington should focus on Dwight Eisenhower’s leadership as General and President

Comment on The Eisenhower Memorial: Moving Forward by John Barbieri

John Barbieri — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:26:59 +0000

Anyone who drives on an interstate highway or who has benefited from their immense economic impact on our modern society should be grateful to President Eisenhower.