World War II-dated ALS signed “Ike,” two pages, 7.75 x 10.5, April 9, [1945]. Letter to "My darling," his wife Mamie, in part: "Lucius Clay just came in with your package and note. They were most welcome—not only my first word from you for a week, but you were so anxious to come on over here when you can that it made me feel good! I had just been talking to another officer about the problem of devising a 'policy,' once the Germans stop fighting, under which I could get you over here quickly. It is difficult, of course, to do anything like that arbitrarily. I must not give others the chance to say 'The boss doesn't care how long he stays here, he has his family, while we (all the others) are still separated from ours.' About such things it is impossible to 'reason’—we have to be most careful. But when the shooting stops I’m going to figure out something—you can bet on that! We've been far too long apart. John left this morning for his new job. He spent a couple of days with me—and we had a grand time. He is terribly serious—I wish he'd have a bit more fun, or get more laughs out of life. However, he does have a great sense of humor. I’m certain that if you and I had to serve here indefinitely he'd be delighted to stay. It would be a tremendous help to me (but the ruination of his career) if he could stay right here all the time. God—how I hate to let him go whenever he comes to see me." Includes the official Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force mailing envelope, 8.25 x 3.75, addressed in type to his wife at the Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, signed on the left side in fountain pen with a censorship signature, “Dwight D. Eisenhower." In fine condition, with uniform toning.
The day “when the shooting stops” and “Germans stop fighting” was not far off for Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower. The unconditional surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945, was less than a month away, and the immense repatriation of American soldiers from Europe was to begin a month later with Operation Magic Carpet. John Eisenhower graduated from West Point on the same day of the Normandy invasion, and soon thereafter was posted to Europe to help his father cope with the stresses of the ongoing campaign. He was allotted special treatment upon his arrival, assigned to intelligence and administrative duties in England and Germany by higher ups fretful of his father’s eye. When he volunteered for a front-line role in the Korean War during his father’s 1952 presidential campaign, John’s short stint in combat with an infantry battalion was replaced by a role in the safety of division headquarters. The anxiety felt by the Eisenhowers over the safety of their son cannot be understated; the couple’s loss of their first son, Doud, at the age of four, was a tragedy that nearly ended their marriage.
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