EISENHOWER TO MAMIE: 'WILL I BE GLAD WHEN THIS WAR IS WON?' EISENHOWER, DWIGHT DAVID. 1890-1969....

EISENHOWER TO MAMIE: 'WILL I BE GLAD WHEN THIS WAR IS WON?' EISENHOWER, DWIGHT DAVID. 1890-1969. Autograph Letter Signed ('Ike') to his wife Mamie mentioning the 'Russian fight' and his own heavy workload, 3 pp, 8vo, n.p., n.d. but war date, very light creasing and toning, stray pen mark to second leaf, otherwise very fine. Provenance: sold Profiles in History, Rare Books and Manuscripts, July 10, 2013. A remarkable letter from Ike to Mamie, one of the 300 he mailed home during World War II, this one undated but perhaps from 1943-44, as the Soviet army pushes back against the Nazis throughout Eastern Europe. Ike opens by apologizing for not having written regularly 'because my life is not a normal one.' He also apologizes for not being able to visit: 'I am sorry you were so keenly disappointed about my not coming home. For fear that you would be I had purposely omitted all mention of such a possibility in my past letters—for our plans are always subject to constant change. The fact is, I must not leave here at this time, particularly when there's a chance that the weather might run my absence to 2 or even 3 weeks. ' Ike next opens a new paragraph with a tantalizing line of inquiry: 'Will I be glad when this war is won?' But before he can follow that train of thought, however, he is called away, and as he reports on the next page, it is six hours before he can return to his letter. After reporting how he has dodged a cold that has made its way around headquarters, Eisenhower launches into a discussion of the Eastern Front: 'The Russian fight continues to stir me to the depths of my soul. They're hitting so hard that no one can fail to admire them. I hope they kill a million Huns—even more! And I wish we could be hammering at the d--- Germans, this instant, just as hard and on as big as scale as the Russians.' Eisenhower is interrupted again before closing out his letter, reporting that he must 'write an article as a preface to a publication—I shudder to start—as it will be difficult—but I guess I better get at it.' Published in David Eisenhower's Letters to Mamie (New York: 1978), p 65. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing