Statue #34: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Rapid City, South Dakota
President Eisenhower (1953-1961) has a number of statues across the U.S., and most of them look similar to this one: dressed in his khaki uniform as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe on the eve of the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944. In this version, sculpted by Lee Leuning, Ike, hands on hips, appears to be standing on a pizza box, but he's actually straddling a map of the English Channel, with one foot on England and the other on Normandy.
Amazing Arcana of the Presidents
Although Ike spent over 40 years in the military, commanding Allied forces in their greatest victories, he personally never saw combat.
[Discover more fascinating details in the Roadside Presidents iPhone app!]
City of Presidents
Since 2000, Rapid City has commissioned and installed bronze statues of every former U.S. President on its downtown street corners. Visitors are encouraged to take a walking tour of the City of Presidents and inspect the nation's metallic Commanders in Chief. Paper guides are available year-round at the city's main Visitor Center at 512 Main St.