Allied Commanders of World War Two/Eisenhower, Part One

"Dwight D. Eisenhower" Part 1

This well known American general and 34th President of the United States traces his ancestry back to Germany, where the name was "Eisenhauer" (pronounced the same as the altered form "Eisenhower"), which literally meant "iron hewer;" that is, someone who fashions iron into usable forms by "striking" and "trimming" it (see "Word History" below). The future president was born in Texas, but raised in Kansas. He attended West Point, and served in the United States in the newly developing tank forces during World War One, where his organizing abilities received attention from his superiors. After the war, Eisenhower was part of an army study of the U.S. road system, an experience he later used as president for the development of the interstate highway system. He also served for a time in the Panama Canal Zone and in France. During the early part of the Great Depression, Eisenhower served as aide to General Douglas MacArthur, and participated in dispersal of the so called "Bonus Army" in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 1932.* He went to the Philippines with MacArthur during the 1930s, where his disagreements with the colorful general may have contributed to MacArthur's later off-the-cuff remark about Eisenhower as, "The best clerk I ever had."** Eisenhower returned to the U.S. and served in a variety of staff assignments, including under General George C. Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff. it was this assignment which put Eisenhower on the road to fame. The Japanese attacked the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, America declared war, and Hitler and Mussolini both then declared war on the United States. The stage was set for an American military leader to go against Germany and Italy.

* After World War One, Congress granted veterans of the World War era special "bonus" certificates that could be redeemed in full for money in 1945. The severity of the economic collapse and the resulting Great Depression left many veterans out of work, prompting a number of groups to spring up across the country advocating immediate payment of the "bonus" money. In 1932, a number of veterans, their families and supporters came from around the country on a "Bonus March" on Washington as the "Bonus Army," as it came to be called. The "army" camped out in tents and shacks, but some also tried to take over buildings. There were outbreaks of violence, and some people were killed, leading then President Herbert Hoover to order troops to disperse the "Bonus Army." General MacArthur, who was in charge of the operation, exceeded his orders and had the "Bonus Army" routed with cavalry and tanks, and ordered their encampment burned. The whole spectacle played out in newsreels at movie houses across the country. The incident is partially credited with giving Franklin Roosevelt a landslide victory over Hoover in the election later that year. For a little more, see my article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/09/great-depression-part-nine.html

** My father served in the Pacific during World War Two, where General MacArthur was in charge of American operations. He liked MacArthur very much, but he was never very keen on Eisenhower, perhaps due to Eisenhower having served in Europe during the war. Even though a staunch Republican throughout his life (with some reservations not long before his death), my father was never all that taken with Eisenhower as president either, preferring his vice president, Richard Nixon. Anyway, my dad often quoted MacArthur's line about Eisenhower being the best clerk he ever had.

WORD HISTORY:
Hew-While not real common in every day speech, this word is still around. It goes back to Indo European "khou/khowa," which had the notion "to strike, to hit, to cut by striking." This gave Old Germanic "hawwan(an)," with the same basic meanings. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "heawan," with the meaning "to hack, to chop (both with that notion of 'cutting by striking'). Later this became "hewen," before the modern version. The noun "hewer" was derived from the verb. Forms of the word are common throughout the other Germanic languages: West Frisian "houwe," Dutch "houwen," German "hauen," some Low German "heiwe," other Low German "hauen," Swedish "hugga," Icelandic "höggva," Norwegian "hugge"/"hogga" (depending upon dialect), and Danish "hugge."