Dwight D. Eisenhower

== World War I (1914–1918) ==
{{See also|Military career of Dwight D. Eisenhower}}

Eisenhower served initially in logistics and then the [[infantry]] at various camps in Texas and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] until 1918. When the US entered [[World War I]], he immediately requested an overseas assignment but was denied and assigned to [[Ft. Leavenworth|Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1983|pp=61–62}}</ref> In February 1918, he was transferred to [[Fort George G. Meade|Camp Meade]] in [[Maryland]] with the [[65th Brigade Engineer Battalion|65th Engineers]]. His unit was later ordered to France, but, to his chagrin, he received orders for the new [[Tank Corps, National Army|tank corps]], where he was promoted to brevet [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] in the [[National Army (USA)|National Army]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1983|p=62}}</ref> He commanded a unit that trained tank crews at [[Camp Colt, Pennsylvania|Camp Colt]]&nbsp;– his first command. Though Eisenhower and his tank crews never saw combat, he displayed excellent organizational skills as well as an ability to accurately assess junior officers' strengths and make optimal placements of personnel.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1983|p=63}}</ref>

His spirits were raised when the unit under his command received orders overseas to France. This time his wishes were thwarted when the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|armistice]] was signed a week before his departure date.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1983|p=65}}</ref> Completely missing out on the warfront left him depressed and bitter for a time, despite receiving the [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Distinguished Service Medal]] for his work at home.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dwight David Eisenhower |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/17503 |website=MilitaryTimes.com |publisher=Sightline Media Group |access-date=January 30, 2021}}</ref> In World War II, rivals who had combat service in the Great War (led by Gen. [[Bernard Montgomery]]) sought to denigrate Eisenhower for his previous lack of combat duty, despite his stateside experience establishing a camp for thousands of troops and developing a full combat training schedule.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1983|p=68}}</ref>