Eisenhower: The White House Years

by Jim Newton

  10 was diagnosed with heart trouble: DDE, Waging Peace, p. 265.

  11 “Chamoun is most friendly but indecisive”: DDE to Hoffman, June 23, 1958, doc. 753, HP.

  12 “changed from quieting”: DDE, Waging Peace, p. 269.

  13 “No matter what you think”: Ann Whitman, June 15, 1958, entry, June 1958 (2) folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  14 “Today aggression is more subtle”: DDE, July 15, 1958, diary entry, doc. 771, HP.

  15 more than fourteen thousand soldiers: In Waging Peace, Eisenhower described the force as consisting of 114,357 men, but that is a typographical error. It never reached anywhere near that number.

  16 “struck a responsive chord”: DDE, Waging Peace, p. 286.

  17 did not kill a single civilian: Wade, “Rapid Deployment Logistics” (no page numbers included in document at http://www.cgsc.edu/carl/resources

  /csi/Wade/wade.asp#72).

  18 “I won’t be pressed”: The administration’s options, including the possible use of nuclear weapons, are detailed in the Top Secret “U.S. and Allied Capabilities for Limited Operations to 1 July 1961,” appendix on hypothetical conflict over Quemoy and Matsu begins at C-1, NSC 5724 folder, box 22, Policy Papers Subseries, NSC Series, White House Office, Office of the Special Assistant for National Security Affairs, DDEPL.

  19 within striking distance of Taiwan: Embassy in the Republic of China to State Department, telegram, July 30, 1958, in FRUS, China, vol. 19, p. 33. See also 375th NSC Meeting, Aug. 7, 1958, in FRUS as well as box 10, NSC Series, Whitman File.

  20 “If the Chinese communists”: Memorandum for the Record, Aug. 14, 1958, in FRUS, China, vol. 19, p. 55.

  21 airbases in mainland China: Acting Secretary of State Herter to Secretary of State Dulles, memo, Aug. 15, 1958, in ibid., p. 56.

  22 its closest ally, the Soviet Union: Assistant Secretary of State for Policy Planning (Smith) to Secretary of State Dulles, memo, Aug. 15, 1958, in ibid., pp. 57–59.

  23 five hundred Taiwanese soldiers were killed or wounded: Embassy in the Republic of China to State Department, telegram, Aug. 24, 1958, in ibid., p. 70.

  24 prevented Taiwan from attacking mainland China: Embassy in the Republic of China to State Department, telegram, Aug. 27, 1958, in ibid., p. 83.

  25 would not be able to support such an action: See, for instance, Memorandum of Conversation, Aug. 30, 1958, in ibid., p. 102.

  26 “the most violent I have seen him”: Embassy in the Republic of China to State Department, telegram, Aug. 31, 1958, in ibid., p. 107.

  27 “The argument that nothing”: Memorandum of Conversation, Sept. 2, 1958, in ibid., p. 119.

  28 “Those who nurture plans”: Embassy in the Soviet Union to State Department, telegram, Sept. 19, 1958, in ibid., p. 236.

  29 “Gilbert and Sullivan war”: DDE, Waging Peace, p. 304.

  30 seemed a South Asian Nasser: Also like Nasser, Sukarno collaborated with America’s World War II enemies in order to strengthen his hand against a Western colonial power. Nasser had allied himself with Italy against the British; Sukarno received Japanese support for his war against the Dutch.

  31 “Although U.S. efforts”: NSC 5518 Policy on Indonesia (2), Oct. 10, 1956, box 16, Policy Papers Subseries, NSC Series, White House Office, Office of the Special Assistant for National Security Affairs.

  32 “inspired by the material accomplishments”: Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson) to Secretary of State Dulles, memo, Jan. 2, 1958, in FRUS Indonesia, 1958–60, vol. 17, p. 1.

  33 “wholly undependable”: Memorandum of Conversation, Jan. 2, 1958, in ibid., p. 5.

