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The greatness of Dwight Eisenhower (1 Viewer)

timschochet

timschochet

Footballguy
Here is his battle order from June 6, 1944:

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

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. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944 ! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground.

Our Home Fronts have given us an superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world marching together to Victory!

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

Good Luck! And let us all beseech blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

 
When historians are asked to consider America's greatest military leaders, the first ones usually mentioned are Ulysses S Grant, Douglas MacArthur, George Washington, and, if one is willing to include the Confederacy, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

But Ike really deserves some consideration. He coordinated two of the greatest invasions in world history: North Africa and Western Europe. He had to juggle the vombined armed forces of the USA, and England, not to mention Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Free French, Free Poles, etc. The whole enterprise could have easily fallen apart.

 
timschochet said:
When historians are asked to consider America's greatest military leaders, the first ones usually mentioned are Ulysses S Grant, Douglas MacArthur, George Washington, and, if one is willing to include the Confederacy, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

But Ike really deserves some consideration. He coordinated two of the greatest invasions in world history: North Africa and Western Europe. He had to juggle the vombined armed forces of the USA, and England, not to mention Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Free French, Free Poles, etc. The whole enterprise could have easily fallen apart.
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:thumbup:

Thanks for posting.  A true American hero.  My high school history teacher was part of the Invasion of Western Europe. He spoke of Eisenhower with reverence.   

 
One of the great things about having leaders with military experience, like Eisenhower, is that they know when not to fight. As soon as Ike was elected President he realized that the best possible result in Korea was a stalemate and so he negotiated an end to that war. Then, two years later when Diembienphu fell in North Vietnam, the French and John Foster Dulles urges an American air strike. Ike studied the area and said that any American involvement would be a decade long nightmare that would ultimately fail, and he refused to go along with it. 

 
Not only was Ike's coordination of D-Day notable but also the ability to maintain secrecy and deception with such a large-scale operation. Mind-boggling.

I read somewhere that only 4% of WWII vets are still living. When you speak with them directly, it is not typically in their nature to call attention to themselves about the monumental accomplishments of that era. But they sacrificed greatly and laid the foundation for much of our current prosperity.

Threads like these are a great way to speak on their behalf and pass along tangible reminders of what the U.S. can achieve. Kudos for the tribute.

 
Americans are never more beautiful than when they get off their egos and do the job. Nobody does that like Americans can and no one exemplified that like Ike. I am so honored to be the same species as those who have bet their lives on freedom and moved beyond complete expression by the memory of this unbelievable day.

 
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”

 
Now that D-Day is over, I can talk about ninety percent top income tax rates and the abomination that is the Interstate Highway System, can't I? 

 
rockaction said:
Now that D-Day is over, I can talk about ninety percent top income tax rates and the abomination that is the Interstate Highway System, can't I? 
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Why do you suppose that income tax rate didn’t stop economic growth in the 50s, one of our greatest decades for growth ever? 

 
rockaction said:
Post-war economy and rebuilding our own infrastructure and Europe, as is mostly cited by economic historians.
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Rebuilding our infrastructure...like the interstate highway system? 

But I agree with your analysis here. Still, that tax rate for the top should have killed growth if you accept traditional conservative economic theory. It didn’t, and it’s one of a few factors that has caused me over the years to question that theory. Another is the fact, which I don’t quite understand but have to acknowledge as true, that during my lifetime whenever taxes are raised the economy seems to do better. 

 
rockaction said:
Now that D-Day is over, I can talk about ninety percent top income tax rates and the abomination that is the Interstate Highway System, can't I? 
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Why is the highway system a disaster? Because of displacement in cities and the harm they did to low income regions? SHould have had more trains less cars?

 
whoknew said:
Why is the highway system a disaster? Because of displacement in cities and the harm they did to low income regions? SHould have had more trains less cars?
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That's part of the reason. Part of it is that we got top-down civil engineering of living spaces and modes of travel according to the fashion and theory of the time. While it would seem like I'm fairly conservative in most aspects of life, one thing I believe in when it comes to power of the people is living spaces and organic, bottom-up organization therewith. 

 
Rove! said:
https://taxfoundation.org/taxes-on-the-rich-1950s-not-high/

TLDR, effective tax rate was much lower...the Top 1% paid about 42%
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Yep, it is not "cashing out" but instead "growing one's business" that often leads to growth.   

Finally, it is very likely that the existence of a 91 percent bracket led to significant tax avoidance and lower reported income. There are many studies that show that, as marginal tax rates rise, income reported by taxpayers goes down. As a result, the existence of the 91 percent bracket did not necessarily lead to significantly higher revenue collections from the top 1 percent.
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