mind, and a solid heart in all of her six boys, including Dwight. Elizabeth Van Steenwyk states in her book, “Ida Eisenhower would stamp her six boys with a philosophy of determination and the need to excel, never admitting defeat or showing disappointment,”(Steenwyk 4). Dwight and his brothers lived up to this teaching and admiration of their mother. Though she installed strong morals in her boys. All of them were known for their brawling, Dwight states “It made us scrappers, any time anybody walked on us, they heard from us. It didn’t make any difference how big or how little he was, if he did something that infringed on our rights, he got a punch then and there.” (Steenwyk 4). The nickname Ike, was just not his own, but all of the Eisenhower boys. Dwight was known as little Ike, until his older brother Edgar graduated from high school. Through his years in high school, Dwight was a good student, very seldom absent from class. He was as well a great athlete, finding love for football and baseball. His senior year the school board could no longer fund the football team, so Ike went out and headed fund raising. The away games tended to be a problem, so the boys would jump a train to get to the town in which they played that night. In January of 1911, Dwight was admitted into the most admired military school of the nation. Showing no emotions his mother her beloved son he left for West Point. Dwight’s religion, Jehovah’s Witness, was strongly against the idea of war, and enrollment into the army. This was the upbringing that Ike experienced throughout his entire life. Going against his family wishes and beliefs, he made a choice that would build the road for his future. While at West Point, he played football. A young man with the heart of a lion and the determination his mother pounded into to his mind, he would succeed both on the field and off. After a serious injury to his...
