ohn Sheldon Doud
Eisenhower (August 3, 1922 –
December 21, 2013) was a United States Army officer, diplomat, and military historian. He was a son
of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. His military career spanned from before, during, and after
his father's presidency, and he left active duty in 1963 and then retired in
1974. From 1969 to 1971, Eisenhower served as United States Ambassador to Belgium during the administration of
President Richard Nixon, who was previously his father's vice president. Eisenhower was born on August 3, 1922
in Denver, Colorado to future U.S. President and United States Army General of
the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower and
his wife, Mamie; he was their second
child. Their elder son, Doud, known affectionately as "Icky", died in 1921,
at age three, after contracting scarlet fever. 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. 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. During World War II, he was assigned to
intelligence and administrative duties. 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. But unlike World War II, John was able to see combat
in Korea. After serving combat with an infantry
battalion, he was reassigned to the 3rd Division headquarters.
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. In the administration of President Richard Nixon, who had been his father's vice president, he served
as U.S.
Ambassador to Belgium from 1969 to 1971. 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.