  34 “preoccupation with the restoration”: NSC 5518, Policy on Indonesia, Oct. 9, 1957, box 16, Records 1952–61, Policy Papers Subseries, NSC Series, White House Office, Office of the Special Assistant for National Security Affairs.

  35 “With Sukarno’s ambitions”: DDE to Hoffman, June 23, 1958, doc. 753, HP.

  36 Communists still outpolled: Conboy and Morrison, Feet to the Fire, p. 13.

  37 rejected invasion as an option: 337th NSC Meeting, Sept. 22, 1957, box 9, NSC Series, Whitman File.

  38 “all feasible covert means”: Robertson to Dulles, memo, Jan. 2, 1958, p. 2.

  39 to arm eight thousand rebels: Conboy and Morrison, Feet to the Fire, pp. 30–33.

  40 stood by offshore: Brichoux and Gerner, “The United States and the 1958 Rebellion in Indonesia,” p. 6.

  41 having been made in Michigan: Embassy in Indonesia to State Department, telegram, March 15, 1958, in FRUS Indonesia, 1958–60, vol. 17, p. 70.

  42 “as soon as the rebellion is quelled”: Embassy in Indonesia to State Department, telegram, March 19, 1958, in ibid., p. 79.

  43 poor communications and inadequate aircraft: 359th NSC Meeting, March 20, 1958, box 9, NSC Series, Whitman File.

  44 “a submarine or two”: 362nd NSC Meeting, April 14, 1958, box 10, NSC Series, Whitman File.

  45 “private persons operating on their own”: Memorandum of Conversation with President Eisenhower, April 15, 1958, in FRUS Indonesia, 1958–60, vol. 17, p. 109.

  46 being piloted by Americans and Chinese: Embassy in Indonesia to State Department, telegram, April 30, 1958, in ibid., p. 126.

  47 sixteen soldiers and a member of the ship’s crew were killed: Conboy and Morrison, Feet to the Fire, p. 128.

  48 He was still alive: Ibid., pp. 138–42.

  49 met with the secretary of state: Memorandum of Conversation, May 18, 1958, Conversations with Allen W. Dulles (All Intelligence Material) (3), box 8, White House Memoranda Series, Dulles Papers.

  50 “We’re pulling the plug”: Conboy and Morrison, Feet to the Fire, p. 143.

  51 through the end of the Eisenhower administration: In Dec. 1960, Eisenhower considered a request from Pope’s wife to intercede with Sukarno on her husband’s behalf. Christian Herter, then secretary of state, advised against such an overture, and Eisenhower thus did not pursue it. See Dec. 21, 1960, memo, Christian Herter Dec. 1960 folder, box 13, Dulles-Herter Series, Whitman File.

  52 “Just go home”: Conboy and Morrison, Feet to the Fire, p. 165.

  53 the worst of his life: Slater, The Ike I Knew, p. 180.

  CHAPTER 16: LOSS

  1 “not in single spies, but in battalions”: DDE, Waging Peace, p. 305.

  2 sore throat and ill temper: Ann Whitman, Feb. 5, 1958, entry, Feb. 1958 folder, box 9, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  3 “He was our ‘big’ brother”: DDE to Arthur Summerfield, Jan. 30, 1958, doc. 558, HP.

  4 forever “Big Ike” among the Eisenhower boys: DDE to Louise Sondra Grieb Eisenhower, June 12, 1958, doc. 742, HP.

  5 then returned to work: Whitman, June 24, 1958, entry, June 1958 (1) folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  6 then turned and walked out: Slater, The Ike I Knew, p. 187.

  7 “He was the most impolite”: John Eisenhower, interview with author, Oct. 7, 2010.

  8 when Adams would get his: DDE, Waging Peace, p. 311.

  9 “He treated his employees well”: Adams, Firsthand Report, p. 440.

  10 “Mr. Adams’ Bad Judgment”: New York Times, June 12, 1958.

  11 “does not know what to do”: Whitman, June 12, 1958, entry, June 1958 (2) folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  12 “I believe that the presentation”: June 18, 1958, news conference, APP.

