Evening star., 1952-07-11

tDWight ID. Eisenhower has won
him more followers than all his
victories as a soldier.
This quality of personal mag
Inetism is coupled with a fighting
liability which seems to gather i'm
|petus under fire, whether In, war
|or peace.
When the general returned to
Washington last June ! to turn in
his uniform, the newly dedicated
civilian was welcomed to the po-
|litical fray Immediately.
'Mr. Eisenhower" was to react
i'm his own good time, and on the
fields of his own choosing. to the
challenge from B. Carroll Reese.
manager of campaign headquar-
tiers for Senator Taft:
Nov that he tGen. ,Eisenhower)
is about to take of his battle
jacket, we of the Republican
Party hope that he will start
fighting" The general did his
not ot-inconsiderable best to oblige,'
although he held his fire at the
time.
Valves Lifetime Pay.
One of the generals first moves.
after he requested the Army to
place him officially on the retired
list, was to waive his hard-won
right to lifetime pay and allow
ances. Under the recent increases
to service personnel, this would
amount now to about $19,500 an
nually.
Moreover, Gen. Eisenhower re-
leased his personal plane, the Col
umbine, for immediate return to
Europe for the use of his successor,
Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway. The
had named his especially
equipped. four-engined transport
after the official flower of Mrs.
EiSenhower's home State of Colo
RADIO. The plane now bears an
other name.
Just before the Eisenhowers took
off from Paris for Washington on
May 81, the general relinquished
his North Atlantic command in a
brief ceremony on the front lawn
of Supreme Headquarters outside
Paris. For nearly a year and a
half, he had served in Europe as
the top soldier Of the Western
world.
His task had been one to test
the skill of a diplomat as we'll as a
soldier. Into it he had thrown
some Of the pioneering spirit,
common sense and neighborly
feeling of the early Eisenhowers
who crossed the continent of
to establish new homes
in Texas and Kansas.
Admired by Churchill.
The one-tirhe Kansas farm boy
had been working among friends.
His homely ways and direct, sim
pie manner had endeared him
alike to Prime Minister Churchill
and other European leaders, as
well as to the rank and file of the
troops of many nations.
To Mr.. Churchill, the man from
Abilene was not only one of the
greatest commanders of his time.
but he had the power ito stir
mems hearts" The Prime
Minister felt the general of the
army had shown ''the capacity
for making great nations march
together more truely united than
they ever had been before"
On the day the general left
France to test his political future
at home, those who bade him
farewell included French Minister
of Defense Rene Pleven. Many
in the throng could remember an
other farewell, seven years previ-
ously.
Then a million cheering French
men jammed the boulevards of
Paris to pay tribute to the gen.
|eral. Gen. Charles deGaule made
him a fellow of liberation" in a
ceremony before the tomb of
Frances Unknown Soldier. He
was presented with a>sword owned
by Napoleon for delivery to the
American Army.
At the ceremony last May 81
Gen. Eisenhower told Gen. Ridg-
way: ut is my proud duty to turn
over to you the finest headquarters
I have ever SEEN" Standing be-
fore the massed flags of IA NATO
Nations, the general added: 1.-THE
task is now yours"
Guns Salute Return.
When Gen. Eisenhower arrived
at National Airport on June /, the
military reception and 17-gun
salute was in sharp contrast to
the spontaneous outburst that
greeted him on June 18, 1945.
Perhaps Washington remem-