Allied Commanders of World War Two/MacArthur, Final
"Douglas MacArthur" Part 5/Final
One of MacArthur's controversial actions while ruling Japan was his announcement that Emperor Hirohito and his family would not be tried for any war crimes. Further, the general did not require the emperor to step down and Hirohito remained as the constitutional monarch of Japan until early 1989, when he died at the age of 87.
In mid 1950, Communist North Korea invaded South Korea.* Through the United Nations, the American military named MacArthur to lead all United Nations forces to oppose the North Koreans. At first the UN forces (heavily American and South Korean) fell back as the North Koreans pushed forward, but within about six weeks, the situation had stabilized, although with North Korean forces deep inside South Korea (they captured the capitol Seoul). MacArthur launched a bold surprise landing behind North Korean lines, and the enemy forces fled northward for the border. As UN forces approached the border, President Truman gave the go ahead to cross into North Korea. The fear was that China, or perhaps even the Soviet Union, would come to the aid of North Korea, but MacArthur and his advisers thought otherwise, and the general assured Truman of such.** Little did MacArthur know that substantial Chinese forces were infiltrating across the Chinese/North Korean border by night. A major Chinese offensive was launched, and all hell broke loose as the UN forces fell back and MacArthur, who had recently painted a highly optimistic picture of the war nearly being over to President Truman, was now on the hot seat. Once again the situation stabilized and MacArthur launched an attack of his own, which succeeded in recapturing Seoul. President Truman wanted the war to be limited and some negotiated peace settlement to be concluded. MacArthur wanted the Chinese to admit defeat, no matter what it took to do so. This contradicted the President's policy.
The issue of MacArthur and Truman is highly controversial,*** with strong proponents for each side. The President's view was that he was trying to avoid another world war, when the world had not yet recovered from the previous one. And of course matters were complicated by the availability of nuclear weapons. There were other hot spots in the world, like the developing situation in Vietnam, which would later lead to American involvement there, and of course, the situation in Europe, with Communist-dominated eastern Europe versus the central and western European nations, along with the United States. MacArthur, ever the military strategist, saw a military threat and wanted to crush it, even at the risk of a larger war. Republicans in Congress let it be known that MacArthur was dissatisfied with Truman's policy, and they liked to quote from MacArthur's letter on the Korean situation, "There can be no substitute for victory."****
Truman issued an order that military personnel were to have all public statements about policy "cleared" before they were issued, but MacArthur issued a public offer for a ceasefire. Truman was furious and this ultimately led to his relieving General MacArthur of his command. Back in the United States, a firestorm erupted as some Republicans wanted Truman impeached and removed form office. Some Republicans even believed Truman relieved MacArthur under pressure from "socialists" in foreign governments, especially Britain. MacArthur returned to the United States to a hero's welcome. He spoke to a joint session of Congress where he not only repeated his "no substitute for victory" line, but uttered another line destined for the history books, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." MacArthur retired to the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. He died in 1964 at the age of 84. I remember his death and the public funeral thereafter, as it was carried television.
Note: I used the following book for some information for this series on General MacArthur:
"American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964," by William Manchester, published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1978.
* Korea had been controlled by Japan since the early 1900s. With the defeat of Japan in World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union divided occupation of the country until free elections could be held. The Soviets did not adhere to the agreement and instead established a Communist government in the Soviet-controlled part, while a "western" oriented government was established in the American-controlled part. Both parts supported the notion that there was only one Korea, but each claimed to be the legitimate government of the whole.
** The Soviet Union supplied weapons to all Communist countries in those times. The presence of Chinese troops in North Korea came to be known, but intelligence estimates put the number FAR below the actual number. One of the issues between Truman and MacArthur developed from the general's assurance to the President that China would not substantially intervene in Korea, and that the war was nearly over (this was in October 1950). He even told Truman that many troops would soon be headed for Japan, and that some would even be available for use in Europe, then another hot spot.
*** This is very brief and the actual matters and actions were far more involved. There are many good sources for those interested in more detailed information. Please check your local library.
**** MacArthur had sent a letter to Republican congressional leaders with this now famous saying in it.
WORD HISTORY:
Hero/Heroine-These words have an unclear ancient history, although many etymologists seem to believe "hero" goes back to the Indo European root "ser," which meant "protect;" thus, if correct, a "hero" was literally "a protector." To be quite honest, I'm not totally sold. Greek had "heros" (this is the singular form, although the "s" makes it appear as a plural to English speakers), which meant a "semi divine man/warrior." Latin borrowed the word from Greek as "heros," and English then borrowed it from Latin circa 1390, although it wasn't until the mid 1600s that it took on the modern meaning of "a man who displays extraordinary courage and daring." "Heroine," comes from the feminine form of Greek "heros," which was "heroine," which was borrowed into Latin and then into English in the mid 1600s.
Note: "Hero" overtook the original English word for such, "haeleth," which came from Old Germanic "halithaz," and which also gave Old High German and Old Saxon "helid" (now modern "Held"), Old Dutch "helit" (modern "held"), Old Frisian "heleth" (modern "held"), and is the source of modern Norwegian and Danish "helt" and of Swedish "hjälte." Icelandic has "hetja," presumably from the same source, but without the "l' sound. So, if English hadn't borrowed "hero," we likely would say something very much like "held/helt."
