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And we return to our American stories up next. A story about Gettysburg. but not about the battle that happened there. In the nineteenth century, but how what happened there impacted General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
in the 20th. as our troops stormed the beaches of Normandy. Here to tell the story of how Gettysburg impacted Ike. is National Park Service Ranger Dan Vermilia. Take it away, Dan.
When Eisenhower was young, his mom had to hide his history books to get him to do his chores.
Sounds like all of us here, right? If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times. But growing up in Abilene, Kansas in the 1890s and early 1900s, he's interacting with Civil War veterans. They're still around. They're still on the scene.
He's hearing stories from them. And he would also note that he thought it was utterly strange that he would go on to live in a place like Gettysburg, having spent so much of his early life talking with Civil War veterans in his hometown of Abilene. But what got him from I like to read history just because I like to read about it to Oh, history shapes the world we live in and it shapes us. Gettysburg is what got him there. And his trips here.
His first trip to Gettysburg, 1915. The West Point class of 1915, the class the stars, fell on, more members of that class reaching the rank of general than any other. He came here with his West Point class to do a staff ride, something that still happens every year here at Gettysburg. Three years later, Eisenhower's back. Commanding Camp Colt, the tank training camp.
It wasn't the assignment he wanted. He wanted to be with his fellow West Point classmates, his fellow Army officers going to France. getting combat experience in the Great War. Nobody knew it as the First World War at the time, the Great War. but instead he's here in Gettysburg.
He faced a lot of challenges. Not having tanks to train with for several months for a tank training camp, that's problematic. Um Spanish influenza hitting the camp in the fall of 1918. He's facing challenges. One of the things he did was he went to the National Cemetery, went to as close as he could guess where Lincoln's speech was given.
And then he read the speech to himself as a way of drawing inspiration for the problems he was facing. We're going to fast forward now a couple decades to 1946. Eisenhower is one of the most admired and respected men in the world at this point. He is the Victoria Supreme Allied Commander. 1946 His name is up there.
It's recognized all around the world. And May 27th, He comes back to Gettysburg. to deliver a commencement address at Gettysburg College. It's one of my favorite Eisenhower speeches. I won't read the whole thing, but just a couple quotes for you here.
No American can come to Gettysburg unstirred by the memory of those who fought in the and of him who spoke here many years ago. We are intensely proud of America's history, but questionable it is that we explore that history sufficiently for the inspiration and example it could furnish toward the conquest of current problems. Essentially saying it's questionable whether we're properly exploring the past to inform our present. You here have been fortunate to live closely with the traditions of Lincoln and Gettysburg. And then saying of Lincoln, To few is given the extraordinary combination of qualities to carry the heavy burden that Lincoln bore.
Fortunately few were called upon to meet the tests he met. But basic to his genius for leadership was a willing acceptance of responsibility, and a firm will to render honest service. I love that quote because in describing Lincoln, Eisenhower is also, in a sense, describing himself. Maybe he doesn't know that, but I'd say that quote would apply equally to Eisenhower.
So he's seeing the connections between the past and the present. His speech at Gettysburg College is strongly telling us that the past has lessons for us in the present. He's applying those lessons in his time out on the battlefield. In the 1950s and 1960s, If you were touring the Gettysburg battlefield, you may have run in to the former Supreme Allied Commander and depending on what time, sitting incumbent President of the United States. Eisenhower used his Gettysburg farm as a setting for diplomacy, for bringing guests to meet them, have discussions.
The battlefield was a place for him to engage with and contemplate. As he wrote about Gettysburg in his memoir At Ease, Gettysburg, in fact, was a demonstration of what a tiny portion of what a nation's number can accomplish in the shaping and making. of history. And when he's leading tours, he's using the lessons of the past to inform the diplomacy he's engaging in as president. Can we see any of that in his leadership on D-Day?
I think we can. On June 6th of 1944, Eisenhower was calm under pressure. Specifically, on June 4th and 5th of 1944, He was calm under pressure. because after he gives the go-ahead order to move forward with the invasion on the morning of June fifth, Kind of out of his hands. Eisenhower went from having the most important, most powerful decision in the world to make to.
Okay, everybody's going, they're implementing that order. and what I'm referring to is the delay of the invasion by a day due to weather. But in those discussions, in those meetings about whether to delay the invasion, Eisenhower did not engage in histrionics. He did not engage in dramatics. He was cool, calm, and calculated.
Not unlike George Gordon Mead. a man he looked up to. Eisenhower wrote of Meade, His claim to greatness in that moment of assuming command of the Army of the Potomac on the eve of Gettysburg, may very well be evidenced by the total absence of the theatrical. When thousands of lives were at stake there was no time for postures or declamations. How else did Gettysburg shape Eisenhower?
