Washington, DC: In March 2017, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, Chair, and General (Ret.) P.X. Kelly, Co-Chair, announced the appointment of National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations [ncusar.org] Founding President & CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Advisory Committee. In so doing, they emphasized that the appointment “signals our gratitude for your unique insights and support,” adding that “you join as fellow members celebrated patriotic leaders Senator Bob Dole, Tom Brokaw, Tom Hanks, and Secretary James Baker.” Dr. Anthony assisted the Memorial Commission for several years in its efforts to obtain public and private sector funding for the Memorial’s construction. His and others’ efforts reached an important milestone on November 2, 2017, when the Memorial’s groundbreaking ceremony took place in the center of the nation’s capital.
The Eisenhower Memorial is designed to commemorate and honor the life and legacy of the 34th President of the United States. Present and addressing guests for the event, among other distinguished American leaders, were Susan and David Eisenhower, granddaughter and grandson of President Eisenhower, former Secretary of Defense and Senator Chuck Hagel, and Members and former Members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives whom Dr. Anthony has escorted on familiarization visits to the Arab countries, the Middle East, and the Islamic world.
To millions the world over, President Eisenhower was known as General Eisenhower. A native of Abilene, Kansas, and graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point’s Class of 1915, General Eisenhower was one of World War II’s most distinguished military leaders. He was the lead Commander of American and Allied forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944, which represented the beginning of the final chapter in the liberation of nineteen European nations that had been invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany. General Eisenhower served closely with VMI 1901 graduate George C. Marshall (Dr. Anthony is a graduate of VMI and served as President of the Class of 1962). The two shared responsibilities as the architects and executioners of the campaign to end the war, which was led by members of what Dr. Anthony’s fellow Memorial Commission Adviser Tom Brokaw described as Twentieth Century America’s “greatest generation.”
During a conversation on the sidelines of the groundbreaking ceremony, House of Representatives’ Armed Services Committee Chairman Congressman William “Mac” Thornberry (R-TX 13th District) spoke movingly about the profound and lasting impact that Dr. Anthony had on his life. Referring to Dr. Anthony’s having taken him to the Arab world a quarter of a century earlier, he informed listeners that “the experience that Dr. Anthony provided me was transformative. He helped me lay a strong foundation upon which I have built ever since. In my many subsequent visits to the region, there has not been one day when I have not recalled what he did for me. He afforded me the solid underpinning from which I have been able to build a stronger and more effective American defense and national security relationship with the region.”