Mrs. Ike by Susan Eisenhower

Author:Susan Eisenhower [Eisenhower, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Ferrous Books
Published: 2012-02-05T16:00:00+00:00

By the time you read this your newspapers will probably have told you where I am and you will understand why your birthday letter had to be written some time in advance. You will also realize that I have been busy—very busy…

I hope you won’t be disturbed or worried. War inevitably carries its risks to life and limb—but the chances, in my case, are all in favor—a fact which you must always remember. Moreover—even if the worst should ever happen to me, please don’t be too upset. In 31 years as a soldier I’ve been exposed to few of the risks that most have encountered. If I had been in the Theatre of Operations during World War I, I might easily have long since gone. And, while I don’t mean to be fatalistic or too philosophical—I truly feel that what the U.S. and the world are facing today is so much bigger than any one of us can even comprehend, that personal sacrifice and loss must not be allowed to overwhelm any of us.

Anyway—on the day you open this letter you’ll be 46. I’d like to be there to help you celebrate, and to kiss you 46 times (multiplied by any number you care to pick). I imagine Ruth will have some little party for you, or maybe Helen & Milton will try to get a hold of you. In any event I will be with you in thought and entirely aside from the usual congratulations and felicitations I will be thinking with the deepest gratitude of the many happy hours and years you’ve given me. I am quite aware of the fact that I’m not always easy to live with—that frequently I’m irascible and even mean—and my gratitude is all the greater when I realize how often you have put up with me in spite of such traits.

The crowning thing you’ve given me is our son—he has been so wonderful, unquestionably because he’s so much you—that I find I live in him so very often. Your love and our son have been the greatest gifts from my life, and on your birthday I wish that my powers of expression were such as to make you understand that thoroughly—clearly and for always. I’ve never wanted another wife—you’re mine, and for that reason I’ve been luckier than any other man.

I feel this war is so big—so vast—that my mind completely refuses to visualize anything beyond its possible end. But I do hope that all through it I do my duty so well, so efficiently, that regardless of what may happen to me, you and John can always be proud that we three are one family. I do not seek rank—I don’t even seek acclaim, because it is easily possible that a commander can receive credit (and blame) for which he is no wise responsible. But if my own conscience tells me I’ve done my duty—I will always come back to you in the certainty that you’d understand any fall from the high places, and that my place in your heart would be as big as ever.

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