Beschreibung:

WORLD WAR II] EISENHOWER, DWIGHT DAVID (as Supreme Allied Commander). Document signed . [Headquarters, Reims, France:] 7 May 1945. Typed document being mimeographed copy number 444 of Eisenhower's famous "FWD-20798" cable, signed in ink "Dwight D Eisenhower" across a blank area of the page not obstructing the text, the document on one sheet of stationery headed in red "SHAEF FORWARD/STAFF MESSAGE CONTROL/OUTGOING MESSAGE", the text headed "URGENT" and comprising thirteen typed lines (most likely in purple ink but now faded), including the statement below signed in type by Eisenhower. 10 1/2 x 8 inches (27.2 x 21 cm). Framed. Text badly faded but signature dark, edges mat toned, a few small chips, handling creases, discreetly affixed to mat. Eisenhower ends World War II in the European theater with this simple cable to his Combined Chiefs of Staff: The mission of this Allied force was fulfilled at 0241 local time, May 7, 1945. The May 7th surrender at a schoolhouse in Reims followed the April 28th surrender of the German Army in Italy, Hitler's bunker suicide on April 30th, and the surrender of Berlin on May 2nd. A very rare document, this previously unknown copy is one of only a few signed by Eisenhower most likely as souvenirs for recipients. At the time of the Forbes sale of March 2002, only five mimeographed copies had been sold at auction with at least one reporting similar fading of the ink. While several men at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) tried their hand at composing a grandiose message fitting of the major event, Eisenhower rejected them all prefering this simple and direct statement. C