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The Firing Of Douglas MacArthur



After brilliant offensives in Korea and the capture of Pyonyang it appeared that the Korean war was finished, but suddenly the Chinese attacked the United Nations Forces, crossing the Yalu river with Four infantry armies, three artillery divisions, an anti aircraft regiment and 260,000 men. The United Nations forces were forced to retreat and a standoff was achieved at the 38th parallel.

Matters came to a head on April 5, 1951. House Minority Leader Joe Martin read a letter he had received weeks earlier from MacArthur discussing the situation in Asia. "Virtually all that he said was bound to provoke Truman," the historian David McCullough later wrote.

Chinese nationalist forces under Chiang Kai-shek should be committed to the Korean war, MacArthur wrote. "Here [in Asia] we fight Europe's war with arms while the diplomats there still fight it with words," MacArthur had written. "If we lose the war to Communism in Asia the fall of Europe is inevitable, win it and Europe most probably would avoid war and yet preserve freedom.... There is no substitute for victory."

The United States, during a lull in the fighting, announced that negotiations might be possible with both sides separated by the 38th parallel. As usual, Douglas MacArthur rejected the idea of a negotiated settlement. MacArthur continued to make statements that were contrary to the official position of Washington, and specifically Truman. The arrogant MacArthur had derailed the United States initiative by daring China to continue the war.

The Pentagon received his message, which infuriated many high ranking officials. Dean Acheson said that MacArthur had "shot his mouth off" for the last time. The next morning Preident Truman awakened to the news of MacArthur's "sabotage". At that moment he could no longer tolerate his insubordination. President Truman had considered firing Gen. MacArthur many times previous to this, but this was the last straw.

Actually the order of Dec. 6 which MacArthur had disobeyed was explicit enough to warrant court- martial proceedings. MacArthur's statements were causing consternation in Washington as was his insulting personal letter to General Ridgway. His advice letter to the House of Representatives again infuriated everyone. The British Government called the letter the "most dangerous" of an "apparently unending series of indiscretions". They claimed it was another irresponsible statement without the authorization of the United States or any United Nations member government. The Foreign Secretary complained that Gen. MacArthur wanted a war with China, and his leadership could no longer be tolerated. In reality, Gen. MacArthur did want to invade China, but in a dangerous way, he suggested using nuclear weapons agianst them if he was allowed to invade. On April 6, a meeting was held with President Harry Truman to determine how to get  rid of Douglas MacArthur. President Truman insisted "I'm going to fire him right now". MacArthur was ordered to turnover his command at once to Lt. General Ridgway.

General Bradley warned President Truman that if MacArthur heard about the orders before they reached him officially he might resign with an arrogant flair. Truman exclaimed "He isn't going to resign on me, I want him fired". MacArthur's dismissal was announced on late night radio:





















"With deep regret I have concluded that General of the Army Douglas MacArthur is unable to give his wholehearted support to the policies of the United States Government and of the United Nations in matters pertaining to his official duties. In view of the specific responsibilities imposed upon me by the Constitution of the United States and the added responsibilities entrusted to me by the United Nations I have decided that I must make a change in command in the Far East. I have, therefore, relieved General MacArthur of his command and have designated Lt. Gen. Matthew Ridgway as his successor".

General MacArthur accepted the unsurprising news impassively. He said that he had never disobeyed orders, and that his dismissal was a plot in Washington to weaken the American position in the Far East.

*****


The Speech Explaining The Firing 
Of General Douglas MacArthur

























President Harry S Truman



April 13, 1951


…In the simplest of terms, what we are doing in Korea is this: We are trying to prevent a third world war.

I think most people in this country recognized that fact last June. And they warmly supported the decision of the Government to help the Republic of Korea against the Communist aggressors. Now, many persons, even some who applauded our decision to defend Korea, have forgotten the basic reason for our action.

It is right for us to be in Korea. It was right last June. It is right today…

The question we have had to face is whether the Communist plan of conquest can be stopped without general war. Our Government and other countries associated with us in the United Nations believe that the best chance of stopping it without general war is to meet the attack in Korea and defeat it there.

That is what we have been doing. It is a difficult and bitter task. But so far it has been successful…

So far, by fighting a limited war in Korea, we have prevented aggression from succeeding, and bringing on a general war. And the ability of the whole free world to resist Communist aggression has been greatly improved.

