Although Eisenhower was an average student, he enjoyed studying history. His heroes included military figures like George Washington (1732–1799) and Hannibal (247–183 B.C.E. ). Eisenhower graduated from Abilene High School in 1909 and then went to work for a year to help pay for his brother's college education. (Brandon, Piers)
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"I belong to a family of boys who were raised in meager circumstances in central Kansas, and every one of us earned our way as we went along, and it never occurred to us that we were poor, but we were." Dwight David Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890 to David J. and Ida Eisenhower, the third of seven sons to his parents. Although he was born in Denison, Texas; his home was Abeline, Kansas, the place where his family moved when he was two years old.
"I found out in later years that we were very poor." "After graduating in the middle of his class—61st out of 164—Eisenhower spent the next few years at one disappointing station after another, beginning with a stint as a second lieutenant at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. It was there that he met and married Mamie Doud. At Camp Meade, Maryland, Eisenhower became friends with George S. Patton, Jr. Both Eisenhower and Patton published articles in 1920 advocating that the Army make better use of tanks to prevent a repetition of the static and destructive trench warfare of World War I. But Army authorities considered Eisenhower insubordinate rather than visionary and threatened him with a court-martial if he again challenged official views on infantry warfare." (http://millercenter.org/president/eisenhower/essays/biography/2)
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Dwight D. Eisenhower marries “his Mamie”On Valentine's Day 1916, Ike and Mamie announced their engagement. The ring he placed on her finger was a miniature copy of his West Point ring, an amethyst set in gold. The entire Doud family was very fond of Ike; but, just the same, John had a frank and fatherly talk with his 19-year-old daughter about life's prospects as an Army wife. By her own admission, Mamie was a spoiled, naïve young woman who knew more about managing servants than cooking, sewing, and making a home herself. None of that mattered; Mamie wanted her Ike, and she was willing to accept whatever would come.
Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mamie Geneva Doud were married at noon on July 1, 1916, in the Doud family home in Denver-the same day Ike received his first promotion. (http://www.eisenhowerfoundation.net/mamie.html) |