General Eisenhower Describes His Living Conditions To Wife Mamie, 1942


In July 1942 Eisenhower was appointed a Lieutenant-General and names to head Operation TORCH, the Allied invasion of North Africa. He moved his headquarters from London to Gibraltar where he successfully directed invasions of Tunisia, Sicily, and the Italian mainland. In this letter, sent to his wife Mamie on December 9, he describes living conditions at his new headquarters and tells her how much he misses her. He apologizes for not sending a hand-written response and complains that he is "a slave to time.  Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote over 300 letters to his wife, Mamie, during WWII. Many of these letters were sold at auction a number of years ago by the Eisenhower family. This letter was part of that collection.

General Eisenhower's Headquarters in Europe during WWII




Arm patch worn by  General Eisenhower's Expeditionary Force