John Eisenhower John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower ( born August 3 , 1922 ) is the son of President Dwight D . Eisenhower and his wife Mamie . He is a retired United States Army Brigadier General , and the author of several books of military history . He served as the U . S . Ambassador to Belgium from 1969 to 1971 . Early life . John Eisenhower was born on August 3 , 1922 in Denver , Denver County , Colorado to future U . S . President and United States Army General of the Army Dwight D . Eisenhower and his wife , Mamie . John Eisenhower was the second child of Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower . Their first son , Doud Dwight , known affectionately as " Icky " , died in 1921 , at age 3 , after contracting scarlet fever . John Eisenhower , like his father , attended the United States Military Academy , graduating on June 6 , 1944 , the day of the Normandy landings which his father was commanding . Career . Military . John Eisenhower served in the U . S . Army during World War II and the Korean War , remaining on active duty until 1963 ; then serving in the U . S . Army Reserve until retirement in 1975 – attaining the rank of brigadier general . A decorated soldier , Eisenhower found his World War II military career thwarted by fears for his safety and concern from the top brass that his death or capture would be a distraction to his father , the Supreme Allied Commander . This issue arose again in 1952 when Major Eisenhower was assigned to fight in a combat unit in Korea while his father ran for President . After a short stint in combat with an infantry battalion , he was reassigned to the safety of division headquarters . In 2008 , he wrote about this experience in an opinion piece in the " New York Times " entitled " Presidential Children Don ’ t Belong in Battle " . During his father ' s presidency , John Eisenhower served as Assistant Staff Secretary in the White House , on the Army ' s General Staff , and in the White House as assistant to General Andrew Goodpaster . Diplomacy . In the administration of President Richard Nixon , who had been his father ' s Vice President , he served as U . S . Ambassador to Belgium . In 1972 , President Nixon appointed Eisenhower Chairman of the Interagency Classification Review Committee . In 1975 , he served President Gerald Ford as chairman of the President ' s Advisory Committee on Refugees . Military / historical expertise . As a military historian , Eisenhower has written several of his books , including " The Bitter Woods " , a study of the Battle of the Bulge . In a " New York Times " review of " So Far from God " ( a history of the U . S . - Mexican War ) , Stephen W . Sears remarked that Eisenhower " writes briskly and authoritatively , and his judgments are worth reading . " John Eisenhower wrote the foreword to " Borrowed Soldiers " , a book by Mitchell Yockelson of the U . S . National Archives . Eisenhower also wrote the forward to Kenneth W . Rendell ' s book , " Politics , War and Personality : 50 Iconic Documents of World War II . " Awards and honors . The city of Marshfield , Missouri chose Eisenhower as a 2008 honoree of the Edwin P . Hubble Medal of Initiative . His grandson , Merrill Eisenhower Atwater spoke on his behalf at Marshfield ' s annual Cherry Blossom Festival . The medal recognizes individuals who demonstrate great initiative in their chosen field . Personal life . Eisenhower married Barbara Jean Thompson on June 10 , 1947 . They divorced in 1986 . The Eisenhowers had four children : a son , Dwight David , II ( b . March 31 , 1948 , West Point , NY ) , who married Julie Nixon , herself a presidential daughter ; and three daughters Barbara Anne Eisenhower ( b . May 30 , 1949 , West Point , NY ) , Susan Eisenhower ( b . December 31 , 1951 , Fort Knox , KY ) and Mary Jean Eisenhower ( b . December 21 , 1955 , Washington , DC ) . In 1988 , Eisenhower married Joanne Thompson . He lives in Trappe , Maryland , after moving there from Kimberton , Pennsylvania . A lifelong Republican , Eisenhower became independent and voted for Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election , citing Republican incumbent George W . Bush ' s management of U . S . foreign policy . Eisenhower is currently the oldest living presidential child . He has been a staunch opponent of Frank Gehry ' s proposed design for the National Dwight D . Eisenhower Memorial , which he said is " too extravagant " and " attempts to do too much . "