  13 “Not one of us caught”: Hughes, Ordeal of Power, p. 267.

  14 Few were buying it: Time, July 14, 1958.

  15 met with Eisenhower to complain: Whitman, July 7, 1958, entry, July 1958 (2) folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  16 disarray within the White House: Whitman, July 14, 1958, entry, July 1958 (2) folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  17 “I hope it does some good”: New York Times, Aug. 14, 1958.

  18 thirty cents an hour: Whitman, June 16, 1958, entry, June 1958 (1) folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, W
hitman File. See also David Eisenhower, Going Home, p. 21.

  19 “I thought the timing was wrong”: Hauge, oral history interview, p. 84.

  20 “Mostly all we did was pray”: Whitman, Aug. 23, 1958, entry, Aug. 1958 (2) folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  21 Eisenhower hesitated: Whitman, Sept. 4, telephone call logged in Diary entry, Sept. 1958 folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  22 “This man [Adams] has got to go or we are done”: Whitman, Sept. 4, 1958, entry, Sept. 1958 folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  23 bought everyone there an ice cream: Whitman, Sept. 17, 1958, entry, Sept. 1958 folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  24 “his devoted friend, Dwight D. Eisenhower”: Hughes, Ordeal of Power, p. 269.

  25 barely missing his heart: New York Times, Sept. 21, 1958.

  26 “hard cider to mellow bourbon”: Time, Oct. 6, 1958.

  27 chided Persons about it: Whitman, Feb. 2, 1959, entry, Feb. 1959 (2) folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  28 “once more into the Boss’s orbit”: John Eisenhower, Strictly Personal, p. 202.

  29 “a national triumph”: New York Times, Nov. 6, 1958.

  30 “The faults of the Republican Party”: DDE to Macmillan, Nov. 11, 1958, doc. 926, HP.

  31 visited him in the hospital: DDE to Hazlett, Feb. 20, 1957, doc. 41; Nov. 18, 1957, doc. 457; March 25, 1958, doc. 622; April 8, 1945, doc. 645, HP.

  32 “I can never quite tell you”: DDE to Elizabeth Hazlett, Nov. 3, 1958, doc. 920, HP.

  33 “no one in the world”: Taubman, Khrushchev, p. 397.

  34 “bone in my throat”: Ibid., p. 407.

  35 as Eisenhower now imagined it: Twenty-fourth Meeting of the NSC, July 28, 1948, Truman Library, at http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop

  /study_collections/berlin_airlift/large/documents/

  index.php?documentdate=1948-07-28&documentid=6-1&

  studycollectionid=&pagenumber=1.

  36 “Only madmen can go”: Craig, Destroying the Village, p. 92.

  37 “Hit the Russians”: Ibid., pp. 93–94.

  38 lurch into an error: Memorandum of Conversation with President Eisenhower and Secretary Dulles, Nov. 30, 1958, in FRUS, vol. 8, Berlin Crisis, 1958–1960, p. 142.

  39 would not risk annihilation: See, among others, George A. Morgan of the Policy Planning Staff to the Assistant Secretary of State for Policy Planning (Smith), memo, Dec. 8, 1958, in FRUS 1958–60, vol. 8, Berlin Crisis, 1958–59, p. 158.

  40 evacuate Britons to Canada and Australia: See, among other sources, John Eisenhower’s Strictly Personal, p. 229.

  41 joined their aides for dinner: Memorandum of Conversation, March 20, 1959, in FRUS 1958–60, vol. 8, Berlin Crisis, 1958–59, pp. 520–21.

  42 “It lasted three hours!”: Macmillan, Riding the Storm, p. 645.

  43 surgery to repair a hernia: Conversation with Adenauer, Feb. 8, 1959, Memos of Conversation—General A Through D, box 1, General Correspondence and Memoranda Series, Dulles Papers.

