Comments on: Duty, Honor, Country

By: TF Smith

TF Smith — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:16:10 +0000

MacArthur was a 19th Century man, with 19th Century prejudices…and with all due respect for his abilities as a divisional commander in WW I, I’ve never understood how a man who was surprised not once but three times while serving as a theater commander managed to not get relieved for any one of the three – other than for the obvious reason of war by other means than combat…

The destruction of USAAFE on 12-08-41 was bad enough, expecially given that MacArthur’s USN equivalent in the Western Pacific was not caught with his ships in port or his planes on the ground.

But then when MacArther’s theater got caught by surprise both by the initial NKPA invasion in 1950, AND then again by the PLA intervention, I really have to wonder where his reputation comes from…

Marshall and Craig were far better CoS in the pre-war era, and Hart, Nimitz, and Eisenhower much, much better at the theater command level in 1941-45.

Best,

By: James F. Epperson

James F. Epperson — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:32:05 +0000

“Inter-service commissionings”? Go to West Point and get commissioned as a Marine? Seems strange to me.

By: scott s.

scott s. — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:20:26 +0000

There has always been a percentage of inter-service commissionings.

By: James F. Epperson

James F. Epperson — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:06:06 +0000

Uh, Mark, I don’t think there would be any future Marines in that audience. Don’t Marine officers graduate from Annapolis?

Since the cadets were participating in the filming of a movie, and doing so in uncomfortable straight-backed chairs (as opposed to cushy auditorium seats) it is not surprising that we see no one nodding off. If they did, it would have ended up on the cutting room floor.

By: Will Hickox

Will Hickox — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:54:05 +0000

No cadets are sleeping. Mr. Obama, take note!

By: Michael C

Michael C — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:27:18 +0000

“You now face a new world, a world of change. The thrust into outer space of the satellite, spheres and missiles marked the beginning of another epoch in the long story of mankind – the chapter of the space age. In the five or more billions of years the scientists tell us it has taken to form the earth, in the three or more billion years of development of the human race, there has never been a greater, a more abrupt or staggering evolution … of the primary target in war, no longer limited to the armed forces of an enemy, but instead to include his civil populations;”

These two thoughts could come from any speech given by a General today.

By: Stuart D. Curtis

Stuart D. Curtis — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:17:38 +0000

Considering a man who led and fought in three major wars, negotiated the politics of innovation through the interwar period, and earned the trust and confidence of the nation’s executive and legislative assemblage, public criticisms of GEN MacArthur lose their edge over time – especially when looking back at his address to the USMA Corps of Cadets at West Point.

In his speech, GEN MacArthur firebrands a fundamental point in military leadership for walking the line between developing and executing national policy. He states that military Service members are the “custodians of our nation’s defense,” which is an appropriate reminder for all of us in uniform. Specifically, however, GEN MacArthur reminds our military leadership to distance themselves from the intricacies and nuances of political development and formulation.

Antithetically, he stresses the requirement to wholly practice and enforce those developed policies as he conveys to “let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of our processes of government” as “these great national problems are not for your professional participation or military solution.” Perhaps this advice emerges from professional ramifications endured given GEN MacArthur public disagreement with the Truman administration’s policy toward North Korea from 1950 to 1951, ultimately leading to his dismissal from command.

A departure from the General’s advice to the Corps, I see this action toward the administration a noble and prudent necessity that sheds every concern for his professional protection and focuses the attention toward the mission and the Service members in his charge. GEN MacArthur’s outspokenness toward President Truman was his definitive act of “duty” for his country, or rather for his troops – the very custodians of the national defense.