William Rudolph Gruber, (December 17, 1890 – January 27, 1979) Brigadier general, was an instructor at the Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth when

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

was a student there.http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/documents/1630.cfm, Eisenhower, Dwight D. To William Rudolph Gruber, 16 November 1955. Following Eisenhower's graduation, Gruber and his wife Helen Drennan Gruber were joined by Dwight D. and

Mamie Eisenhower Mary Geneva "Mamie" Eisenhower (; November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 as the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Born in Boone, Iowa, she was raised in a wealthy household in Colo ...

on a 17-day, 1800 mile motor trip through Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and France in 1929. They left Paris on August 28, 1929, and drove to Brussels, Belgium. Their route then took them to

Bonn, Germany Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, south along the

Rhine River The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Cons ...

to Coblenz, Heidelberg and through the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

. They then went to Switzerland, spending seven days and visiting

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

Interlaken Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss ...

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

, and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, and surviving a harrowing crossing of the

Furka Pass Furka Pass (; ) is a high mountain pass in the southern Swiss Alps connecting Gletsch, Valais with Realp, Uri via the seasonal Furkapassroute. The Furka Oberalp Bahn bypasses the pass through the high Furka Base Tunnel, which opened in 19 ...

high in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. From Switzerland the travelers went to

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

, then to Romagne in France where they visited the American War Cemetery. While the ladies stayed to visit with a mutual friend, Gruber and Eisenhower toured the World War I battlefields in the area. Eisenhower was an expert guide having just completed work on a guidebook for the Battle Monuments Commission. The Grubers and Eisenhowers returned to Paris on September 13.

References

External links

Papers of William R. Gruber, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library

William Rudolph Gruber papers, The Hoover Institution Archives.
Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruber, William R. 1890 births 1979 deaths Military personnel from Cincinnati United States Army personnel of World War I Dwight D. Eisenhower United States Army generals Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army generals of World War II