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Title:	RIFLE, MILITARY -  U.S. RIFLE M14 7.62MM SN# D.D.E.1
Maker/Manufacturer:	SPRINGFIELD ARMORY
Date of Manufacture:	11/01/1959
Eminent Figure:	EISENHOWER, DWIGHT DAVID
Catalog Number:	SPAR 1508
Measurements:	OL:112.3CM 44 1/4" BL: 55.8CM 22"

Object Description:

U.S. RIFLE M14 7.62MM SN# D.D.E.1
Manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. in 1959 - Presentation grade M14 with select wood and highly blued metal. One of two weapons made for Dwight D. Eisenhower, SN# DDE1, AND DDE2. The latter was presented to the president. Weapon is complete with 20-round detachable box magazine. This was an endurance test rifle and this might account for the condition of the bore which is extremely rough.

Markings:
Receiver: U.S. RIFLE/7.62MM M14/SPRINGFIELD/ARMORY/D.D.E.1.
Barrel: Part no. and SA 11 59 MD 15. 11 penciled in barrel inlet in stock.

Weapon transferred to the Museum on 18 October 1960. At that time weapon was appraised at $128.59.

Exhibit label: "EISENHOWER M14 - The Army customarily gave each new United States President a special rifle made at Springfield Armory. Before presentation these pieces were given a detailed examination which often revealed flaws. Consequently, when the Armory was requested to build a presentation M14 for President Eisenhower, it was decided to make two rifles. The first was found to be flawed. Examination of the second M14, however, revealed no flaws and it was selected to be presented to the chief executive. M14 serial D.D.E. #1 is displayed here. The rifle given to President Dwight D. Eisenhower was D.D.E. #2."

Notes: Two presentation rifles were made for President Eisenhower, numbered DDE1 and DDE2, so there would be a back-up weapon if something went wrong. DDE2 was presented. This is the back-up piece. Bolt parts and full-auto selector removed from weapon and are stored separately.

M14 PRESENTATION RIFLE:
SER. NO. 1 - PRESIDENT DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER - w/table mounting.
0001 - Museum Infantry Center, Ft. Benning
0002 - Gen. Lemnitzer, Army Chief of Staff
0003 - Hon. Courtney Johnson (Under-Sec. of Defense)
0004 & 0005 - Commandant, USMC - Gen. Shoup
0006 - National Rifle Association Museum
0007 - Gen. Hinrichs, Chief of Ordnance.
2001 - Gen. O.E. Hurlbut w/table mountings.
NSN - Gen. Mohammad Musa, Commander-In-Chief, Pakistan Army, November, 1963.

Excerpt from letter to Mr.Kalmbach from General Eisenhower, dated July 12, 1966. "I have a very sad feeling to know that the Springfield Armory is to be closed. During my entire military career we always looked upon that Armory as one of the finest Ordnance facilities and a pioneer in devising better weapons for America's soldiers. I hope that some disposition can be made of it that will allow opportunity to commerroate the thousands of individuals who, over many decades, have in this particular facility served their country so well."

"During the late 1950s, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund sponsored a series of think tank reports which 'were governed by the conception that a prudent corporate and military leadership of the National Security State could link guns, butter, and the new technology of missile and nuclear weapons production to the cause of Freedom and the Free World." - Whitney Museum, Keinholz: A Retrospective

"This conjunction of an immense Military Establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence - economic, political, even spiritual - is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the Federal Government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications....
In the councils of government we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together." - Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 17, 1961