Ben Hibbs
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (February 2016) |
Ben Hibbs (July 23, 1901 – March 30, 1975) was born in Fontana, Kansas and earned an A.B. from the University of Kansas in 1923.
In 1942, Hibbs began a twenty-year association with the editorial staff of
Hibbs left The Post in January 1963 and joined the editorial staff of
The general procedure followed in producing an Eisenhower article was begun when a topic, originated by the General, Hibbs, or The Reader’s Digest editors, was decided upon. Eisenhower and Hibbs then agreed to a meeting time several weeks in advance and proceeded to accumulate ideas and facts for the article. They would then meet several times at either
Hibbs first met Eisenhower during the last year of World War II, when the General requested that reporters from the United States be flown to Europe to document the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps then being liberated by the U.S. Army. Hibbs and the other correspondents were shown the Dachau concentration camp and the Buchenwald concentration camp before being introduced to Eisenhower at his SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) headquarters. Following the war, Hibbs attempted to purchase for The Post the magazine rights to General Eisenhower’s memoirs, Crusade in Europe, but was unsuccessful when Eisenhower sold those rights to Life.
Hibbs actively promoted the candidacy of Eisenhower for the Presidency of the United States in 1952. He wrote an editorial entitled "Will the Republicans Commit Suicide in Chicago" concerning the Taft-Eisenhower battle over the seating of Republican delegates from Texas.
Hibbs was never a part of the inner White House Group during the Eisenhower administrations. However, he did remain an acquaintance of the President and was invited to attend stag dinners and other social functions. His close association with Eisenhower developed after the President left office and began writing articles for The Post and Reader’s Digest.
References
- ^ Louis Galambos, et al. The Papers of Dwight D. Eisenhower: The Presidency; Keeping the Peace. Vol. XXI. Baltimore. Johns Hopkins University Press. 2001. p. 2062.
External links
- [1] Papers of Ben Hibbs, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library