The Eisenhower Monument at the United States Military Academy is a monument to former General of the Army

General of the Army (United States)

General of the Army is a five-star general officer and is the second highest possible rank in the United States Army. A special rank of General of the Armies, which ranks above General of the Army, does exist but has only been conferred twice in the history of the Army...

 and the 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

.

The subject

As a member of the famed West Point Class of 1915, (known as "The Class the Stars Fell On"

The class the stars fell on

"The class the stars fell on" is an expression used to describe the United States Military Academy class of 1915. In the U.S. Army, the insignia reserved for generals is one or more stars. Of the 164 graduates that year, 59 attained the rank of general, the most of any class in the history of the...

), Eisenhower rose to prominence as an Army officer during World War II, where he was the Supreme Allied Commander Europe

Supreme Allied Commander

Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances. It originated as a term used by the Western Allies during World War II, and is currently used only within NATO. Dwight Eisenhower served as Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary...

. After the war, he served as the Army's Chief of Staff

Chief of Staff of the United States Army

The Chief of Staff of the Army is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Army, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the Army; and is in...

before being elected President in 1952.

Description and commissioning

The statue stands nine feet tall and is perched upon a pedestal of red granite.

The bid for the monument originally included noted sculptors Donald DeLue, Felix DeWeldon, and Walter Hancock, but the commission went to class of 1953 West Point graduate Robert L. Dean, Jr. After receiving the commission, Dean was offered one of the General's actual uniforms as a model by Eisenhower's son. Dean molded the wax model at his home in Pennsylvania and cast the bronze statue in Italy before the monument was unveiled on 3 May 1983.