This is the final letter dictated by President Eisenhower to the legendary composer, Irving Berlin.
I found this letter from former President Eisenhower to famed 20th Century composer, Irving Berlin, to be so touching. This was to be Eisenhower’s last dictated letter, and I find it all the more meaningful that he expressed his final sentiments to a musician. It is eloquently, yet, tenderly written, and what a tribute this is to both men whom I admire greatly.
On March 24, 1969, Dwight D. Eisenhower was sequestered at Walter Reed Hospital, dying of congestive heart failure. Against his doctor’s wishes, Eisenhower used some of his final moments to dictate his last correspondence. The letter wasn’t to a family member or political ally, but to a man who had been a constant in Eisenhower’s career since his days as a general: Irving Berlin.
