Letter to the editor: Eisenhower’s optimism led the Allies to victory in 1944

Learn from Ike

Thursday will be the 75th anniversary of an event illustrating the leadership and competency we should strive to find in and demand from our nation’s leaders.

On Dec. 19, 1944, the Battle of the Bulge was three days old. The Allies had largely controlled the initiative and had had their way since June’s Normandy landings. For the first time, they were taking a beating from the Germans and had lost the initiative.

The Allied staff and subordinate commanders gathered for their boss, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, better known as Ike. Those waiting for him expected a tongue-lashing for failing to anticipate the German attack.

Ike surprised them all. The first thing the general said, according to John Toland’s 1959 book, “Battle: The Story of the Bulge,” was: “The present situation is to be regarded as one of opportunity for us, and not of disaster. There will be only cheerful faces at this conference table.”

Note what Ike didn’t do. He didn’t allow anger to override his reason or seek someone else to blame. Instead, he engaged his competency in the military arts, developed in decades of study. He acted to exploit the weaknesses the German maneuver offered him, thereby sparking optimism and enthusiasm, which led to victory.

Small wonder, then, that we Americans were served so ably by Eisenhower as our president.

The qualities Ike displayed in 1944 are ones we should still seek today.

- Larry R. Bradley, Kansas City