The Wilmington morning star., 1945-06-19
GEN. EISENHOWER
RETURNS TO U. S.
Continued from Page One

ing it's heart to our returning vet
erans'
1t is for them, he insisted, that
such enthusiasm should be reerv-
ed.
The general, his staff, and Sc
lected group of GI's from the Eu-
ropean Theater flew from France
to Bermuda and thence to Wash
ington in four C-54 transports.
Eisenhower himself was in Presi-
dent Truman's - lately Franklin
Roosevelt Especially built plane.
They came into the air transpor..
Command terminal, across the Po-
tomac in Virginia, at 1 :08 A. M,
escorted by 80 buzzing Thunder
bolt fighters.
The field was lined with thou
sands, sweltering beneath bril-
| liant sun in 90-degree temperature.
The general and his wife en-
braced and he then snapped into
salute as the 86-piece Army band,
just back from Europe also, broke
into martial air.
cts been long time, darling"
said Ike to his wife. General of the
Army George Catlett Marshall
strobe up and shook his colleagues
hand, commenting I'm glad to
see you.''
The cheer of 10000 rose up from
the outskirts of the flying field as
the parade got under way and they
brought the generals garrison cap
from his head. He waved it as he
stood in his jeep, surrounded by
| II command-reconnaissance cars
each carrying two machine guns,
a sub-ma chine gun and four car
bine-bearing soldiers.
A score of jeeps carrying the
Eisenhower staff, the selected en-
listed men, and dignitaries, follow
ed along the memorial highway
which leads to Mt. Vernon, to the
Pentagon building. There Secre-
tary of War Stimson greeted the
party and $4,000 War Department
employees, clustered beneath the
broiling sun heard Eisenhower s
tribute to their unspectacular
labors.
Swinging into Pennsylvania Ave-
nue., the procession halted while
the general was presented with the
symbolic key to the city, even as
he was given the Freedom of
London only last week when the
British paid their tribute to the
man who coordinated Allies as
they never We're coordinated in
warfare before.
Bands struck up along the route,
Government workers hung out
windows of the Navy building, the
Treasury, Labor, Commerce and
Justice buildings. What seemed
like thousands of cameras were
trained on the general as he hove
into view. Police, soldiers and
Boy Scouts lined the way, striving
to keep the crowd back.
Eisenhower led his party into
the house chamber, filled with
members of both House and Senate,
the Supreme Court, the cabinet
and others of high position.
The general, taller than he seems
in pictures, glanced around with
what continued to seem like a
surprised smile that all this was
for him. But when he spoke he
was a general again, driving home
his points in clipped sentences. He
spoke very rapidly, in a deep, bark
ing voice. His address, organized
in soldierly order, was built on
this outline:
That it was the 100000 men
he commanded who should roper
ly be here" to receive this recep-
ton.
None of Europe's historic bat
tlefields ever saw "a more worthy
soldier than the trained Ameri-
can"
Prime Minister Churchill and the
late Franklin Roosevelt were God
given men, for this task and from
Mr.. Roosevelt IT drew constant
support and confidence in the So
luton of my own problems.
Churchill was worthy partner
who had led his country through
its blacklist hour
Teamwork was the key to sue
cess and the Soviet armies 'stir
the emotions of anyone who adj
nires soldie~ly pirtues.'
Missouri is one of four states
successfully rearing channel cat