Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-05
By: CNA and Staff Reporters

Descendants of American presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight

Mary Jean Eisenhower poses with a photo of her grandfather Dwight D Eisenhower at the Grand Hotel in Taipei, Sept. 16, 2013. (Photo courtesy of the Grand Hotel)

Eisenhower, as well as other foreign nationals who made contributions to the ROC cause during World War II, are set to attend a series of events in Taiwan in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.

The Republic of China government has invited David Roosevelt, grandson of President Roosevelt; Mary Jean Eisenhower, granddaughter of President Eisenhower; and Clifton Truman Daniel, grandson of President Truman, among other foreign nationals, to attend the commemorative events in Taiwan scheduled to take place from mid-August to late October, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

President Ma Ying-jeou has said that the three presidents made great contributions to the ROC’s efforts in countering Japanese aggression during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), which started earlier than but merged into the wider conflict of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis powers were defeated by the Allies. Roosevelt and Truman served as president during the war, while Eisenhower was the supreme Allied commander in Europe. His main contribution to the security of the ROC came when Taiwan was under strong threat of Communist invasion from mainland China in the 1950s. As president, Eisenhower signed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty in 1954.     [FULL  STORY]