She is a beautiful woman from a family of British gentlemen, well educated, and a collection of thousands of pets.
He was a well-known figure in American history, who commanded thousands of troops and horses to defeat the evil Nazi Germany.
It's a story of beauty and hero.
The beauty is Kay Somersby, and everyone will certainly feel strange, but when it comes to the "hero" around her, everyone knows that he is the commander-in-chief of the European Allies during World War II - Dwight David Eisenhower.
They met and fell in love in the battlefield, and even made a lifelong agreement with each other, but after the war, the relationship suddenly ended. Eisenhower chose to abandon Kay and return to his original wife; Kay silently followed Eisenhower to the United States, and after learning of Eisenhower's attitude, Kay chose not to bother.
In the end, Kay ended up depressed after two failed relationships.
Before his death, Kay wrote his memoir, My Lover– Eisenhower, in which he made the relationship public.
In this issue, we will take a look at this "battlefield romance".
Eisenhower, Kay Somersby
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="18" > Kay Somersby</h1>
Kay Summersby is an Irish model with no shortage of suitors around her young and beautiful. Kay's boyfriend, Richard, is an officer who graduated from the West Point Military Academy, and his appearance is very handsome, and the two standing together can be described as a talented woman, a good couple. But just as they were getting ready to get married, World War II broke out.
Richard said that "we can only live a good life when the world is at peace".
So he went into the army without hesitation and joined the struggle against fascism. Kay also resolutely joined the British Women's Volunteer Organisation, fighting alongside her lover in a special way.
Kay worked for the British Motor Transport Service, and due to the German bombing, London was shrouded in flames all day, and many citizens died in bombs and incendiary bombs. Kay often drives cars and transports bodies dug up from the rubble to morgues, a horrific job that deters many women, but Kay is so happy that she wants to contribute to the country.
Despite the dirty work, Kai still keeps herself delicate, and Kay's gas mask hides the lipstick and powder she uses to dress up, and almost everyone who sees her will praise: Kai, that is a beautiful and temperamental woman.
Later, Kay was transferred to another job, or a driver, except that the things carried changed from corpses to people, and she was a national and foreign military and political official, which laid the foundation for her encounter with Eisenhower.
Soon after the bad news came, Kay's boyfriend Richard was killed by lightning on the battlefield, and Kai was heartbroken and washed his face with tears all day long. It was at this time that Eisenhower walked into Kay's life, and his arrival warmed Kay's wounded heart, and Kay fell in love with him and was always by his side during the war.
Eisenhower
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="26" > first encounter</h1>
Eisenhower was commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in Europe, a five-star general in the United States, and later two consecutive presidents of the United States. But when he first met Kai, he was just an unknown major general.
After the United States entered the war, in order to defeat Nazi Germany at an early date, it formed an alliance with Britain and the Soviet Union, and the US military sent Eisenhower and his party to Britain to investigate. At the same time, due to his excellent driving skills and familiarity with the roads of London, Kay was sent by the British military to meet Eisenhower.
On that day, the London fog was so heavy that the plane could not take off and land, so Eisenhower and his party had to land elsewhere and then transfer to the train to london. Unfortunately, the train was also delayed, and Kai waited for a day, hungry, and sneaked out of the train station to buy sandwiches to fill his hunger. When she returned, she found that the vehicle with her had left, and in front of her stood a middle-aged man who was anxiously waiting.
Kay realized that she had neglected the guest, and when she was ready to be scolded and apologetically asked, Eisenhower did not blame him in the slightest, but said lightly, "Let's go." Kay had been in contact with many government officials, most of whom were flying and blind, and the magnanimous and courteous American generals in front of him seemed to be different from others.
What Kay didn't know was that Eisenhower had an equally good impression of her as beautiful and generous.
For the rest of the year, Kay followed Eisenhower in England. Gradually, Kay discovered that Eisenhower was a very talented and personable man, and although Eisenhower was a great smoker, he never smoked in the offices of non-smoking officers, and he never blamed the British people who refused to show him directions.
Kay thought Eisenhower was mature, wise, and personable.
Eisenhower was tireless, often working late into the night, and Kay and the rest of his entourage were not well placed. When the expedition was over, Eisenhower gave Kay a box of cream chocolates as a token of gratitude for his work, and Eisenhower asked, "If I come to England again, will you be my driver?" ”
After receiving Kay's affirmative reply, Eisenhower and his party left England.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="36" > fall in love</h1>
Soon after, as the war escalated, the United States began formal aid to Britain. Eisenhower, who was more familiar with the war in Europe, was again sent to Britain as commander of the U.S. forces in Britain. Eisenhower specifically communicated with the British military, making Kay his own full-time driver, and later developed into his own full-time secretary.
On inspections at the front, Kay was always able to carry Eisenhower evading German fire with skilled driving skills and taking him to where he was going. Kay is very capable and very careful, she not only takes on tasks such as sorting out documents and arranging schedules, but also often accompanies Eisenhower for walks or plays mahjong to relieve his psychological pressure in the face of war.
In the day and night together, Kay gradually fell in love with Eisenhower, and the passionate and youthful Kai also deeply attracted Eisenhower, and the two fell in love.
