![EISENHOWER, Dwight D. (1890-1969). Autograph letter signed (“Ike”), as Supreme Allied Commander, to his wife Mamie Doud Eisenhower, 8 December [1944]. 2 pages, 4to, with original envelope signed at censor stamp (“Dwight D. Eisenhower”), and annotated at top: “Kindness of Al.”](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2015/NYR/2015_NYR_11610_0024_000(eisenhower_dwight_d_autograph_letter_signed_as_supreme_allied_commande101659).jpg?w=1)
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EISENHOWER, Dwight D. (1890-1969). Autograph letter signed (“Ike”), as Supreme Allied Commander, to his wife Mamie Doud Eisenhower, 8 December [1944]. 2 pages, 4to, with original envelope signed at censor stamp (“Dwight D. Eisenhower”), and annotated at top: “Kindness of Al.”
"THE WAR, FOR THE U.S., IS ONE DAY OVER THREE YEARS OLD. HOW I WISH IT WOULD END TOMORROW"
Eisenhower marks the anniversary of Pearl Harbor and American entry into World War II, by writing Mamie and telling her how excited he was to receive her latest letter, the night before last. “It made my evening a nice one.” But he hasn’t heard from his son John for “at least a month.” He complains about an impending visit of 23 Congressmen and their entourages, and scrambles to find enough tables and chairs for them. “I’ll be pushed to find some way of feeding them.” And he is sorry that General Lucius Clay will not be returning to his staff. “That’s a blow to me, because I depend upon him and trust him without reservation. But I suppose it’s right to keep him there – he’s just so good he has to be at the place he is most needed.” Clay was supervising the crucial supply harbor at Cherbourg, which brought in the supplies needed for the American advance. That advance would be thrust into reverse a week after this letter by the German surprise attack through the Ardennes. Eisenhower closes the letter by light-heartedly commenting on the barrage of Christmas packages he was starting to receive from well-wishers. It was an annual headache. “Once in a while, when the present is a lucky coin, or some other trinket,” he says, “I keep it myself – not often, though.” A fine letter from a crucial moment in the war.
"THE WAR, FOR THE U.S., IS ONE DAY OVER THREE YEARS OLD. HOW I WISH IT WOULD END TOMORROW"
Eisenhower marks the anniversary of Pearl Harbor and American entry into World War II, by writing Mamie and telling her how excited he was to receive her latest letter, the night before last. “It made my evening a nice one.” But he hasn’t heard from his son John for “at least a month.” He complains about an impending visit of 23 Congressmen and their entourages, and scrambles to find enough tables and chairs for them. “I’ll be pushed to find some way of feeding them.” And he is sorry that General Lucius Clay will not be returning to his staff. “That’s a blow to me, because I depend upon him and trust him without reservation. But I suppose it’s right to keep him there – he’s just so good he has to be at the place he is most needed.” Clay was supervising the crucial supply harbor at Cherbourg, which brought in the supplies needed for the American advance. That advance would be thrust into reverse a week after this letter by the German surprise attack through the Ardennes. Eisenhower closes the letter by light-heartedly commenting on the barrage of Christmas packages he was starting to receive from well-wishers. It was an annual headache. “Once in a while, when the present is a lucky coin, or some other trinket,” he says, “I keep it myself – not often, though.” A fine letter from a crucial moment in the war.