Character Carved in Stone: The 12 Core Virtues of West Point That Build Leaders and Produce Success by Pat Williams & Jim Denney

Author:Pat Williams & Jim Denney [Williams, Pat & Denney, Jim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Business & Economics, Leadership, Personal Success, Self-Help, Personal Growth, Success, Leadership;Character—Religious aspects—Christianity;Leadership—Religious aspects—Christianity;United States Military Academy—Influence;United States Military Academy—Alumni and alumnae;BUS071000;BUS107000;SEL027000
ISBN: 9781493416455
Google: oppkDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Revell
Published: 2019-02-05T05:00:00+00:00

Eisenhower was a “soldier’s general” who enjoyed talking to the people he led. “I belonged with troops,” he once said. “With them I was always happy.”13 In an address before the British Royal Military Academy, he said, “You must know every single one of your men. . . . You must be their leader, their father, their mentor.”14 Leaders earn the trust of their followers. Soldiers need to know their leaders genuinely care about them—and Eisenhower let his soldiers know.

When the troops boarded the transports that would take them to the beaches of Normandy, each soldier received a sheet of paper, “The Order of the Day,” written and signed by General Eisenhower. It read in part:

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. . . .

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.15

Historian Stephen E. Ambrose interviewed many soldiers who took part in the Normandy invasion. Many told how moved and inspired they were to receive “The Order of the Day” from Eisenhower. Ambrose recalled, “I cannot count the number of times I’ve gone into the den of a veteran of D-Day to do an interview and seen it framed and hanging in a prominent place.”16 Eisenhower’s words reminded the troops what they were fighting for.

The D-Day invasion force consisted of 11,000 aircraft, 4,400 ships, and nearly 155,000 assault troops. The unknown variable in the plan was the weather. Eisenhower chose June 5, 1944, as the date for the landing, but a bad storm over the English Channel forced a postponement. Would the storm break and permit the invasion to go forward on June 6? If the Allies launched the invasion into the teeth of a raging storm, the assault would likely end in catastrophe.

The go-or-no-go decision would be Eisenhower’s alone.

As the Allied armada sailed toward Normandy, General Eisenhower and other members of the Allied High Command gathered in the map room of Southwick House, near Portsmouth. They studied intelligence and weather reports. Eisenhower invited all opinions, and every leader in the room spoke his mind. Eisenhower listened carefully, sifting each opinion for wisdom and insight. The fate of nations hung on his decision, and time was running short. In a matter of minutes, it would be too late to recall the ships.

Finally, the room went silent, and Eisenhower sat still, thinking, thinking. Then he took a deep breath and said, “Okay, let’s go.”

Knowing the decision might end in disaster, Eisenhower had written a note that read, “Our landings have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn our troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air, and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do.

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