William R. Gruber, a Brigadier General (USA, ret.), was an instructor at the Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth when Dwight D. Eisenhower was a student there. Following Eisenhower's graduation, Gruber and his wife Helen were joined by Dwight D. and Mamie Eisenhower on a 17-day, 1800 mile motor trip through Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and France in 1929.