"Duty, Honor, Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. " ~Douglas MacArthur
Truman Fires MacArthur
In 1951 President Truman announced that General Douglas MacArthur had been relieved of his duties as Allied Commander of United Nations forces in the Far East during the Korean War for disagreeing with President Truman. The firing of MacArthur set off a brief uproar among the American public, but Truman had remained committed to keeping the conflict in Korea a "limited war." MacArthur challenged the United States civilian leadership by threatening to attack China in defiance of the President and the United Nations. MacArthur didn't share the same views as Truman, and so Truman replaced MacArthur with General Mathew Ridgway in 1951 on April 11.
The general had come up with some brilliant strategies and military maneuvers that helped save South Korea from falling to the invading forces of communist North Korea. When U.S. and United Nations forces turned the tide of battle in Korea, MacArthur had argued for a policy of pushing into North Korea to completely defeat the communist forces. Truman agreed to this plan, but he worried that the communist government of the People's Republic of China might take the invasion as a hostile act and get involved in the conflict. In November and December 1965, hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops crossed into North Korea and scrambled against the American lines, driving the United States troops back into South Korea. MacArthur had asked for permission to bomb communist China and use Nationalist Chinese forces from Taiwan against the People's Republic Of China, but Truman refused these requests and a very public argument began to develop between the two men.
Truman tried to make an effort to dismiss MacArthur in a polite and a political way. However, the transmission of the message was messed up, and MacArthur received the news secondhand before hearing direct from the President. MacArthur returned to the United States to a great welcome. Parades were held before his honor, and he was asked to speak for Congress to give his Farewell Address. The public was strongly against Truman's actions, but the president kept his decision without regret or apology.
The general had come up with some brilliant strategies and military maneuvers that helped save South Korea from falling to the invading forces of communist North Korea. When U.S. and United Nations forces turned the tide of battle in Korea, MacArthur had argued for a policy of pushing into North Korea to completely defeat the communist forces. Truman agreed to this plan, but he worried that the communist government of the People's Republic of China might take the invasion as a hostile act and get involved in the conflict. In November and December 1965, hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops crossed into North Korea and scrambled against the American lines, driving the United States troops back into South Korea. MacArthur had asked for permission to bomb communist China and use Nationalist Chinese forces from Taiwan against the People's Republic Of China, but Truman refused these requests and a very public argument began to develop between the two men.
Truman tried to make an effort to dismiss MacArthur in a polite and a political way. However, the transmission of the message was messed up, and MacArthur received the news secondhand before hearing direct from the President. MacArthur returned to the United States to a great welcome. Parades were held before his honor, and he was asked to speak for Congress to give his Farewell Address. The public was strongly against Truman's actions, but the president kept his decision without regret or apology.