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Phil and Ross would occasionally catch a movie in the evenings, but increasingly the duo played bridge against other competitive players on base. [1]
They found their years of working together made for an excellent bridge partnership. Word got around of their prowess at bidding and winning tricks.
General Eisenhower, an avid bridge player, invited the two of them to play at Quarters One[2] from time to time. The joke around Fort Myer was that Eisenhower was planning to snatch them because one of the unwritten qualifications for serving on Eisenhower’s staff was an officer’s ability to play a decent game of bridge.
Phil remembered when Ike told them he had “augmented” his meager cadet stipend playing poker at West Point, but the card game did not sharpen his mind like bridge, a game of “strategy, percentages, and bluff,” the general said. Ike considered anything less than total concentration to be a sacrilege to the game of bridge, but he could become quite animated during the playing of hands.
His wife, Mamie, would serve refreshments for the men as they sipped beverages and chain-smoked during their spirited games, which were always serious competitions.
One time, Mamie bragged to Phil that a world-class bridge expert said her husband was a “fine player.” When Ike was stationed in the Philippines in the mid-1930s, he would play with the country’s president, Manuel Quezon, who called him a “bridge wizard.”
“Do you play bridge with the general?” Phil asked.
“Rarely,” she replied. “He yells at me when I make mistakes,” she added, winking.[2]
~~~~~
[1] Larimore, At First Light, 319.
[2] Quarters 1 at Fort Myer is a historic house on the grounds of Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia. Built in 1899, it has been the residence of Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Army since 1910, notably including George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972 and is a contributing element to the Fort Myer Historic District.
[3] Larimore, At First Light, 319-320.
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December 24, 1945M
