<--PREV Doc #284  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #286 Document #285; August 12, 1957 To Margaret M. Williams Series: EM, WHCF, President's Personal File 1476 The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XVIII - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace Part II: Civil Rights; June 1957 to September 1957 Chapter 4: "Logic and reason must operate gradually"   Dear Captain Williams: Mrs. Whitman shared with me your letter of the seventh.1 I must confess that I was somewhat startled to find that you are returning to the States in the fall to become a civilian. I am sorry, as I always am when the Army loses a fine and dedicated person like yourself. This has seemingly been a long summer, aggravated by the fact that the Congress has been so torn internally that their adjournment is particularly late.2 Mrs. Eisenhower and I have planned to go to Newport--and still hope to do so--but a combination of circumstances have kept us from counting too heavily upon it. As perhaps you know, Mrs. Eisenhower underwent an operation about ten days ago out at Walter Reed. She has made remarkable progress since then, but the necessary period of convalescence still makes uncertain our vacation plans. If all goes well, we hope to get away about the end of this month (which may, of course, be topcoat weather in Newport).3 I hope you will let us know of your plans and address. While I may frequently neglect my correspondence I do like to keep track of the people that helped me through my difficulties of a couple of years ago.4 With warm regard, Sincerely 1 Williams, a nurse in the Army Nurse Corps, had cared for the President at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver, Colorado, following his heart attack in September 1955 (for background see Galambos and van Ee, The Middle Way, no. 1704). Stationed in Germany, she had written Ann Whitman that she expected to return to the United States by early November to become a civilian (see also Whitman to Williams, June 20, 1957). 2 For Eisenhower's difficulties with the first session of the Eighty-fifth Congress see no. 302. Congress would adjourn on August 30. 3 On August 6 the First Lady had undergone gynecological surgery (see no. 291). The Eisenhowers would vacation in Newport, Rhode Island, September 4 - 30. 4 Williams would thank the President for his letter on October 30. "I am sorry that I have to become again a civilian, but I know everything will work out for the best," she wrote. Eisenhower underlined this sentence and wrote "What in the world?" at the bottom of the letter. An investigation revealed that Army regulations dictated the mandatory separation because Williams would not complete twenty years' service before reaching her fifty-fifth birthday. Although an exception could have been made, Eisenhower decided not to "interfere" (see related correspondence between Whitman and Schulz). All correspondence is in the same file as the document. See also no. 290. Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Margaret M. Williams, 12 August 1957. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 285. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/285.cfm <--PREV Doc #284  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #286

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