[Old and Reliable]

Mae and I are history buffs, John. This past summer (2009) we took a three week trip from MI- first to Gettysburg- and we visited the Eisenhower farm. I also asked about his guns, being a Winchester man, I knew he loved his M42 for quail, possibly skeet. The curator happened to be a fellow gunner, he told me they were all out in the Eisenhower Museum in Abeline. All but one, on display behind glass was a fishing rod and reel given to "Ike" by his Chief of Staff in WW11- Gen. Walter Bedell Smith- and a Beretta 20 semi-auto skeet gun given to "Ike" by another staff member later on.

I am going to guess that when Mr. Murphy and his father hunted phesants near the Eisenhower Farm adjacent to Gettysburg, it was prior to Nov. 23 1963. We saw the Secret Service annex and the older armory room (no weapons) set up to protect the Eisenhowers after the tragic death of President Kennedy. I can still recall where I was (USMC- LeJeune) when a Major came in and told us that our Commander-In-Chief had been shot by a sniper in Dallas--

The best story about "Ike" I have yet heard was his way of explaining leadership. He took out a piece of string and placed it on his desk, and said that "Leadership is like moving a piece of string from A to B-- if you get behind it and shove, it just balls up and goes nowhere- BUT if you get out in front of it, it will follow you where ever you go"!!