October 24, 1952: Eisenhower Says, "I Shall Go to Korea"

October 24, 1952: Former General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican nominee for President, who was already almost certain to win the election, calls a press conference while campaigning in Detroit. He says, "Where will a new Administration begin? It will begin with its President taking a simple, firm resolution. The resolution will be: To forego the diversions of politics and to concentrate on the job of ending the Korean War until that job is honorably done.

"That job requires a personal trip to Korea. I shall make that trip. Only in that way could I learn how best to serve the American people in the cause of peace. I shall go to Korea."

By using the words, "I shall," Eisenhower was, intentionally or otherwise, echoing his former boss, General Douglas MacArthur, who told the Philippines, "I shall return" in 1942, and did so in 1944. That gave the words added weight.

Throughout the election campaign, the Republicans had used the formula "K₁C₂," for "Korea, Communism, and Corruption." As a result, Eisenhower led the Democratic nominee, Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, in the polls throughout the race. On the average, "Ike" led 50 to 43 percent in July, 52-41 in August, 55-40 in September, and 53-41 in early October. But by mid-October, his lead had dropped to 48-39.

The Republicans needed a clincher, and Ike provided it, by promising to go to Korea, with the explicit intent of using what he would learn on that trip to end the war. It made him look decisive, and reminded everyone of his previous leadership in war (though not as commander-in-chief).

On November 4, what had previously thought to be inevitable became reality: Eisenhower was elected, defeating Stevenson in a landslide. On November 29, President-elect Eisenhower kept his promise, and went to Korea to take note of the situation in the field.

On January 20, 1953, he was sworn in as the 34th President of the United States. On July 27, the Truce of Panmunjom was signed, ending the war after 3 years. How much what Ike did from November 29, and especially from January 20, onward did to achieve that truce is still debated. But, as far as most people were concerned, Ike did what he said he would do.

Shortly thereafter, Vietnam broke out in civil war, and America eventually got involved, and ever more involved. On October 26, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson followed a summit in Manila, the Philippines with a side trip to Vietnam, visiting troops in the field and wounded soldiers at a base hospital.

But through 1967, the war dragged on, with no end in sight. With an eye on the 1968 election, LBJ decided to find out firsthand what was going on. On December 23, 1967, 2 days before Christmas, he went back, before moving to visit Pope Paul VI at the Vatican. Apparently, though, the Generals only told him what they thought he wanted to hear, that things were going well. Eisenhower, a career Army man who knew what Generals were really like, would have seen through such a snowjob; LBJ, idolizing them, did not. A month later, the Tet Offensive began, and things got worse.

Similarly, on October 26, 1972, with the war still going on, 4 years after Ike's Vice President, Richard Nixon, had won based on a promise to end that war, he had National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger tell the American media, "Peace is at hand." It was 12 days before the next election, and, as with Ike's promise 20 years earlier, it was viewed as the final nail in the coffin of the Democratic campaign. Except, Nixon lied, and went back to bombing in December, before a truce was finally reached in January.

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October 24, 1952 was a Friday. Baseball season had ended 17 days earlier, when the New York Yankees won the World Series over the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 7. And no games were scheduled in the NBA or the NHL.

But there were 4 games in college football that night:

* Boston College beat Fordham, 14-13 at Braves Field in Boston. Fordham dropped football after the 1954 season, were reestablished in 1970, classified as NCAA Division III in 1973, and promoted to Division I-AA (now the Football Championship Subdivision or FCS) in 1989.

* In a rivalry game, the College of William & Mary beat the University of Richmond, 42-13 at Cary Field in Williamsburg, Virginia.

* The University of Miami beat Marquette, 20-6 at Burdine Stadium (later renamed the Orange Bowl) in Miami.

* And Santa Clara beat Idaho, 9-7 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.