I just finished working my way through hundreds of pages of a biography called "Eisenhower, A soldiers Story" by Carlo D'Este. It deals very extensivly with the life of Ike up till the Operation Overloard, including his childhood and how his early life shaped this person. Facinating to say the least.
Ike grew up in poverty at the end of the frontier days of Abaline Kansass, and as a boy learned to hunt and fish to help put food on the table. His family was so poor the all his cloths were thread bare hand me downs from his older brother. One person who had a very strong influence on his life was an old cowboy who lived in a shack outside of town. He tought young Ike alot about nature, and hunting. Ike grew to be very proficiant at putting game on the table, and he enjoyed the rugged outdoor life.
With a situation where he was counting every penny, he bought the most plain little pocket knife the towns general store had. Since the larger the knife, the higher the price tag, Ike learned to dress rabbits and squirrels with a small pen knife. He got used to it so much, that later as a graduate of West Point and a officer in the army, he always carried a similar knife for the rest of his life. In fact, his early impovershed years made such an impression on him, he was a lifelong very thifty person.
In the 1920's he was stationed in some rough places like Panama, and the Phillipines. He would take horseback trips into the Panamanian jungles and camp out, and fish and explore. He would say he found a million uses for a sharp knife. He carried a machete with his jungle gear, but always had the little pocket knife.
Also because of his early outdoor life of hunting and fishing, he was of the opinion that everyman should have a sharp knife on him. That is one reason he was fond of giving out small pocket knives as gifts. He was so fanatical about having his knife and Zippo lighter with him, that once he was on the way to a meeting with the British Air Marshall that was to co-ordanate the RAF operations with the US air corp, when he shouted to his driver to turn around. They got back to his headquarters and he ran in and got his lighter and pocket knife from the bedside table where he had forgotten them in his hurry to dress. He'd rather be late to an important meeting on the eve of D-day, that go without his pocket knife.
Reading this book, it was so interesting that some of the very things we have talked about here, were discussed in the book. Like Ike growing up using the most minimal equiptment like an old single barrel shotgun and a pen knife, that later even though he was well off, he would stay with modest gear.
The book was a facinating look into what made this man the minute planning genius he was.
Ike grew up in poverty at the end of the frontier days of Abaline Kansass, and as a boy learned to hunt and fish to help put food on the table. His family was so poor the all his cloths were thread bare hand me downs from his older brother. One person who had a very strong influence on his life was an old cowboy who lived in a shack outside of town. He tought young Ike alot about nature, and hunting. Ike grew to be very proficiant at putting game on the table, and he enjoyed the rugged outdoor life.
With a situation where he was counting every penny, he bought the most plain little pocket knife the towns general store had. Since the larger the knife, the higher the price tag, Ike learned to dress rabbits and squirrels with a small pen knife. He got used to it so much, that later as a graduate of West Point and a officer in the army, he always carried a similar knife for the rest of his life. In fact, his early impovershed years made such an impression on him, he was a lifelong very thifty person.
In the 1920's he was stationed in some rough places like Panama, and the Phillipines. He would take horseback trips into the Panamanian jungles and camp out, and fish and explore. He would say he found a million uses for a sharp knife. He carried a machete with his jungle gear, but always had the little pocket knife.
Also because of his early outdoor life of hunting and fishing, he was of the opinion that everyman should have a sharp knife on him. That is one reason he was fond of giving out small pocket knives as gifts. He was so fanatical about having his knife and Zippo lighter with him, that once he was on the way to a meeting with the British Air Marshall that was to co-ordanate the RAF operations with the US air corp, when he shouted to his driver to turn around. They got back to his headquarters and he ran in and got his lighter and pocket knife from the bedside table where he had forgotten them in his hurry to dress. He'd rather be late to an important meeting on the eve of D-day, that go without his pocket knife.
Reading this book, it was so interesting that some of the very things we have talked about here, were discussed in the book. Like Ike growing up using the most minimal equiptment like an old single barrel shotgun and a pen knife, that later even though he was well off, he would stay with modest gear.
The book was a facinating look into what made this man the minute planning genius he was.
