“I hope to God I know what I’m doing.” – - Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, June 5, 1944.

Sixty-five years ago, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower prepared himself for D-Day with hope and trepidation.  Having made the decision to go earlier on the day of June 5, he spent time during the afternoon with the paratroopers who would be the first to leave for France.  Although he said that he found it hard to look men in the eye on the eve of battle, knowing that many of them would soon be dead, he forced himself to the task – - it was his responsibility; ultimately, all of what would happen the next day, for better or for worse, was his responsibility.  Unlike many leaders, then and now, Eisenhower did not display narcissistic self-promotion and breezy self-confidence.  Confidence and optimism, yes; and also great humility.

On the eve of America’s entry into World War II, Dwight Eisenhower was not among the officers anyone expected to lead the greatest seaborne invasion of all time.  Ike had always been a staff officer; he had never held command; he had just made Brigadier General on October 3, 1941, two months before Pearl Harbor.  Yet his great ability as an organizer and planner caught the attention of higher-ups, including Gen. George C. Marshall, who became Eisenhower’s strong supporter.

Eisenhower talking with paratroopers, June 5, 1944

In November of 1942, Eisenhower became Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force for the North African Theater of Operations. Following the defeat of the Axis forces in North Africa, Eisenhower commanded the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, overseeing the successful invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland. In December of 1943, Eisenhower was named Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and in February of 1944 he became the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. By virtue of these commands, Dwight D. Eisenhower became responsible for the planning and execution of the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944.

The decision to go forward with the invasion, made on June 5, 1944, had not been an easy one.  The weather had been fickle and the meteorologists had given a hopeful but cautious prediction for June 6.  The invasion plans were complex, involving moving some 170,000 men across the English Channel and conducting beach landings under fire.  Some pre-invasion estimates had Allied casualties at more than 20,000 dead.

So Ike went among the men on the eve of battle, shaking hands, looking them in the eye, exchanging words of encouragement.  Privately, back at his quarters, he wrote a note to be released in case the landings went badly.  Eisenhower wrote in his own hand that “any blame or fault . . . is mine alone.”  His anxiety was such that he mis-dated the note “July 5.” And at one point, he remarked to his assistant, “I hope to God I know what I’m doing.”

He did.  The landings began at dawn on June 6, 1944.  Some went well, others were bloody, but by mid-morning the general staff knew that the beachheads had been won.  In one of history’s ironies, a German-American named Eisenhower had broken the Atlantic Wall of Nazi Germany, which surrendered eleven months later, on May 8, 1945.

The note Eisenhower wrote on June 5, 1944, was forgotten until it was found in a shirt pocket by an aide-de-camp.  It survives today as a reminder of the responsibility and humility of true leadership. “The best quality of leadership,” Ike once said, “is helping others to do their best.” This non-presumptuous and dedicated man was awarded a fifth star in December of 1944 to become General of the Army.

Originally posted on Backcountry Notes, June 5, 2009