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DADESID
Seaman
Joined: 07 Jul 2004
Posts: 157
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 Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Schadow wrote: | My personal hero has always been Douglas MacArthur, controversial though he may have been. When considering his entire life, he was an amazing person and an unflagging patriot to the end of his life. And, he understood fully the concept of civilian control of the armed forces.
The technology available to him ranged from the Springfield rifle of the days when his mother, older brother, and he accompanied their father, Arthur MacArthur, on campaigns on the US western frontier; to nuclear weapons under his control in Korea.
Both Douglas and his father received the MoH along the way, one of only two father-sons to be so decorated, Arthur at Missionary Ridge in the Civil War and Douglas for conduct in the Phillipines in WWII. He followed the orders of the President in leaving the Phillipines, thus the appellation "Dug-out Doug" is inappropriate.
He had a thing about winning wars. This was something a commander was supposed to do. In Korea, after clearing out North Korea all the way to the Manchurian border, he sought permission to bomb bridges and airfields in Manchuria to consolidate his advance and was denied by the President for fear of increased Chinese and Soviet involvement. MacArthur made the mistake of talking to the press about this disagreement with Truman and was relieved. Ironically, Korea remains our longest-running war, some 56 years old, never won, only a cease-fire.
My point in all this is that MacArthur remained true to his profession to the end. If he criticized the politicians, it was so subtle that it went over their heads. In May,1962, he accepted the Sylvanus Thayer Award at West Point and made his last great speech. He died two years later. These recent complaining generals should read it. A portion of the speech reads:
| Quote: | | ....And through all this welter of change and development, your mission remains fixed, determined, inviolable - it is to win our wars. Everything else in your professional career is but corollary to this vital dedication. All other public purposes, all other public projects, all other public needs, great or small, will find others for their accomplishment; but you are the ones who are trained to fight: yours is the profession of arms - the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory; that if you lose, the nation will be destroyed; that the very obsession of your public service must be Duty - Honor - Country. Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men's minds; but serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the nation's warguardian, as its lifeguard from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiator in the arena of battle. For a century and a half you have defended, guarded, and protected its hallowed traditions of liberty and freedom, of right and justice. Let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of our processes of government; whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing, indulged in too long, by federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant, by politics grown too corrupt, by crime grown too rampant, by morals grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent; whether our personal liberties are as thorough and complete as they should be. These great national problems are not for your professional participation or military solution. Your guidepost stands out like a ten-fold beacon in the night - Duty - Honor - Country. |
More on MacArthur
Schadow |
Nice link, Schadow. Thanks...
I found my dad:
http://www.medalofhonor.com/ReginaldDesiderio.htm
The photo near the bottom is yours truly saluting Omar Bradley. The little twerp next to me in the photo is my brother Tim, LTC, USA (ret). |
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Deuce
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 19 Mar 2005
Posts: 589
Location: FL
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| Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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Schadow,
great link, great quote, great find....yep, always liked your slant, now I know why, you've got good taste in heroes...mine's John Moses Browning, but that's 'nuther story. Consumate Historian, Newt Gingrich ('nuther favorite), just debunked the 6 'old-guard' generals on Fox w/ Chris Wallace....in a short, concise picture of the time leading up to the war. Clearly these 6 old guard generals favored a Normandy style 'occupation' force, while the new guard leaders understood the negative ramifications therein and designed the winning strategy that has unfolded. While I don't expect to see any Fox Newt 'repeats' hope you all get a chance to see that 5 minute segment as it completely debunks the lefts position on this matter. He did pan the Bremmer issue of standing down the Iraqi army in its entirety as a possible mistake on Rummy's part, but that was the extent of any 'criticism' of this administration!
Deuce |
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Schadow
Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004
Posts: 936
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:45 am Post subject: |
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DADESID,
I'm so glad you found that. What academy were you attending at the time? I can't quite make out the shoulder patch. I went to Army and Navy Academy at Carlsbad, CA. Was there when the Bombs were dropped, ending WWII. (Now I know how you constructed your forum "handle". )
Schadow
EDIT: Duh! All I had to do was read the caption. Mt. Lowe in Altadena.
_________________
Capt, 8th U.S. Army, Korea '53 - '54 |
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