August eighth of eighteen sixty three, after this battle. Confederate Commander Robert E. Lee wrote to Jefferson Davis in Richmond offering his resignation. Noting, No one is more aware of myself than myself of my inability for the duties of my position. I cannot even accomplish what I myself desire.
Lee was taking personal responsibility and accountability for the failure at Gettysburg. Obviously, Davis did not. accept the resignation. But Is there a parallel with Eisenhower? I'd say so.
On the eve of the invasion Eisenhower wrote this note And in case of failure messages, it's frequently and commonly referred to as.
So that if the invasion would fail, if something went wrong. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, as he ended the note, It is mine alone.
Now the note actually is dated July 5th. He wrote it on June 5th. as he would say numerous times, it fell out of his wallet. couple weeks after the invasion and was found. but it showed a belief that accountability and character matter.
And how else did Gettysburg inspire his leadership? Eisenhower modeled himself after many leaders, but none more so than Abraham Lincoln. He referred to Lincoln as his ideal leader on numerous occasions. He said Lincoln never slapped a table or assumed the stance of a pseudo-dictator. He was calm under pressure.
He talked to others. Eisenhower aspired to those same qualities. But Lincoln also was an inspirational leader. And he inspired others not just with flowing language and words, but by speaking clearly, about the mission. speaking clearly about what was at stake.
His first inaugural, the second inaugural, great examples of this. But no example is greater than the Gettysburg Address. where Lincoln comes here to this war-torn town. He's surrounded by death everywhere he looks. When he tours the battlefield that morning, he's seeing still freshly dug graves, he's seeing a war-torn landscape.
And then he goes and he delivers the speech talking about we have to continue this because the future of democracy is at stake. Is there a parallel with Eisenhower? I would certainly say so. His order of the day. given to the soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force.
handed out with paper copies, read aloud over loudspeakers on ships before men embarked into their landing craft to head towards the shores of Normandy. You are about to embark on the great crusade towards which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you, the hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere. march with you. Saying that their task is to bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe.
and security for ourselves. and a free world. no small task. But he drew these lessons and in crafting this inspired others to work towards what he called the Great Crusade in that message. And we might say that Eisenhower began shaping the memory of D-Day on D-Day.
by referring to it as the Great Crusade. He is telling those under his command that they are involved in something that has almost religious tones to it. The word crusade is often associated with that, a righteous tone to what they're doing. As he would later write, belief in an underlying cause is fully as important to success in war. is any local spirit or discipline.
This was the good war. This was the good conflict. It's easier for us to understand World War II perhaps than the First World War because the causes are much more clear in many of our minds, in part because. It has those righteous undertones from documents like The Order of the Day. Eisenhower approached D-Day for the rest of his life with great reverence for what it meant, for America's place in the world, and he also approached it with great humility for his own role.
in the success. And we might say that Eisenhower's Great Crusade, what was it? It depended on when you're talking about in his life. On June 6th of 1944, the Great Crusade is establishing a foothold in Western Europe.
so that Allied arms could sweep across the continent and defeat Nazi tyranny. May 8th of 1945, the Great Crusade then became taking the lessons of that sweep. across Europe. and applying them to the world going forward. History was many things for Eisenhower, but it was a lesson that drove his actions.
And I think as we conclude, it might be fitting once again to look to both Eisenhower and Lincoln. As Ike himself once said of Lincoln, We have not paid to His message its just tribute until we ourselves live it. The question is How do we pay our just tribute? to Eisenhower's message. What a story, what a connection, the reason we tell these stories in the end, connecting the past to the present.
Ike to Gettysburg, Ike to Lincoln himself. The story of the Eisenhower-Gettysburg Connection here. on our American stories. Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game and bring the boom.
Hit the town with the ultra-durable LG X-Boom portable speaker and enjoy vibrant sound wherever you go. Elevate your listening experience to new heights because let's be real, your music deserves it. The future of sound is now with LG X Boom. And for a limited time, save 25% at lg.com with code FALL25. Bring a bowl.
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It's an exciting time, but it can also be overwhelming, and kids may feel isolated, a vulnerability that human traffickers can exploit. Human trafficking doesn't always look like what you expect. Everyday moments can become opportunities for someone with bad intentions, whether you're a parent, teacher, coach, or neighbor. Check in. Ask questions.
Stay connected. Blue Campaign is a national awareness initiative that provides resources to help recognize suspected instances of human trafficking. Learn the signs and how to report at dhs.gov/slash blue campaign. America is changing. And so is the world.
But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere. I'm a smachhalid in Washington, D.C. I'm Tristan Redman in London and this is the Global Story. Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection, where the world and America meet.
Listen on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.
