Dwight David 'Ike' Eisenhower ( EYE-zən-how-ər; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969),  GCB,  OM was an American army general and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he became a five-star general in the Army and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. Eisenhower won that election and the 1956 election in landslides, both times defeating Adlai Stevenson II. He commanded a unit that trained tank crews at Camp Colt – his first command – at the site of 'Pickett's Charge' on the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Civil War battleground. Though Eisenhower and his tank crews never saw combat, he displayed excellent organizational skills, as well as an ability to accurately assess junior officers' strengths and make optimal placements of personnel.Once again his spirits were raised when the unit under his command received orders overseas to France.