Prominent Brothers with Local Ties Leave Their Mark

One led the Army during a critical period of the country's history, later becoming president, and the other gave his namesake to a prominent law firm in Tacoma and was a great golfer.

The Eisenhower brothers spent a considerable amount of time in Lakewood.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower first came to Fort Lewis in 1938 while on his way to a post in the Philippines. He loved stopping by the Evergreen state. His wishes came true the following year when he took his first assignment leading troops.

Dwight Eisenhower took command of the 1st Battalion, 15th Regiment. He tested out his thoughts on military training and tactics in an increasingly mobilized battlefield. World War II was becoming inevitable.

He later occupied the White House for two terms as the 34th president of the United States of America.

As fate would have it, his brother Edgar Eisenhower was one of his biggest critics. The ultra conservative constantly questioned his brother’s policies.

Before Dwight became president, the two brothers liked playing golf. Edgar had a house along American Lake and they played at a nearby country club. Edgar was better with the irons, and his victories included the Tacoma Country Club championship in 1955, a 1958 Pacific Northwest Seniors championship and a Washington State Seniors championship.

Edgar regularly golfed at the Tacoma Country Club where he shot below par. He won the club seniors championship in 1965. At age 69 he shot below his age with a 67. When the press asked Dwight about the criticism, he smiled and responded that Edgar had been "criticizing me since I was 5 years old."

But that didn't stop him from leading his country during a pivotal time in United State's history.

Dwight's career boomed and he rose from the rank of Colonel in 1940 to become a four-star General of the Army by 1944. Dwight became the Supreme Allied Commander of millions of international troops in Europe with the planning and execution of the D-Day Invasion in 1944.

Dwight Eisenhower served as president from 1953-61. He died on March 28, 1969 at Walter Reed Hospital. Edgar died two years later and was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Lakewood, not far from his beloved golf course.

Edgar attended a Seattle law school. He passed the bar in 1914. He spent the rest of his life shuttling from the golf course to the prominent law firm that still bears his name, Eisenhower and Carlson.

His younger brother is better known to the world. Dwight, who was nicknamed “little Ike” because Edgar was the older brother, started his meteoric rise up the military career ladder at Fort Lewis that was capped with an 8-year stint in the White House.