alternatehistory.com

In light of current events...

One of the biggest controversies surrounding Dwight Eisenhower's career is his relationship during WWII with his driver Kay Summersby. There were rumors that after V-E Day, Eisenhower wrote a letter to George Marshall asking for permission to divorce Mamie Eisenhower and marry Summersby. Marshall responded by threatening to break Eisenhower's career. Once Eisenhower backed down and distanced himself from Summersby, Marshall and President Truman destroyed evidence of the letter.

Most historians have believed this story was made up, but the release of documents has caused some corroboration by 2 separate sources which wouldn't know of the other. Thus, 2 new books on Eisenhower I've read in the last year have taken the story seriously (Eisenhower in War and Peace, and 15 Stars).

So here are 2 What Ifs:

1. Despite Marshall's warning, Eisenhower follows through in 1945?

2. The letter isn't destroyed, and Democratic operatives find evidence of the affair during the 1952 or 1956 campaigns?
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