Mum

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

MacArthur finaly found the position he had been looking for in his military career, SHOGUN!

I wouldn't ask the Marines what their opinion of MacArthur was.

One reason why I liked Harry Truman, he FIRED MacArthur, who forgot WHO he was working for.

[Bill Hollinger]

I think Mac got a little too big for his britches! He was a huge showman and it bled over into everything he did. Mac did do some great things during the war though, mainly his showmanship!

[Jim K]

I don't know if the facts about that firing will ever come out fully, but any dispute over tactics was minor and an excuse. The fact is that MacArthur took some actions that were totally out of line and could have gotten the U.S. into WWIII, resulting in millions of deaths in a nuclear holocaust. Truman was absolutely correct and made sure that the right people were told just enough of the truth that MacArthur had no chance of being nominated or elected to anything.

Jim

[jon_norstog]

Hey, guys,

I'm glad I'm not the only skeptic about the cult of Mac. It's a little bit of a drift from the original topic, however.

Be that as it may, I shudder to think what would have happened if he had been the Republican nominee in '52 instead of Ike. He was quite popular, especially with the China lobby and the group that wanted send American troops in to back up Chiang Kai-shek's return to power.

I give him credit for the Inchon landing and the rout of the DRK armies ... don't know how much of that credit rightly belongs to him, but it turned out OK. It could easily have been a disaster.

I tend to the MacArthur was a dangerous egomaniac side of things, but will give him credit for smoothly transitioning Japan's war criminals and profiteers into the movers and shakers of the Japanese economic miracle. For not being such a prude that he couldn't see the value of keeping the Yakuza around. For insisting that ground troops clear and hold the islands from New Guinea through the Solomons to the Philippines. The man was on a mission.

Just the mention of his name still can stir up strong emotions, what, 60 years after the events. You can get into a fight over him to this day!

jn

[Calif-Steve]

Mac did a poor job of recognizing the Chinese Army in Korea days before the huge Chinese invasion. Many Chinese deserted over to the US Army and were quickly identified as Chinese troops. Mac refused to believe this and no one was ready for over a million Chinese infantry. He deserved to be canned, he earned it.

[jon_norstog]

Steve,

I had forgotten that one. He was feeling so great about mopping up the floor with the DRKs, he never realized that the approach of a foreign, warring army to its borders just might bring China into the fight.

In former years he was a hero to a lot of people, and could walk into any American Legion hall in the country and never pay for food or drink. My own thought is we've had generals who understood war in Asia a lot better than Mac. Vinegar Joe STilwell is one, unfortunately he was unavailable for Korean service.

As for Mac and WWII, my own thought is that the Philippines could have been bypassed entirely, with much saving of lives and treasure. The more Japanese forces sitting there without logistic support and subject to daily air-raids, the better. We needed the Marianas. We didn't need the Philippines.

jn

[rayg]

He had financial interests in the Philippanes, and several business investments. What's a few US casalities as long as he could get back to those interests so he could regain some of his losses, Ray

[Jim K]

I know MacArthur had investments in the Philippines, but I really can't see that he went back solely on that account. We had to reclaim the country one way or another, and as soon as possible; we owed the Phillipine people that much. Of course, Mac messed up in the first place; he knew about Pearl Harbor hours before the first Japanese attacks on the Philippines, yet he failed to maintain proper aerial recon and let his air force be destroyed on the ground. I suspect he was another one of the many officers who believed in white superiority and just couldn't believe the Japanese were capable of doing what they did.

Jim

[jon_norstog]

Jim, guys,

This topic probably belongs on the gun talk list where more people will see it. I'm not so cynical I would believe an American military man would waste men just 'cause of his investments, but I do think Mac wasted men's lives, and it was mainly to satisfy his own ego, and his many delusions about the strategic importance of the Philippines and the general inferiority of brown-skinned people. I don't know which is worse.

The Mac I know and love is the man who sent horse soldiers in to break up the WWI veterans' bonus march and tent city. My parents talked about that one when I was a kid 20 years after the fact, and the shame of it all.

I'm ready to let Mac RIP. David Hackworth warned us about the modern equivalents - he called them the "perfumed princes" - who are getting our servicemen and -women killed now. I don't know much about this guy McChrystal. I hope he reads history and has the sense to respect his enemy.

jn

[rayg]

He had financial interests in the Philippanes, and several business investments. What's a few US casalities as long as he could get back to those interests so he could regain some of his losses, Ray

Ok, as I understand he had some pretty substantal investments in the PI and I can't believe that didn't pay a part in the back of his mind in pushing for the taking back of the PI instead of other recommened plans that may have reduced casaulaties. I'm not saying it was the only priority but don't forget, Mac was all about himself. Anyway, just my opinion that may not be worth anything anyway, Ray