On the battlefield where life and death will be encountered at any time, the feelings of the two people quickly warmed up. To amuse Kay, Eisenhower wrote "This dog belongs to Kay and Eisenhower" on the collar of his pet dog, whose dog was frequent to Allied command. Once, when a dog peed and soiled the military map and diluted the German fortification logo on the map, Eisenhower did not blame it, but silently asked the soldiers to change the map.
For this reason, there was a joke circulating in the Allied command at that time:
"Where did the Germans go?"
"They were washed away by dog urine".
Eisenhower once asked Kay gently, "Do you want a child?" ”
Kai also replied with emotion, "I want it, but it can only be yours." ”
Later, whether Eisenhower went to the front line to inspect, to visit Churchill, or to attend military conferences, people could always see Kai's figure around him. No one knows when they began their romance, except that Kay had already played the role of hostess by the time Eisenhower held the formal banquet. At that time, in newspapers and magazines about war reports, people could always see Eisenhower standing next to the beautiful and charming Kai.
The gossip about Eisenhower and his driver-secretary has spread throughout Britain, and even many Americans have begun to know about it. The American joked: "There is no doubt that we do not blame Eisenhower, she is indeed smart, beautiful, charming."
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="48" > "Mrs. Battlefield"</h1>
War can't stop the love between the two, but In order not to hurt Eisenhower's reputation, Kay has been silently suppressing his feelings and has never made the relationship public.
Eisenhower was also expressing his love in a special way. Eisenhower asked the U.S. military to award him the Kay Medal of Merit, and Marshall had heard about the scandal between the two, but did not want to refute Eisenhower's face, so he asked the army chief of staff to carry the black pot. The chief of staff rejected Eisenhower's application on the grounds that Kay was not a U.S. soldier and did not meet the criteria for the award.
But Kay didn't care about it, she only cared about whether she could be with Eisenhower.
Eisenhower and Kay's love affair was also criticized by the British and American military, a high-powered Allied high-ranking officer, but with an English woman engaged in extramarital affairs, what is this system? Moreover, at present, the enemy is in front of the enemy, but the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces is obsessed with female sex, which seems very inappropriate.
But Eisenhower soon silenced the men, Eisenhower commanded the Normandy landings to a great victory, the Allies succeeded in opening a second battlefield, forming a two-fold situation against Nazi Germany, and the balance of war once again tilted in favor of the Allies.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Eisenhower pulled the director of the American women's team and wrote a letter of recommendation to Marshall, asking for Kay's award. Marshall could no longer resign, and the U.S. military awarded Kay the rank of Lieutenant, and Kay later became a U.S. citizen under the sponsorship of Eisenhower's colleagues. The two were not husband and wife on the battlefields of Europe, and many Allied soldiers knew that Eisenhower had hired a beautiful English girl to be the "Field Lady."
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="55" > unblessed feelings</h1>
Soon, the war was over and Eisenhower was on his way home.
Eisenhower offered to take Kay back to the United States and marry her, but this was unanimously opposed by the American top brass and the military.
At that time, the United States was still Puritan, the social atmosphere was far less open than today, and extramarital affairs were an inextricable black spot for American politicians.
Marshall told Eisenhower that you are now the supreme commander of the Allied forces, and the future is bright, and doing so will only damage your reputation.
Marshall also advised him: For the sake of your career, it is best to stay away from Kai.
The U.S. military was also disdainful of the relationship between the two, and the military urged Eisenhower to sever relations with Kay, even threatening to expel Eisenhower from the military. Eisenhower wrote to President Harry Truman expressing his desire to marry Kay, to which Truman replied, "If you do that, you will be ruined, and think for yourself."
After a fierce ideological struggle, Eisenhower's intellect triumphed over the relationship, and he chose to terminate the relationship. He wrote to the US headquarters, saying that he had not thought it through before, which bothered the headquarters and was very sorry.
For the sake of the future, Eisenhower abandoned Kay, and he returned to the United States, never to be seen again with his "War Lady".
Unlike Eisenhower, Kay was already deeply involved in the relationship. In order to save her lover's heart, she came to the Pentagon with their dogs in her arms, just to see Eisenhower again, just as Kay waited for Eisenhower at the station a few years ago, but this time she waited only for the news that Eisenhower and the original lady had returned home.
Kaixin left the Pentagon like a dead heart, never to actively seek out Eisenhower. She was a principled woman, and now that Eisenhower had made her choice, she stopped bothering or blackmailing her. In the face of media questions, Kai only generously replied: We are comrades-in-arms.
Eisenhower eventually preserved his reputation and status, and was successfully elected president in 1952. With his outstanding performance in World War II and his outstanding achievements as president, Eisenhower won the trust of many American people and became the top ten presidents in American history. As for the relationship with Kai, he never mentioned it again.
In 1947, Kay retired from the British Army and moved to the United States. She was silent about the relationship until after Eisenhower's death, and Kai, who was seriously ill, made public the situation of their relationship as a memoir.
Through Kay's memoirs, the world was able to understand the whole picture of this "war affair".
Kay Summersby writes:
I've always been very cautious. Now the general is dead, and I won't live long. Once I'm dead, hopefully this book will clarify the facts for me. I want the world to know the truth about my love affair with him. The long night, reminiscing about the past, are all vividly remembered, as if yesterday's events made me unforgettable. I send a sincere farewell to my general, my beloved.