Presidential Service: Honoring the Military Legacies of Eisenhower, Nixon, and Bush
On the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, let’s remember the wartime military service of three men that would go on to become President.
Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush each served in the military during World War II. Their experiences had a profound and lasting impact on them.
These three men from three different parts of the country that would go on to shape post war America as President of the United States and Commander in Chief.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Five-Star General and Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in World War II
Dwight Eisenhower as a Cadet at West Point
Dwight D. Eisenhower’s military career started when he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point. The young man from Abilene, Kansas, graduated in 1915 and headed to his first assignment at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX.
Dwight Eisenhower serving at Camp Meade after World War I
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Eisenhower was called to the US War Department where he spent six months. He was given the task of creating an Anglo-American Alliance. After the Allied victory in North Africa, he was appointed to be Supreme Commander for the Allied invasion of Europe in December 1943.
As Supreme Allied Commander, General Eisenhower oversaw the planning of the Allied invasion of Europe, named Operation Overlord. He made the call for D-Day, the largest air, sea and land assault in history, to be on June 6, 1944.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke with paratroopers of the 101st airborne division on June 5, 1944, just before they boarded their planes for the D-Day invasion on June 6.
The Allied invasion of France turned the tide of World War II. The Allies put more than 150,000 men ashore on June 6 with an invasion force that included 7,000 ships manned by 195,000 naval personnel from eight allied countries. On August 25, 1944, Paris was liberated and the Germans surrendered on May 7, 1945.
The Order of the day for June 6, 1944 written by General Eisenhower to encourage the Allied soldiers taking part in the D-Day invasion.
You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you.
General Eisenhower penned a “In case of Failure” message to be delivered if the D-Day invasion failed. The message is mistakenly dated July 5 instead of June 5. In the handwritten note he states, “If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.” General Eisenhower retired from the Army in January 1948 with plans to spend retirement on his farm in Gettysburg, PA. This retirement was short-lived as he went on to become the first military commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the 34th President of the United States.
General Eisenhower retired from the Army in January 1948 with plans to spend retirement on his farm in Gettysburg, PA. This retirement was short-lived as he went on to become the first military commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the 34th President of the United States.
Richard Nixon
Lieutenant in the Navy During World War II
As a Quaker and as a government worker, Richard Nixon was entitled to military deferrals but as the war progressed, he was increasingly unhappy staying on the sidelines as he watched others joining up to fight for their country.
It was a difficult decision for me to make, but I felt that I could not sit back while my country was being attacked —in the face of Hitler and Tojo, [Quaker] pacifism not only failed to stop violence —it actually played into the hands of a barbarous foe.
Navy Lieutenant Nixon stationed on the South Pacific island of Espiritu Santo, 1943
Nixon’s family, especially his parents, were opposed. But he was determined to go “where the action was.” He enlisted in the Navy and was commissioned as an officer in 1942. He eventually shipped out for service on several islands in the South Pacific including the Solomon Islands and Green Island.
Richard Nixon (right) and a fellow serviceman stand with a South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT) military jeep
Nixon served from June 1942 until he resigned his commission at the start of 1946. He received a Navy Letter of Commendation for “meritorious and efficient performance of duty as Officer in Charge of the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command.”
Lieutenant Nixon thrived in the military environment. He honed a variety of skills that would serve him throughout his life and encountered men and women from diverse backgrounds from all across America. Shortly after his World War II service, Nixon was elected to Congress. He served as Congressman, Senator and Vice President before being elected the 37th President in 1968.
It was just simply an innate feeling…that it was vitally important to be where the action was.
Letters to Pat
Richard and Pat Nixon married on June 21, 1940 and settled in Whittier, California but they were soon caught up in the turmoil that swept across America when the U.S. entered World War II. The Nixons were separated for nearly three years by the war.
While he was stationed in the South Pacific, she worked for the Office of Price Administration in San Francisco.
A letter from Richard Nixon to Pat Nixon dated Thanksgiving Day 1943. He concludes the letter with, “There can never be another like you.”
On September 8, 1943, Richard Nixon’s letter to Pat said, “I’ve never written to you before at 10,000 feet over the ocean with the islands of the South Pacific you’ve been reading about – below. Conditions are such that I can’t finish – but I want to tell you that I love you just the same up here as down below.”
They wrote to each other every day, loving letters that bridged the distance between them. They numbered each letter, because mail deliveries were unpredictable. Pat saved all of Richard’s letters throughout her life.
George H.W. Bush: Naval Aviator in World War II
George H. W. Bush in the cockpit of an Avenger. Photo courtesy George Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
George H.W. Bush was a high school senior in Andover, Massachusetts, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He quickly decided he wanted to be a pilot and joined the Navy shortly after graduating. On June 9, 1943, he became an officer of the United States Naval Reserve and received his wings as a naval aviator. Just short of his nineteen birthday, Bush was likely the youngest flying officer in the US Navy. He was quickly assigned to fly torpedo bombers off aircraft carriers in the Pacific Ocean.
After Pearl Harbor, it was a different world altogether. It was a red, white, and blue thing. Your country’s attacked, you’d better get in there and try to help.
George H.W. Bush (center) with two crewmen—radioman Joe Reichert (left) and turret gunner Leo W. Nadeau (right) on November 2, 1944.
U.S. Naval aviator, George H.W. Bush seated in the cockpit of his torpedo bomber named “Barbara III” for his girlfriend, Barbara Pierce. The couple married during the war, on January 6, 1945.
Lieutenant Bush (in life raft) being rescued by crew of the USS Finback off Chichi-Jima on September 2, 1944.
During a mission to destroy a radio tower on Chichi-Jima, a heavily fortified supply point for the Japanese 500 miles from the mainland, Bush’s plane was hit by enemy fire. He completed his bombing mission before parachuting into the Pacific Ocean. Bush drifted in a life raft under pursuit of a Japanese boat until he was rescued by crew on the USS Finback. The other two members of his flight crew did not survive.
Shortly after the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, Bush was discharged from active duty. He completed 58 missions, 1,228 hours of flight time and 126 carrier landings. His military honors include the Distinguished Flying Cross for “distinguishing himself by heroism and extraordinary achievement.” Bush continued a life of public service in the roles of Congressman, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, RNC Chairman, Director of the CIA, Vice President and 41st President of the United States.
I finished the bombing run, which was no ‘heroic’ thing.They wrote it up as heroism, but it wasn’t—it was just doing your job.