President Eisenhower and Denison

   When most people are asked about the hometown of Dwight David Eisenhower, they will reply he was from Kansas..  True to a degree, but not entirely. Ike was born in Denison, Texas and his family moved to Kansas in a job transfer for his dad. Even Ike himself did not know exactly where he was born until he entered the Army and needed a copy of his birth certificate.
   Ike was born October 14, 1890 and died March 28, 1969... He went to West Point (U S Military Academy) and played on the football team for the cadets..

 That's Ike second from the left.. Omar Bradley was on the same team..
Ike served as a lieutenant in World War I...and decided to stay in the Army when the war concluded. When the second World War came, Ike was on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific Theater of the war. MacArthur wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Army, calling Ike the best officer he had ever seen. He was immediately transferred to Europe and helped plan the invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch).

     
       When it came time to invade Northern France to open a second front, Ike was put in charge and promoted to Supreme Commander of the Allies. He jumped over 53 more senior officers to take the position. Petty jealousy between the allies was Ike's biggest fear, and he worked tirelessly to make sure everyone got the best assignments possible.

    
  When the war ended, Germany was cut up into four sectors with each of the Allied Countries receiving a sector of responsibility.. Above is Bernard Montgomery, representing the British, Ike standing in for the U.S.,..Marshall Georgy Zhukov of the Soviet Union, and Charles deGall of France. 
   In 1952 the Republicans talked Ike into running for President and he won in a landslide over Democrat Adlai Stevenson. Ike served two terms as President, from 1953 until 1961.

     Denison, Texas is proud of its most famous son...and last year a monument was erected at exit 67 on U.S. Highway 75 for all to see. 

        The monument is surround by red bricks...and on each brick is the name of a military veteran.. Some of the names go back as far as the War of 1812 and the Civil War. Some are as recent as Iraq and Afghanistan, but they are all there with the former President...