Denison, TX

VOTE FOR IKE

The theme to this year’s #WingsOverDalls Airshow is “Texas Goes to War” and on that front, there are many bright stars in the Lone Star State. One famous Texan who contributed greatly to the war effort is Dwight D. Eisenhower. Although he was reared in Abilene, Kansas, Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas on Oct. 14, 1890. Eisenhower was the Supreme Allied Commander in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) in World War II. He is one of only a handful of officers to reach the rank of 5-star general. After the War he went on to serve two terms as the 34th President of the United States.Eisenhower graduated from the U.S. Military Academy of West Point in 1915. He served stateside during WWI and filled several administrative posts leading up to WWII. In the 1930s, he served under Gen. Douglas McArthur as Assistant Military Advisor to the Philippine government. While in the Philippines, Eisenhower earned his private pilot’s license.Although lacking in combat experience, Eisenhower was recognized for his administrative and organizational talents. Because of that, he was named Commanding General of the ETO in June 1942 and Supreme Commander in 1944. As the top military commander in Europe, he oversaw the invasions of Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany.In 2019, the Commemorative Air Force acquired Ike’s Bird, one of six Aero Commander L-26B aircraft used to fly then-President Eisenhower to his farm near Gettysburg, Pa. In recognition of Eisenhower’s birth in Texas, the frame house in which he was born is preserved in Denison as the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site.Come see Ike’s Bird at #WingsOverDallas on October 29-31: https://wingsoverdallas.org/