Eisenhower Dies: D-Day Commander and Cold War President
Dwight Eisenhower commanded the largest military operation in history — the D-Day landings of June 1944 — and wrote a letter taking full personal responsibility in case it failed, which he kept in his pocket all day. The letter was found in his papers decades later. As president from 1953 to 1961, he ended the Korean War, oversaw postwar prosperity, and warned in his farewell address against the 'military-industrial complex' — a phrase he coined. People didn't believe he meant it. He was born in Denison, Texas, in 1890, grew up in Abilene, Kansas, and died in Washington on March 28, 1969, from congestive heart failure. His last words: 'I want to go. God, take me.'
March 28, 1969
57 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on March 28
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