One of MacArthur's controversial actions while ruling Japan was his announcement that Emperor Hirohito and his family would not be tried for any war crimes. Further, the general did not require the emperor to step down and Hirohito remained as the constitutional monarch of Japan until early 1989, when he died at the age of 87.
In mid 1950, Communist North Korea invaded South Korea.* Through the United Nations, the American military named MacArthur to lead all United Nations forces to oppose the North Koreans. At first the UN forces (heavily American and South Korean) fell back as the North Koreans pushed forward, but within about six weeks, the situation had stabilized, although with North Korean forces deep inside South Korea (they captured the capitol Seoul). MacArthur launched a bold surprise landing behind North Korean lines, and the enemy forces fled northward for the border. As UN forces approached the border, President Truman gave the go ahead to cross into North Korea. The fear was that China, or perhaps even the Soviet Union, would come to the aid of North Korea, but MacArthur and his advisers thought otherwise, and the general assured Truman of such.** Little did MacArthur know that substantial Chinese forces were infiltrating across the Chinese/North Korean border by night. A major Chinese offensive was launched, and all hell broke loose as the UN forces fell back and MacArthur, who had recently painted a highly optimistic picture of the war nearly being over to President Truman, was now on the hot seat. Once again the situation stabilized and MacArthur launched an attack of his own, which succeeded in recapturing Seoul. President Truman wanted the war to be limited and some negotiated peace settlement to be concluded. MacArthur wanted the Chinese to admit defeat, no matter what it took to do so. This contradicted the President's policy.
The issue of MacArthur and Truman is highly controversial,*** with strong proponents for each side. The President's view was that he was trying to avoid another world war, when the world had not yet recovered from the previous one. And of course matters were complicated by the availability of nuclear weapons. There were other hot spots in the world, like the developing situation in Vietnam, which would later lead to American involvement there, and of course, the situation in Europe, with Communist-dominated eastern Europe versus the central and western European nations, along with the United States. MacArthur, ever the military strategist, saw a military threat and wanted to crush it, even at the risk of a larger war. Republicans in Congress let it be known that MacArthur was dissatisfied with Truman's policy, and they liked to quote from MacArthur's letter on the Korean situation, "There can be no substitute for victory."****
Truman issued an order that military personnel were to have all public statements about policy "cleared" before they were issued, but MacArthur issued a public offer for a ceasefire. Truman was furious and this ultimately led to his relieving General MacArthur of his command. Back in the United States, a firestorm erupted as some Republicans wanted Truman impeached and removed form office. Some Republicans even believed Truman relieved MacArthur under pressure from "socialists" in foreign governments, especially Britain. MacArthur returned to the United States to a hero's welcome. He spoke to a joint session of Congress where he not only repeated his "no substitute for victory" line, but uttered another line destined for the history books, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." MacArthur retired to the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. He died in 1964 at the age of 84. I remember his death and the public funeral thereafter, as it was carried television.
Note: I used the following book for some information for this series on General MacArthur:
"American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964," by William Manchester, published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1978.
* Korea had been controlled by Japan since the early 1900s. With the defeat of Japan in World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union divided occupation of the country until free elections could be held. The Soviets did not adhere to the agreement and instead established a Communist government in the Soviet-controlled part, while a "western" oriented government was established in the American-controlled part. Both parts supported the notion that there was only one Korea, but each claimed to be the legitimate government of the whole.
** The Soviet Union supplied weapons to all Communist countries in those times. The presence of Chinese troops in North Korea came to be known, but intelligence estimates put the number FAR below the actual number. One of the issues between Truman and MacArthur developed from the general's assurance to the President that China would not substantially intervene in Korea, and that the war was nearly over (this was in October 1950). He even told Truman that many troops would soon be headed for Japan, and that some would even be available for use in Europe, then another hot spot.
*** This is very brief and the actual matters and actions were far more involved. There are many good sources for those interested in more detailed information. Please check your local library.
**** MacArthur had sent a letter to Republican congressional leaders with this now famous saying in it.
WORD HISTORY:
Hero/Heroine-These words have an unclear ancient history, although many etymologists seem to believe "hero" goes back to the Indo European root "ser," which meant "protect;" thus, if correct, a "hero" was literally "a protector." To be quite honest, I'm not totally sold. Greek had "heros" (this is the singular form, although the "s" makes it appear as a plural to English speakers), which meant a "semi divine man/warrior." Latin borrowed the word from Greek as "heros," and English then borrowed it from Latin circa 1390, although it wasn't until the mid 1600s that it took on the modern meaning of "a man who displays extraordinary courage and daring." "Heroine," comes from the feminine form of Greek "heros," which was "heroine," which was borrowed into Latin and then into English in the mid 1600s.
Note: "Hero" overtook the original English word for such, "haeleth," which came from Old Germanic "halithaz," and which also gave Old High German and Old Saxon "helid" (now modern "Held"), Old Dutch "helit" (modern "held"), Old Frisian "heleth" (modern "held"), and is the source of modern Norwegian and Danish "helt" and of Swedish "hjälte." Icelandic has "hetja," presumably from the same source, but without the "l' sound. So, if English hadn't borrowed "hero," we likely would say something very much like "held/helt."
Labels: American Army, Douglas MacArthur, English, etymology, Germanic languages, Greek, Harry Truman, Hirohito, Korea, Korean War, Latin
posted by Randy at 5:00 PM
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