TRUMAN, Harry S. Typed letter signed ("Harry S. Truman"), as President, to Edward D. McKim, Washington, 14 April 1951. 1 page, 4to, White House stationery .
TRUMAN, Harry S. Typed letter signed ("Harry S. Truman"), as President, to Edward D. McKim, Washington, 14 April 1951. 1 page, 4to, White House stationery . "THE FIRST THING A SOLDIER LEARNS IS TO OBEY ORDERS..." TRUMAN ON THE FIRING OF MACARTHUR A powerful statement on the MacArthur firing, three days after the dismissal. Truman writes his old World War I Army buddy, Ed McKim, to thank him for McKim's letter of the twelfth supporting Truman's action. "You are right about the first thing a soldier learns is to obey orders," Truman says. "Some of them forget that fundamental basis on which military matters are founded..." In Truman's mind, MacArthur had long forgotten the fact that he was subordinate to civilian--or indeed any --authority. The showdown between these two men was long in coming. In the summer of 1950, MacArthur made an unauthorized speech criticizing the administration's China policy. The general apologized for that flap in a face-to-face meeting with Truman on Wake Island in October, during which MacArthur gave assurances that the fighting in Korea was nearly over. The massive Chinese intervention the following month and MacArthur's call for the use of atomic weapons against China strained Truman's patience near to the breaking point. It snapped when MacArthur released a letter accusing the administration of weakness in the face of Chinese communism. Republican Joseph Martin, House minority leader, read it on the floor of Congress on 5 April. All Truman's senior advisors agreed that MacArthur had to go, and the President fired him on 11 April. A torrent of critical and often abusive mail came to the White House. Polls showed that only 29 of the electorate agreed with his decision. There were public calls for the impeachment of Truman and Acheson, and five days after this letter, MacArthur went before Congress to deliver his famous "old soldier's never die" valedictory. "Those damn fool Congressmen were crying like a bunch of women," Truman said contemptuously, "but [the speech] didn't worry me at all" (Miller, Plain Speaking , 313). He was grateful for the few expressions of support he got from old friends like McKim. TRUMAN LETTERS IN OFFICE COMMENTING ABOUT THE MACARTHUR FIRING ARE RARE.
TRUMAN, Harry S. Typed letter signed ("Harry S. Truman"), as President, to Edward D. McKim, Washington, 14 April 1951. 1 page, 4to, White House stationery .
TRUMAN, Harry S. Typed letter signed ("Harry S. Truman"), as President, to Edward D. McKim, Washington, 14 April 1951. 1 page, 4to, White House stationery . "THE FIRST THING A SOLDIER LEARNS IS TO OBEY ORDERS..." TRUMAN ON THE FIRING OF MACARTHUR A powerful statement on the MacArthur firing, three days after the dismissal. Truman writes his old World War I Army buddy, Ed McKim, to thank him for McKim's letter of the twelfth supporting Truman's action. "You are right about the first thing a soldier learns is to obey orders," Truman says. "Some of them forget that fundamental basis on which military matters are founded..." In Truman's mind, MacArthur had long forgotten the fact that he was subordinate to civilian--or indeed any --authority. The showdown between these two men was long in coming. In the summer of 1950, MacArthur made an unauthorized speech criticizing the administration's China policy. The general apologized for that flap in a face-to-face meeting with Truman on Wake Island in October, during which MacArthur gave assurances that the fighting in Korea was nearly over. The massive Chinese intervention the following month and MacArthur's call for the use of atomic weapons against China strained Truman's patience near to the breaking point. It snapped when MacArthur released a letter accusing the administration of weakness in the face of Chinese communism. Republican Joseph Martin, House minority leader, read it on the floor of Congress on 5 April. All Truman's senior advisors agreed that MacArthur had to go, and the President fired him on 11 April. A torrent of critical and often abusive mail came to the White House. Polls showed that only 29 of the electorate agreed with his decision. There were public calls for the impeachment of Truman and Acheson, and five days after this letter, MacArthur went before Congress to deliver his famous "old soldier's never die" valedictory. "Those damn fool Congressmen were crying like a bunch of women," Truman said contemptuously, "but [the speech] didn't worry me at all" (Miller, Plain Speaking , 313). He was grateful for the few expressions of support he got from old friends like McKim. TRUMAN LETTERS IN OFFICE COMMENTING ABOUT THE MACARTHUR FIRING ARE RARE.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
