so to speak. ike used his final days in office to ensure kennedy was briefed as thoroughly as possible regarding the world situation. but on top of that, he planned to give a speech, a final speech, one that would be filled with words of advice for the new president. this was not a sudden idea. he had been preparing this speech for the past two years, well before he knew who d be running, much less who d be president. eisenhower was somebody who did not simply take speeches or drafts that other people prepared for him and then deliver them. he put his stamp on every one of them. you see a lot of typewriting. but you see even more handwriting. and all of it is eisenhower s. eisenhower knew it was going to be big because you don t do 21 drafts on a speech for a farewell address if you didn t want to make a very great statement.
persuaded not to, even though he felt it, i would say. congress would not have appreciated that one bit. and yet that s where it was. in its day, ike s farewell address did not receive anywhere near the fanfare of the new president s inaugural address. but his speech was meant for the ages, not just for the headlines. he wanted jfk to hear his warning, certainly. but he had expressed a vision not merely for the days ahead but for the decades. sarah is confident. destroy. but when it comes to mortgages, she s less confident. fortunately, there s rocket mortgage by quicken loans. apply simply. understand fully. mortgage confidently. looking for a hotel that fits. whoooo. .your budget?
the invasion of north africa. he was a good man, tough man, you know. i mean, he tried to treat everybody the same. i was on duty. i had to go and take my weapons with me just in case anybody gets fresh, you know. in december 1943, president roosevelt informed eisenhower he would command operation overlord, a direct invasion of france. this was the make-or-break moment for the war in europe. all the heavyweights fdr, churchill, de gaulle were putting their faith in ike. the responsibility for d-day, as it was popularly known, rested on his shoulders. he scribbled this in case of failure note if the invasion turned out badly. it concluded by saying, if any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.
his parents, david and ida, called him ike, a nickname that would stick. the family moved to abilene, kansas, in 1892. they moved into this home in 1896. for years, there was no running water or indoor plumbing. he learned to like the archetypical american. he never had a elitism or sense of snobbery about him. to the contrary, he was somebody who really liked the type of the hardworking american. he graduated from high school in 1909, and in 1911, after scoring well on an entrance exam, was accepted to west point. out of 164 students, ike finished 61st academically and a dismal 125th in discipline. but he was very likable. and one commander after another would see his potential as he rose through the ranks.
with him godspeed. i pray that the coming years will be blessed with peace and prosperity for all. eisenhower had delivered his speech. but did it sink in? anytime a country is in, you know, in some peril, facing a powerful adversary, there s always concern about who s coming next. so help me god. when jfk gave his extraordinary inaugural address just three days later. ask not what your country can do for you. ask what you can do for your country. .ike s speech already seemed like old news. was there a sense that that the incoming administration was kinda thought they knew what was gonna happen, and then they had a a steep learning curve? they were very cocky. but, you know, they d won. they found out, as they went on, that running the country took more