The Legacy Report: Preface

"President Eisenhower has always had a special place in my heart. In June of 1958, he signed the document that commissioned me as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry in the United States Army and started me on my career of service to the nation. But more important to me than his signature on my commission is the example that he gives to all Americans of commitment to duty and of commitment to country.

His model of devoted service persuaded me, and many others in my generation, to remain in the military after Vietnam, when things were at their darkest. We knew then how vitally important it would be for the future security of our nation to rebuild and to update our armed forces in the early 1970s. After all, we remembered, General Eisenhower had labored without fame, or fortune, or fanfare, in very similar circumstances, in an under-supported and under-valued army in the isolationist decades before World War II.

Eisenhower was a brilliant forger of alliances, partnerships and coalitions. A master at using the full range of of diplomatic, political, and economic resources to win World War II, he also used those resources to win the peace. As president, he used the same resources to lay the national security foundation that led to victory in the Cold War. He once wrote to his devoted and loving wife, Mamie, that to run the coalition meant that he had to be a bit of a diplomat, a lawyer, a salesman, a socialite, and incidentally a soldier. His words rang true to me during the Gulf War, and they still ring true as we fight our great multi-front war against international terrorism.

It is especially timely for us now to recall and to memorialize one of America’s greatest heroes, Dwight David Eisenhower — liberator of Europe, first steward of NATO, and builder of peace. Eisenhower was a great student of history long before he helped make it, and he passed down his love of history and his commitment to public service to new generations. Rarely in history has there been an individual who combined as he did high accomplishment and great humility. What he did was never for himself. It was for his country. It was always for us."

This appreciation of President Eisenhower was adapted from Secretary Colin Powell’s remarks at the dedication ceremony for the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, May 7, 2002.

The full text of Secretary Powell's remarks can be found at The Eisenhower Institute's Website.