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Okla-homey
4/11/2006, 06:25 AM
April 11, 1951 Truman relieves MacArthur of duties in Korea

On this day 55 years ago, in perhaps the most famous civilian-military confrontation in the history of the United States, President Harry S. Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of command of the U.S. forces in Korea. The firing of MacArthur set off a brief uproar among the American public, but Truman remained committed to keeping the conflict in Korea a "limited war."

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/9272/aaaaaaabe0294824ak.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Clash of the Titans. Here, Truman and MacArthur are seen smiling. Safe to say, both men harbored reservations about each other.

President Truman's problems the iconic General MacArthur had been brewing for months. Mindful of the fact MacArthur had led Allied forces brilliantly throughout the Pacific theater during the recently concluded WWII, supervised post-war Japan and drafted its constitution and MacArthur's almost forty years military career which spanned all the way back to WWI, Truman initially deferred to MacArthur's judgment.

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/2761/aaaaaaaavc0050846bh.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
American's were divided on where they stood on the conflict between President and General "Mac". This contemporary editorial cartoon by a "Mac" devotee portrays Truman as a "poseur" who looks silly trying to fill "Mac's" hat.

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/2705/aaaaaaauntitled3mc.png (http://imageshack.us)
On the other hand, there was this view often expressed as in this contemporary editorial cartoon which summed up the situation from Truman's point of view.

In the early days of the war in Korea (which began in June 1950), the general had devised some brilliant strategies and military maneuvers that helped save South Korea from falling to the invading forces of communist North Korea.

As US and United Nations forces turned the tide of battle in Korea, MacArthur argued for a policy of pushing into North Korea to completely defeat the communist forces. Truman went along with this plan, but worried that the communist government of the People's Republic of China might take the invasion as a hostile act and intervene in the conflict.

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Truman and MacArthur during happier times when they met on Wake Island in October of 1950 before the Chinese intervention in Korea that winter.

In October 1950, MacArthur met with Truman and assured him that the chances of a Chinese intervention were slim. Mac was wrong. In November and December 1950, over half a million Red Chinese troops crossed into North Korea and hurled themselves against the American lines, driving the US troops back below the 38th parallel into South Korea.

MacArthur then asked Truman for permission to bomb communist China and use Nationalist Chinese forces from Taiwan against the People's Republic of China. Truman flatly refused these requests and a very public argument began to develop between the two men.

In April 1951, President Truman fired MacArthur and replaced him with Gen. Matthew Ridgeway. On April 11, Truman addressed the nation and explained his actions. He began by defending his overall policy in Korea, declaring, "It is right for us to be in Korea." He excoriated the "communists in the Kremlin [who] are engaged in a monstrous conspiracy to stamp out freedom all over the world." Nevertheless, he explained, it "would be wrong-tragically wrong-for us to take the initiative in extending the war. ...Our aim is to avoid the spread of the conflict."

http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/9776/aaaaaaa1987korea3cb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The president continued, "I believe that we must try to limit the war to Korea for these vital reasons: To make sure that the precious lives of our fighting men are not wasted; to see that the security of our country and the free world is not needlessly jeopardized; and to prevent a third world war." General MacArthur had been fired "so that there would be no doubt or confusion as to the real purpose and aim of our policy."

MacArthur returned to the United States to a hero's welcome. Parades were held in his honor, and he was asked to speak before Congress (where he gave his famous "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away" speech). Public opinion was strongly against Truman's actions, but the president stuck to his decision without regret or apology.

For the full text of Mac's farewell address to Congress go here:
http://www.congressionalgoldmedal.com/DouglasMacArthurFarewellAddress.htm

Eventually, MacArthur did "just fade away," and the American people began to understand that his policies and recommendations might have led to a massively expanded war in Asia. Though the concept of a "limited war," as opposed to the traditional American policy of unconditional victory, was new and initially unsettling to many Americans, the idea came to define the US Cold War military strategy in vogue during the forty years spanning the period from 1950 until 1990.

Whether or not Mac's strategy to take on China would have been vindicated we'll never know. Suffice to say, in 1950, the US was the only world power with nuclear weapons. Could a divided Korea have been avoided? Would we have fought in Viet Nam differently? Would the PRC be a threat today?

Ultimately, your correspondent believes the most important lesson from this period is reaffirmation of the sacred American principle of civilian control of the military -- a phenomenon pretty rare in the world then...and now. We have Harry S. Truman from Independence MO to thank for that and for that, all American's owe him a great deal of respect and gratitude.

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President Harry S. Truman.

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TUSooner
4/11/2006, 08:40 AM
Another excellent jorb. I may not post all day, but I never miss Homey's History Lesson!

Is it coincidence that this occurred on the same date, April 11, that Napoleon was exiled to Elba in 1814?

1stTimeCaller
4/11/2006, 08:42 AM
Great story.

Wasn't Truman also the last President that didn't have a college degree?

royalfan5
4/11/2006, 09:02 AM
Unleash Chaing Kai-Shek, my Cold War class teacher used to throw that phrase out alot in class when studying this era.

I wrote a paper on this incident in my Cold War class, got an A, best paper in the class.

GDC
4/11/2006, 09:02 AM
They should have let Patton steamroll the ruskies, and Mac nuke the chinks. My grandfather was there on the beach at Leyte when he made his famous return.