Dwight D. Eisenhower

Presidential Library and Museum

PO Box 339 · 200 SE 4th Street · Abilene, KS 67410 · 785.263.6700 · 877.RING.IKE
www.eisenhower.archives.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 11, 2014

Samantha Kenner, Communications Director

785.263.6764 | 877.RING.IKE

A President Made by D-Day

ABILENE,Kan. - IKE: From Normandy to the White House produced by Dr. George A. Colburn will be shown Tuesday, June 17, at 7 p.m. This free public program will be held in the Visitors Center Auditorium of the Eisenhower Presidential Library. The 90-minute documentary has only recently finished production in honor of the D-Day 70th anniversary and will be released to theaters later this year.

According to writer/producer Colburn, this new documentary identifies the successful D-Day landings in France as the first step on the road to the White House for Dwight D. Eisenhower, a career soldier who took up the cause of peace as a political leader in the post-war nuclear era. Dr. Colburn will introduce the documentary and then answer questions afterwards.

"Our storyline in this new feature documentary is that Ike, a 5-star General of the Army, the greatest hero of World War II, went on to become the greatest force for peace in the world following his command of troops in the final stage of World War II, " Colburn said. "He was the great warrior of World War II, but he knew that human society could no longer allow another global war to happen. The incredible array of weapons of mass destruction available to the military at war's end meant to Ike that war must never break out again."

Dr. Colburn is Director of Operations for Starbright Media Corporation (SMC), a company he founded in 1982 to produce history-based television documentaries. He is also President of Contemporary Learning Systems, Inc. (CLS), a companion non-profit company that he established to produce educational programming for use in schools and colleges/universities.

For SMC, he has written and produced 10 television documentaries since 1991 on the public life of Dwight D. Eisenhower. These documentaries have appeared on public television and the Discovery, Disney and History channels. He has also produced a 20-part educational series on "The Eisenhower Era, 1941 - 1961" which is now streaming on the internet.

This program supplements the World War II Remembered: Leaders, Battles & Heroes exhibit currently on display in the Museum. The exhibit is a three-year commemoration of WWII marking the 70th anniversaries of the war and its aftermath as told through personal stories.

These programs and exhibits are only made possible through private donations to the Eisenhower Foundation. The World War II Remembered exhibit has a number of extremely generous sponsors including the Emma Balsiger Foundation, Dane G. Hansen Foundation, and the William T. Kemper Foundation. A complete list of exhibit donors and information on how you can be a sponsor can be found on www.eisenhower.archives.gov.

The Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home, a nonpartisan federal institution, is part of the Presidential Libraries network operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. Presidential Libraries promote understanding of the presidency and the American experience. We preserve and provide access to historical materials, support research, and create interactive programs and exhibits that educate and inspire.

# # #