Letters of War: An Anthology of the Korean War Era by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: America Star Books
Published: 2010-08-06T16:00:00+00:00

36. PRESIDENT TRUMAN REMOVES MACARTHUR

President Harry Truman removed General MacArthur in April 1951, and General Douglas MacArthur gave his farewell address before Congress on April 19, 1951. Atomic weapons were available with a delivery system in place. These armaments were in a state of readiness in close proximity to Korea, on a Pacific island. MacArthur wanted to use the weapons; Truman opposed the use.

The Removal: When MacArthur violated the principle of civilian control of the military by attempting to orchestrate public support for bombing China and permitting an invasion of the mainland by Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalist Chinese forces, Truman charged him with insubordination and relieved him of his duties, replacing him with General Matthew Ridgeway.

The Farewell Address: Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, and distinguished members of the Congress.

I stand on this rostrum with a sense of deep humility and great pride—humility in the wake of those great architects of our history who have stood here before me, pride in the reflection that this home of legislative debate represents human liberty in the purest form yet devised.

Here are centered the hopes and aspirations and faith of the entire human race.

I do not stand here as advocate for any partisan cause, for the issues are fundamental and reach quite beyond the realm of partisan considerations. They must be resolved on the highest plane of national interest if our course is to prove sound and our future protected.

I trust, therefore, that you will do me the justice of receiving that which I have to say as solely expressing the considered viewpoint of a fellow American.

I address you with neither rancor nor bitterness in the fading twilight of life, with but one purpose in mind: to serve my country.

The issues are global, and so interlocked that to consider the problems of one sector oblivious to those of another is to court disaster for the whole. While Asia is commonly referred to as the gateway to Europe, it is no less true that Europe is the gateway to Asia, and the broad influence of the one cannot fail to have its impact upon the other.

There are those who claim our strength is inadequate to protect on both fronts, that we cannot divide our effort. I can think of no greater expression of defeatism.

If a potential enemy can divide his strength on two fronts, it is for us to counter his efforts. The Communist threat is a global one. Its successful advance in one sector threatens the destruction of every other sector. You cannot appease or otherwise surrender to communism in Asia without simultaneously undermining our efforts to halt its advance in Europe.

Beyond pointing out these general truisms, I shall confine my discussion to the general areas of Asia…

While I was not consulted prior to the President’s decision to intervene in support of the Republic of Korea, that decision, from a military standpoint, proved a sound one.

As I say, it proved a sound one, as we hurled back the invader and decimated his forces. Our victory was

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