Eisenhower National Historic Site

Alva B. Johnson

Bernard Ulrich Stavely

Brigadier General Arthur S. Nevins

Charles A. Schuyler

Comer Levi Altland

Doud Dwight Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight Eisenhower and the Central High Crisis

On January 20, 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower took the oath of office as the 34th President of the United States. In his Inaugural Address that day, Eisenhower laid out the challenges facing the United States, as well as ways he believed the American people could rise to the occasion and meet them.

It is a routine yet special occurrence in American history—one political leader handing over the most powerful office in the land—the Presidency of the United States—to another. In some cases, this transfer is done amongst friends and political allies. In others, it is amongst political rivals. On January 20, 1953, such a transfer of power occurred, when President Harry Truman passed the torch of leadership to incoming President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

A President-elect and a Corporal sit down together for lunch in the cold wintry mountains of Korea. Five days later, one is killed in action, and the other left wondering what he can do to prevent more deaths in an already far too costly war.

Discover the story of how Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower's Gettysburg home became Eisenhower National Historic Site in this adaptation from the Eisenhower NHS administrative history.

Gettysburg National Cemetery is the final resting place for some of those who died in the air war above Europe in WWII. General Eisenhower believed these men and their sacrifices made possible the ultimate Allied victory in World War II. Learn more about their stories here.

Dwight Eisenhower received many letters from citizens on important issues. In 1957 and 1958, baseball star and Civil Rights activist Jackie Robinson wrote to President Eisenhower about his stance on Civil Rights, voicing his desires for stronger Federal action to protect the rights of African Americans in the United States. His letter of May 1958 expresses the frustration Robinson felt at what he considered to be Eisenhower's slow pace on issues pertaining to Civil Rights.

During World War II, while Dwight Eisenhower ascended to high command and fame, he relied heavily upon his wife, Mamie. Mamie Eisenhower served in her own way during the war, persevering through trials and tribulations to support her husband and her country.

Today—100 years after the burial of America’s World War I Unknown—the Tomb of the Unknown reminds us of all those who have sacrificed so much, known and unknown. The staff of the Eisenhower National Historic Site is honored to join in the remembrance of this solemn occasion, and the small role which President Eisenhower played in it.