I was shocked when President Eisenhowever visited me in spirit. My dear friend, Arlene, who now acts as a guide, loves to connect me with people she admires. President Eisenhower appeared to me and I stammered out "General Eisenhower!" He good-naturedly corrected me "Supreme Allied Commander" he said. President Eisenhower came to me the night before his memorial was opened to the public. You can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3y2Q9N7BSE
"Ike" showed me a black and white photo of a snow-covered scene in which a black crew was manning artillery. It looked to me like a scene from the Battle of Bastogne. Eisenhowever said he had never been so proud or so indebted to brave men such as these, and he hoped their names would be honored forever. Eisenhower was a five-star general who was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of Normandy in 1944–45 from the Western Front.
Upon further researching the Battle of Bastogne, (which I have always been drawn to) :
I discovered this article: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/african-american-333rd-field-artillery-battle-of-bulge
"The Werenth Eleven" depicted this battalion's ultimate sacrifice. Eisenhower said the story of their murders was eclipsed by the Malchemy Massacre, but that he had never forgotten either tragedy. He continued by saying; "WWII was one long murderous ordeal which had to be fought." He also discussed the aftermath of WWII and the 10 years of reconstruction and the addition of the unanticipated 18 million desplaced individuals across Europe as the "battle after the war" President Eisenhower referred to post-war Europe as an "unGodly mess" Eisenhowever served as Army Chief of Staff after WWII.
President Eisenhower mentioned his wife Mamie Eisenhower to me, who I discovered was responsible for helping to convince "Ike" that the Tuskegee Airmen had every right to serve in WWII. They made a significant contribution during the war effort. Twenty-six airmen are still MIA, many were taken as POW's. I did have one of the airmen in spirit visit me and I am working to identify who he is. His plane is still among the missing. .
President Eisenhower, a republican, was elected to the Presidency in 1952 and re-elected in 1956. Eisenhower spoke to me about civil rights during that time. He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and sent Army troops to enforce federal court orders which integrated schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. see further information on that historical event here: https://www.history.com/news/little-rock-nine-brown-v-board-eisenhower-101-airborne Eisenhower added, "Remember, this was the time of segregation and that is how it had been my entire life. I was raised to not see color, but that was the law at the time. There was a lot of anti-civil rights in every area of government and across most of the country. A "powder-keg" which I found myself trying to negotiate. The law had to be followed, and I had to ensure that would happen. It was not a role I would have chose for myself."
He brought up his wife Maimie twice. I asked about rumors I had read about and he immediately dismissed them. "My relationship with my driver one of mutual friendship and respect. I gave her fatherly advice that is all." He did not want to discuss rumors as he felt it was disrepectful to his wife. I agreed. Further insight into this matter may be found here: https://susanalbert.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Biographical-Afterword-TGW.pdf
You can read about President Eisenhower's remarkable life and career here.
Eisenhower appeared to me as a modest man, with twinkling eyes. When I asked him how he handled the pressure of the D-Day invasion and the civil rights fight of the "Brown vs Board" Eisenhower spoke plainly. He credited his unbringing of religious truths and good work ethic. It as an honor and pleasure to speak with the 34th President of the United States and I hope to visit with this gracious and humble man again.
Update: I forgot one of the most important exchanges with President EIsenhower, who said
"We often do not get to do what we would like but rather what we are called to do." Well said Mr. President, thank you.
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