‘Big Red One’ honors Eisenhower on his birthday

Photo By Maj. Edward Alvarado | Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph Cornelison (left), 1st Infantry Division’s senior noncommissioned officer, and Brig. Gen. Patrick D. Frank, 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley deputy commanding general, lay a wreath at the tombs of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, Oct. 15 at the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home in Abilene, Kansas. The ceremony was to commemorate Eisenhower’s 126th birthday. (Capt. Ed Alvarado, 19th Public Affairs Detachment)  

ABILENE, KS, UNITED STATES

10.15.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Jerry Griffis 

19th Public Affairs Detachment

Leaders from 1st Infantry Division visited the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home in Abilene, Kansas, Oct. 15 to commemorate the 126th birthday of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Brig. Gen. Patrick D. Frank, 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley deputy commanding general, and Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph Cornelison, the division’s senior noncommissioned officer, laid a wreath at Eisenhower's tomb inside the Place of Meditation.

“It is an honor for the division to be asked and come down to be a part of the laying of the wreath at the president's memorial here in Abilene,” Frank said. “We partner with the museum here in Abilene, and this has been a tradition for the division to come and to be a part of this ceremony.”

Although an enduring partnership exists between Abilene and Fort Riley, a historical tie also binds the two communities together. Eisenhower was the supreme commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in World War II and gave the order to invade Europe from Omaha Beach. The “Big Red One” was the first on the beaches on June 6, 1944.

“It was probably the hinge of the war in Europe and in Eisenhower's life,” said Tim Rives, deputy director at the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home. “I think that's what really made Eisenhower the figure that he was to become as the success of the Normandy landing and then, of course, what that means to the great history of the 1st ID in the last 100 years.”

Rives said the museum and library are always grateful for the support they get from the 1st Inf. Div.

“You can come here to the museum and that is a part of our 100-year anniversary to look back at the history of the division,” Frank said, “see the connections that come right here to the root of Gen. Eisenhower in Abilene, Kansas.”

Frank said Soldiers at Fort Riley have a great opportunity while stationed with the 1st Inf. Div. to visit Abilene and the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home.

“He really did dedicate his life towards doing everything he could to make this country a better place to live and a safe place to live,” Rives said of Eisenhower.

• Date Taken: 10.15.2016
• Date Posted: 10.19.2016 11:41
• Story ID: 212382
• Location: ABILENE, KS, US