Past Forgetting: My Love Affair with Dwight D. Eisenhower

Having read numerous works regarding Eisenhower's tenure as Commander, then Supreme Commander, during WWII, Kay's main recollections mirror many that I've read. The twist is, of course, the "love affair." Obviously what is known is that the General created a family of sorts to surround him while he served abroad. It's no stretch to imagine a man more pressed at the time than General Eisenhower. The group around him reportedly diligently worked for him and with him. In time, each one became nearly invaluable to him and aided in keeping him steady in the midst of a monumental, daily undertaking. They all should be praised and thanked for their contributions. There's no doubt in my realm that during his time as SC, Kay became far more than a driver and secretary for him. It appears she became his closest friend. From her writing readers will decide what else was involved. A good read for those who want to try to understand more about how greatness comes together and actually changes the course of history. Eisenhower brilliantly tapped into the skills and gifts of those around him: military men and might like Patton, Teder, Marshall; Presidents and Prime Ministers, NCOs, enlisted soldiers; aides, assistants, secretaries, and even drivers. Enjoy your read...like most books on greatness about America's heroes...it makes me proud to be an American. Especially now, with the world on fire.

First, I must admit to not caring much for books by people who "hung around" famous people. In fact I, for the most part, despise them. They, the writers, either have an axe to grind, want money or crave attention. I did not find this to be so with this particular work. Due to the circumstances in which it was written, time lines, the author's impending death, etc. I found it to be none of the things I usually dislike this type of work for. The book of course was written by a ghost writer, Barbara Widen, but it is obvious that Widen has captured perfectly the thoughts and perceptions of Kay. I found the book to be quite fascinating as to the late General and the details of his very private life during the height of the war in Europe. Now those that are expecting a torrid, sex filled autobiography tell all will be quite disappointed. The affair between these two people was not the almost gross stuff we read of today. It actually reads more like a high school romance than a story of an affair. The reader also must make up his or her own mind as to how truthful Kay is. For myself, I tend to believe most of what she has written. She had no real reason of make anything up at this point in her life. It would be very interesting to have available Eisenhower's side of the story, in his own words, but that is not going to happen. Most of what the author has recorded is perfectly logical and quite believable. One of the most interesting aspects of this story for me was, the unreal pressure that Eisenhower was under during this period of his life. This work brings this point out quite graphically. The book is an easy read, but I did find that after reading the first few pages, I could not put it down, ergo, I lost a full nights sleep. All in all, this is a very worth while read. It is handled with dignity and insight. Recommend this one highly.

I grew up in a time when a honorable man kept his mouth shut and did his duty, not only to his country but to his family. And Dwight Eisenhower did just that. I found this to be a touching story. And I believe her story. She was truly a beautiful woman and I do not question he loved her. But being the honor bound man he was, he realized this could never be. "Loved I not country more...." He may have been a great military man, but on a personal level, he could not destroy the lives of those he had left at home. And he didn't. One thing that continues to go through my mind is this: Didn't anyone question the fact he took his "driver" everywhere he went?? She HAD to have been more than that to him. Any enlisted man could have driven him where he needed to go. But he took her all over Europe with him, not mention Africa as well. Jobs were created for her. He helped her get US citizenship. Why? Because he loved her........And wanted her near him. But when he got back home, he came back to reality. This was not going to work for him. And he did what was expected of him. Which makes me feel sorry for Kay Summersby. She may have dreamed of a future with him, but deep down she knew it would never happen. And it didn't.

I have no doubt that Kay Summersby's account of her "affair" with Dwight Eisenhower is true. As to why she waited so long to tell the whole story, well, she was a product of her time, and she no longer had anything to lose. To be accurate, it was not much of an "affair," because Ike was impotent (being married to a dowdy frump like Mamie would have made any man impotent). One can love in other ways than physical--Kay Summersby was quite a dish (a photo in the copy I read has a photograph of her with her legs crossed--great stems!), and I am not surprised that Ike was attracted to her. It is well known that most of the high-ranking American generals in WWII had mistresses, and apparently Ike was no exception. This is a very sad story, especially when Kay speaks of having to have her little Scotty dog put down (named "Telek" by Ike--an acronym of Telegraph Cottege and Kay, two things that Ike said made him happy). This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys, or sheds a tear over, sad wartime romances.

During World War 2, a constant source of scuttlebutt was the relationship of General Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969) and his British (Irish, actually) drive, Kay Summersby (1908-75). In 1948, Kay published her first book, Eisenhower Was My Boss, which gave a history of Kay's work with Eisenhower during the war, but glossed over any talk of an intimate relationship between the two. In 1973, after she was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, Kay decided that it was time to tell the story of her affair with Ike. This book is Kay's story. Published after her death, this book is the joint work of Kay Summersby Morgan and Barbara Wyden, a veteran ghost writer, and it is an excellent read. I really enjoyed the first half of the book, which covered Kay's early work with Eisenhower and what it was like. But, once we get to the blossoming of their relationship it takes on such a bittersweet edge, that it is almost heartbreaking. Overall, I found this to be a great read, one that really casts Eisenhower in a different light. I highly recommend this excellent book!

This book by a dying Kay Summersby is a poignant account of what can happen when a man and a woman are thrown into a wartime work relationship that is unrelentingly stressful and from which neither dare retreat. In her book, written largely from memory, Kay has no regrets and makes no accusations. She treats her infatuation and love for her near-genius and overstressed boss, Dwight Eisenhower, with grace and sensitive restraint, focusing more on the emotional than the physical. Her book reveals how their extreme discression ensured that virtually no one on Eisenhower's staff understood their special relationship. Anyone who has read the book will understand the post-war denials of truth by those on the periphery of Eisenhower's inner circle. Both knew that when the war ended their love affair also had to end. It is a very personal story without a storybook ending. Her book gives first-hand insight into the personalities and quirks of the major leaders of WW2. Kay treated the emotional aspects of her mutual relationship with Eisenhower with honesty and objectivity. It was a story that needed telling.