PRESIDENT DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER - MEMORANDUM SIGNED 03/03/1959 - HFSID 84584

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
Dwight D. Eisenhower sends out a memorandum asking for help in the matter as it pertains to each department.
Memorandum Signed: "D.E." as President, 1p, 8x10½. The White House, 1959 March 3. To The Acting Secretary of State, The Secretary of the Treasury, The Secretary of Defense, The Attorney General, The Secretary of Commerce, The Secretary of Labor, The Director of the Ofice of Civil and Defense Mobilization. In full:"Herewith a copy of a letter [not present] I have just received from Mr. Benjamin F. Fairless. I should like for each of the addressees to study this matter insofar as it concerns his Department. Further, I should like for anyone who has any suggestions to make to send them to me, through the Secretary of Commerce. He is being requested to make a consensus of views and, if possible, to compose any differences to the end that the Administration may have a common position, unless our position must necessarily be one of 'hands off.' I do not know how urgent the matter is from the standpoint of timing, but I should like to have your answers as soon as convenient. Because I am requesting you to take the lead in studying this matter for me, I call your particular attention to the final paragraph of Ben's letter. I am also enclosing [not present] to you only a copy of my note to him." Twenty-nine years after his West Point graduation (1915), Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) received his fifth star and the rank of General of the Army (December 20, 1944). Only the year before, he had been appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces (January 1944) and placed in command of the Normandy invasion, "Operation Overlord". An experienced leader, "Ike" had commanded the U.S. Army in Europe from June 1942 to December 1943, during which time he had directed the invasions of North Africa (November 1942) and Sicily (July-August 1943). On May 7, 1945, Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of Germany at Rheims. During his two terms as 34th U.S. President (1953-1961), Eisenhower presented his famous "Atoms for Peace" plan to the United Nations (December 1953), issued the Eisenhower Doctrine, which provided aid to Middle-Eastern countries threatened by Communist aggression (January 1957), and dispatched troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce students' civil rights (September 1957). Eisenhower's rank of Five-Star General of the Army was restored in 1961, two months after his presidential term ended. Staple holes at upper left. Fold creases not near signature. Fine condition.