Attractive set of five pocketknives from the collection of Brig. Gen. Robert L. Schulz, the longtime aide to Dwight D. Eisenhower. The knives, each approximately measuring 2.75˝ in length, are impressively encased in a Lucite display, which is set inside a wooden base, the totality of which measures 10.5˝ x 6˝ x 3.5˝. Blue caption text next to each knife offers insight into their historical significance (clockwise): “C.F.S. from Dad, Xmas 1960,” “Summit Conference,” “NATO Conference,” “Xmas Souvenir,” and “Spec. Duty–Denver.” The four corner knives, all made by W. R. Case, feature engraved text to one side, or both sides, of the blade, indicating that they were gifts presented to Schulz by Eisenhower: “D.D.E. Oct 54”; “July ‘55, D.D.E”; “Paris 1957, D.D.E.”; and “Merry Xmas 1954, D.D.E.” The central knife features a lower caption: “From A.M.G., Shape, Paris.” In overall fine condition.
Originates from the family collection of Brig. General Robert L. Schulz, the longtime aide to Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Born in 1907, Robert L. Schulz attended the Academy of Advanced Traffic in New York and entered the field of traffic management in the mid-1930s. At the beginning of World War II in 1942, he was commissioned a captain in the Office of the Chief of Transportation, assigned to the Traffic Control Division. He began arranging transportation for General Dwight D. Eisenhower as early as 1945 and was appointed as Ike's aide-de-camp in 1947. His duties included arranging transportation and handling personal business matters for Eisenhower and his family, acting as a gatekeeper and discreet channel of communication for the general's family and close friends.
As a five-star general, Eisenhower was entitled to keep his aide, and Schulz remained with him when he became president of Columbia University in 1948 and when he took command of NATO forces in Europe in 1950. Schulz then served as a military aide to President Eisenhower for the duration of his term in the White House, from 1953 to 1961. During this time, in addition to accompanying the president nearly everywhere he went, Schulz represented Eisenhower at ceremonies, arranged foreign trips, and spoke to reporters during his illnesses. When President Eisenhower left office, Schulz became his executive assistant, and in 1969 he was appointed by President Nixon as Special Assistant to the President for Liaison with Former Presidents. For more than twenty years, Brigadier General Robert L. Schulz served by the side of Dwight D. Eisenhower, allowing incredible access to one of the towering figures of the American 20th century.