  44 “not good”: Whitman, Feb. 13, 1959, entry, Feb. 1959 (2) folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  45 “He was against almost everything”: Macmillan, Riding the Storm, p. 644. Also see Hoopes, Devil and John Foster Dulles, p. 478.

  46 “I have rarely seen him shaken”: Whitman, Feb. 14, 1959, entry, Feb. 1959 (1) folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  47 burst into tears: Whitman, April 15 and 16, 1959, entries, April 1959 folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  CHAPTER 17: THE FINAL MONTHS

  1 ordered by the State Department: Ann Whitman, Jan. 3, 1959, entry, Jan. 1959 (2) folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  2 rather his will to do so: 394th NSC Meeting, Jan. 22, 1959, box 11, NSC Series, Whitman File.

  3 playing into Castro’s hand: 400th NSC Meeting, March 26, 1959, box 11, NSC Series, Whitman File.

  4 “Can Castro Save Cuba?”: Saturday Evening Post, Aug. 1, 1959.

  5 “Castro’s executions of Batista henchmen”: Ibid.

  6 “proved himself to be vain”: Pfau, No Sacrifice Too Great, p. 234.

  7 “I have told you again and again”: May 5, 1959, news conference, APP.

  8 “When my conscience tells me”: June 17, 1959, news conference, APP.

  9 “I am losing a truly valuable associate”: Statement by the President, June 19, 1959, APP.

  10 “I salute you for the calm”: DDE to Strauss, June 27, 1959, doc. 1215, HP.

  11 “He thought it was a disgrace”: Hagerty, oral history interview, pp. 521–22.

  12 feeling that the nation’s flag: Whitman, Jan. 3, 1959, entry, Jan. 1959 (2) folder, box 10, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  13 “with immense satisfaction”: Taubman, Khrushchev, p. 416.

  14 “happy as a lad”: Whitman, Aug. 3, 1959, entry, Aug. 1959 (2) folder, box 11, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  15 “Would that the Vice President”: New York Times, July 24, 1959.

  16 “substantial views of the people in our country”: Memorandum of Conversation, July 24, 1959, Central Files 033.1100-NI/7–2459, State Department, in FRUS Eastern Europe Region, Soviet Union, Cyprus, 1958–60, vol. 10, p. 338.

  17 an exhibition of American life awaited them: Ibid., pp. 342–45.

  18 “You need to have goods to trade”: New York Times, July 25, 1959.

  19 “I don’t like it either”: Ibid.

  20 president declined comment: Ibid.

  21 “suggest that Khrushchev may outwit”: Los Angeles Times, Sept. 1, 1959.

  22 initially refrained from discussing the invitation: Whitman, Aug. 3, 1959, entry, Aug. 1959 (2) folder, box 11, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  23 “complacently weakening our defenses”: UPI, Sept. 6, 1959. 298 “a small Russian army”: Los Angeles Times, Sept. 2, 1959.

  24 unfurling his nation’s fifty-star flag: Aug. 26, 1959, Presidential Appointment Books, DDEPL. See also President’s Remarks, Aug. 21, 1959, APP.

  25 “We are all completely flabbergasted”: Los Angeles Times, Sept. 6, 1959.

  26 two pros from the club: USA 1, April 1962 (newspaper clip is in DDEPL files).

  27 retreated to the castle for the evening: For Ike’s golf score, and his reaction to it, see DDE to Macmillan, Sept. 5, 1959, doc. 1305, HP.

  28 “I assure you”: President’s welcoming remarks, Sept. 15, 1959, APP.

  29 “We have come to you”: Nikita Khrushchev, Khrushchev in America, pp. 14–15.

  30 roared their approval for Eisenhower: Whitman, Sept. 15, 1959, entry, Sept. 1959 folder, box 11, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  31 other points of contention: Memorandum of Conversation, Sept. 15, 1959, Lot 64 D 560, CF 1472, Conference Files, State Department, in FRUS Eastern Europe Region, Soviet Union, Cyprus, 1958–60, vol. 10, pp. 392–402. Also see Kistiakowsky, Scientist at the White House, p. 86.

