Dwight D. Eisenhower - SHAEF Farewell Message, 1945, with a Personal Note on the Reverse

EISENHOWER, Dwight D. To All Members of the Allied Expeditionary Force. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, [July 1945].

Printed farewell message, with Eisenhower’s facsimile signature. Single sheet, printed in black beneath the SHAEF heading and shield emblem, with a handwritten personal note on the reverse.

A scarce survival of wartime ephemera, preserving the Supreme Commander’s farewell to the Allied force that had fought its way from Normandy to Germany. This copy comes from the library of a private collector in the United States.

“The task which we set ourselves is finished.” SHAEF was established in February 1944 to prepare the invasion of Western Europe. Dated 13 July 1945 in the official record, Eisenhower’s message preceded the dissolution of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force on 14 July. It marks the closing chapter of the combined command that had directed the liberation of Western Europe, as responsibilities passed to separate national organisations. 

A historical counterpart to Eisenhower’s D-Day message, the farewell acknowledges the fulfilment of the campaign begun in June 1944. Speaking for the United States and British Commonwealth, he thanks those who had overcome its hardships and contributed to “our joint victory”, before wishing them “Good Luck and God-Speed”.

The reverse gives this example a more personal character. A son writes: “Well there’s no news so I might as well go see the movie. I’ll close for now. All my love. Your son, Bud.”

The simple plan to see a film and the affectionate farewell preserve an everyday voice alongside the formal language of Allied victory. Apparently used for a serviceman’s correspondence home, the sheet acquired a second purpose as a family message. The signature appears to read “Bud”; no surname, date or unit is recorded.