Humility

Eisenhower 

There is an old military saying that “Hank has its privileges.” Seldom do top leaders ever claim that privilege. During his stay in London prior to the D-Day invasion, General Eisenhower, instead of living in a plush hotel in London made available for his comfort, lived in Telegraph Cottage, a small, old, and poorly heated house outside London. On one occasion, Eisenhower was on board a naval ship observing an allied beach landing on enemy territory; because of enemy fire from the shore, the ship’s Captain and many of the crew were very protectively guarding the Supreme Commander. Seeing this Eisenhower said to his staff, “I don’t want anybody to get hurt on my account. Let’s go under.”34 In Algiers, in February 1943, he was returning to Algiers from an inspection in Constantine. It was a short trip by air; but whenever he flew in his B-17, the Air Force always sent a heavy fighter escort along. Because fighters were badly needed for combat, he decided to drive back--a hard, eight-hour drive over a rough, twisting Algerian road. 

During the North African fighting in January 1943, General Sommervell strongly advocated that General Eisenhower spend more time at the front so he would get credit for Allied successes. It was suggested the Allied Commander move his Headquarters from Algiers to Constantine. He would not do this. He believed his commanders at the front were doing a superb job, and he knew that moving his headquarters up to the front would overcrowd an already congested area. Communications would be easier with Europe and the United States if he remained in Algiers. At the core of his decision, though, was a belief that there were too many people already looking for credit. Personal acclaim was not his goal. He stayed in Algiers. 

As a matter of fact, avoiding personal publicity was almost an obsession with General Eisenhower. When it was announced on November 7, 1942, that he was Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces, he insisted that communiqués from that theater not be datelines with his name. As Supreme Commander for the invasion of Europe he directed that news dispatches from his headquarters be datelined “Allied Headquarters” or “SHAEF,” never “General Eisenhower’s Headquarters.” Throughout the war there was a pool of war correspondents at his headquarters. General Eisenhower had the pool reduced to one representative of each major outlet (AP, UP, CBS, ABC, NBC). One reporter said it was unusual to find a general insisting that coverage be reduced. General Eisenhower felt the same way about pictures; in his opinion, the less he was before the public in newspapers and magazines the better. On only two occasions throughout the war could he be coerced into sitting for a portrait painting, and then it took the personal insistence of some high-level people. 

When he was in a position to give help to others he did not want personal credit for it. One of the Americans who had joined the British Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot in 1939 returned badly wounded from a mission. While in the hospital, with his chances of living still uncertain, he asked for transfer to the American Air Force. It was a warm and touching story. When the flier’s desire came to his attention, General Eisenhower immediately granted permission, but he insisted that the transfer be attributed to the Theater Headquarters arid riot to him. He wanted no personal credit, “especially”, he said, “at the expense of this unfortunate flier.”

In May 1945, the war in Europe ended. After the surrender documents were appropriately signed, General Eisenhower’s staff prepared numerous drafts of possible victory messages to be given by the Supreme Commander to the world. General Eisenhower turned down all the various proposals and closed out the most devastating war in history by saying: “The mission of this Allied force was fulfilled at 0241 local time, May 7, 1945.” The simplicity of the message was characteristic; he did not seize the opportunity for personal acclaim, he did not seek to impress the world with words that would live on forever. He had been assigned a job to do. It was over with and so was the necessity for talk. Modesty, he believed, was a virtue for the individual. A nation in victory should be equally humble. 

Upon his return to the United States after the victory in Europe he asked that official functions be held to a minimum. He wanted to go fishing. In his post-war speeches, he constantly emphasized that “My position was merely that of a symbol. I am not a hero.” 

“Professional military ability and strength of character,” General Eisenhower later wrote in his memoirs, “always required in high military position, are often marred by unfortunate characteristics, the most frequently encountered and hurtful ones being a too obvious avidity for public acclaim and the delusion that strength of purpose demands arrogant and insufferable deportment. A soldier once remarked that a man sure of his footing does not need to mount a horse!”37 This was a philosophy that he practiced as well as preached, as did all the great American military leaders of World War II. Their attitude is best described by a statement of General Eisenhower’s in 1945: “Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in the blood of his followers and the sacrifice of his friends.” ?