  32 “You say you don’t like violence”: Memorandum of Conversation, Sept. 18, 1959, Lot 64 D 560, CF 1473, Conference Files, State Department, in FRUS Eastern Europe Region, Soviet Union, Cyprus, 1958–60, vol. 10, p. 418.

  33 “The fact that you ask such questions”: Khrushchev, Khrushchev Speaks, pp. 63 and 161. For a thorough summary of the trip from the perspective of the American ambassador to the Soviet Union, see FRUS Eastern Europe Region, Soviet Union, Cyprus, 1958–60, vol. 10, pp. 485–92.

  34 “We do not agree”: Los Angeles Times, Sept. 20, 1959.

  35 “Khrushchev liked me”: Taubman, Khrushchev, p. 430.

  36 “the Red Army had failed”: Memorandum of Conversation, Sept. 20, 1959, Lot 64 D 560, CF 1474, Conference Files, State Department, in FRUS Eastern Europe Region, Soviet Union, Cyprus, 1958–60, vol. 10, p. 433.

  37 “Perhaps it would take less time to get back”: Los Angeles Times, Sept. 20, 1959.

  38 haggard Lodge after midnight: Lodge to State Department, telegram, Sept. 20, 1959, 1:03 a.m., 033.6
1111/9–2059, Central Files, State Department, in FRUS Eastern Europe Region, Soviet Union, Cyprus, 1958–60, vol. 10, pp. 428–31.

  39 “Hagerty Asks More Courtesy to Khrushchev”: Los Angeles Times, Sept. 22, 1959.

  40 retired at 11:45 p.m.: Sept. 25, 1959, Presidential Appointment Books.

  41 forced to resign: Memorandum of Conversation, Sept. 26, 1959, 1:00 p.m., Lot 64 D 560, CF 1475, Conference Files, State Department, in FRUS Eastern Europe Region, Soviet Union, Cyprus, 1958–60, vol. 10, p. 466.

  42 even at Gromyko: Sept. 26, 1959, entry, Transcript of Diary, 1959–60, box 1, Kistiakowsky Papers.

  43 quick trip to Gettysburg: Ibid.

  44 in Gettysburg fifteen minutes later: Sept. 26, 1959, Presidential Appointment Books.

  45 out the window of the car: Barbara Eisenhower, oral history interview, p. 6.

  46 “benign and entertaining guest”: DDE, Waging Peace, p. 444.

  47 waited for his return: Sept. 26, 1959, Presidential Appointment Books.

  48 did not reply: DDE, Waging Peace, p. 446.

  49 “This ends the whole affair”: Ibid., p. 447.

  50 would publicly acknowledge it: Addendum to Sept. 26, 1959, entry, Transcript of Diary, 1959–60, box 1, Kistiakowsky Papers.

  51 not to translate the remark: Memorandum of Conversation, Sept. 27, 1959, Lot 64 D 560, CF 1475, Conference Files, State Department, in FRUS Eastern Europe Region, Soviet Union, Cyprus, 1958–60, vol. 10, p. 483.

  52 “if you could explain to us”: Aug. 12, 1959, news conference, APP.

  53 one in four who disapproved: Presidential Job Approval, APP, at http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php.

  54 in reality he always had been: Whitman, special entry for week of Aug. 7–15, 1959, Aug. 1959 (2) folder, box 11, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  55 “I said it just didn’t sound”: Whitman to DDE, note, Aug. 14, 1959, Aug. 1959 (1) folder, box 11, ACW Diary Series, Whitman File.

  56 “He leaves one with a strange impression”: Dec. 4 and 7–10, 1959, entries, Transcript of Diary, 1959–60, box 1, Kistiakowsky Papers.

  57 “a Russian worker”: Kharlamov and Vadeyev, Face to Face with America, p. 385.

  58 voiced their approval of the trip: Gallup poll, Sept. 27, 1959.