A WARRIOR'S TROPHIES

FROM the time man began to fight (which is to say, almost from the time man began) soldiers have brought trophies and mementos home from battle. Among modern warriors, Dwight Eisenhower has done as well as any. From kings, commissars, soldiers and common people in 87 lands he has been flooded with medals and honors and gifts of great price. Together they make an impressive spectacle of 2,200 items, worth $1,500,000. This week, in Ike's boyhood home, Abilene, Kans., the Eisenhower Museum, housing Ike's war trophies and other Eisenhower memorabilia, will be informally opened to the public. The President will preside over the formal opening next autumn.

The museum, a modern, windowless structure of tan Onaga limestone, white polished stone and glass, stands on a three-acre plot of land adjoining the President's boyhood home, where, more than 50 years ago, Ike and his brothers grew vegetables and feed crops. It was built by a group of Kansas businessmen and voluntary contributors, will ultimately cost $150,000.

The exhibits will range from the heroic (Eisenhower has received the Distinguished Service Medal, Britain's Order of Merit and dozens of other U.S. and foreign decorations) to the commonplace (goldplated Jackie Gleason recordings, a silver-plated horseshoe that once belonged to Citation). The dazzling diamond, ruby and platinum Soviet Order of Victory contrasts sharply with a simple French pewter pitcher of sand from Normandy's beaches. Military items predominate, but scattered through the collection are some mementos of Ike's youth: the family Bible, in German; his father's gold watchfob and the shiny Rausch & Lang electric automobile that Ike's mother-in-law, Mrs. John Doud, drove around Denver at 15 m.p.h.

Traditionally, generals collect swords, and Ike's trophy collection is no exception.* There are the famed "Crusaders' Sword," which the city of London presented to General Eisenhower at the London Guildhall; an ancient Japanese sword with the imperial chrysanthemum on the scabbard, a gift of the men of the ist Cavalry Division; the jewel-encrusted, $300.000 sword of Wilhelmina, from The Netherlands; Marshal Zhukov's personal dagger; and ceremonial swords and daggers from a dozen other countries.

Among the uniforms that Ike has donated to the collection are his West Point greys and tarbucket hat, the field uniform, including the Eisenhower jacket that he wore in France, and an elaborate red wool cloak that signifies that Ike is a corporal in the crack Algerian Spahis of the French army. From Ethiopia came a rhinoceros-hide shield; from Greece, an ancient (800 B.C.) wine flask; and from the District of Columbia, red, white and blue license plate No. 1. Ike himself brought back a bracelet of boar's tusks from his Philippine tour with Douglas Mac-Arthur.

Items from World War II, and particularly from the invasion of Europe, dominate the collection. The display of Ike's personal battle maps is set off by a very elaborate one which is electrically run and lights up to indicate troop positions and changing front lines. Of the many personal papers in the collection, one stands out: a hastily handwritten telegram to the Combined Chiefs of Staff. It says: "The mission of this Allied Force was fulfilled at 3 a.m., local time, May 7, 1945. Eisenhower."

* A sword is a particularly fitting trophy for Dwight Eisenhower. His family name (originally Eisenhauer) means "Striker of Iron."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.