We have taught the enemy a lesson. He has found out that aggression is not cheap or easy. Moreover, men all over the world who want to remain free have been given new courage and new hope. They know now that the champions of freedom can stand up and fight and that they will stand up and fight…

We do not want to see the conflict in Korea extended. We are trying to prevent a world war—not to start one. The best way to do that is to make it plain that we and the other free countries will continue to resist the attack.

But you may ask, why can’t we take other steps to punish the aggressor. Why don’t we bomb Manchuria and China itself? Why don’t we assist Chinese Nationalist troops to land on the mainland of China?

If we were to do these things we would be running a very grave risk of starting a general war. If that were to happen, we would have brought about the exact situation we are trying to prevent.

If we were to do these things, we would become entangled in a vast conflict on the continent of Asia and our task would become immeasurably more difficult all over the world.

What would suit the ambitions of the Kremlin better than for our military forces to be committed to a full-scale war with Red China?

I believe that we must try to limit the war in Korea for these vital reasons: to make sure that the precious lives of our fighting men are not wasted; to see that the security of our country and the free world is not jeopardized; and to prevent a third world war.

A number of events have made it evident that General MacArthur did not agree with that policy. I have therefore considered it essential to relieve General MacArthur so that there would be no doubt or confusion as to the real purpose and aim of our policy.

It was with the deepest personal regret that I found myself compelled to take this action. General MacArthur is one of our greatest military commanders. But the cause of world peace is more important than any individual.

The change in commands in the Far East means no change whatever in the policy of the United States. We will carry on the fight in Korea with vigor and determination in an effort to bring the war to a speedy and successful conclusion.

We are ready, at any time, to negotiate for a restoration of peace in the area. But we will not engage in appeasement. We are only interested in real peace…

In the hard fighting in Korea, we are proving that collective action among nations is not only a high principle but a workable means of resisting aggression. Defeat of aggression in Korea may be the turning point in the world’s search for a practical way of achieving peace and security.

The struggle of the United Nations in Korea is a struggle for peace. The free nations have united their strength in an effort to prevent a third world war.

That war can come if the Communist rulers want it to come. But this Nation and its allies will not be responsible for its coming.

We do not want to widen the conflict. We will use every effort to prevent that disaster. And, in so doing, we know that we are following the great principles of peace, freedom, and justice.

*****

Harry Truman Talks About The Firing
Of General Douglas MacArthur 
























"Abraham Lincoln struggled with the decision to fire General McClellan, as Harry Truman did with the decision to fire MacArthur. In neither case did the first instance of insubordination lead to dismissal. But as history has proven, it should have."


The following excerpt below is from Plain Speaking, an oral biography of President Harry Truman by Merle Miller, who had interviewed the former president extensively for a television series.

The subject that made  Harry Truman the angriest,  Merele Miller said, was Douglas MacArthur.

A Quick background:
At the time of his firing, General Douglas MacArthur was based in Tokyo as supreme commander of allied forces in the Pacific (among other titles). MacArthur, who had great self-regard, clashed many times with Truman, the cabinet, and the Joint Chiefs over his independent announcements of foreign policy. Rather than limit the Korean War to a stalemate, he believed the United Nations forces should advance into China to destroy the communist government.

Miller:
Mr. President, you have the reputation of being a somewhat impatient man, somewhat quick on the draw, but it seems to me, sir, under these circumstances, that you displayed Job-like patience. How did you manage to keep silent?"

Truman:
...I knew that if the slightest mistake was made, we would find ourselves in a third world war, and as I told you time and again, I had no intention in any way of allowing that to happen. General Bradley said at the time that that would be the wrong war at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and with the wrong enemy, and he was absolutely right....

Miller:
Was that possibly your most difficult time as President?

Truman:
[After a "very long" pause] I believe it was.

. . .

Miller:
You said General Marshall had some doubts about discharging MacArthur.

Truman:
Yes, he did; he was concerned about the reaction of certain Congressmen, and he wanted to think over what he felt the reaction of the troops would be. And so at the end of the meeting I asked him, I said, "General, you go over there and you read all the correspondence that's passed between MacArthur and me for the last two years. Then be in my office at nine in the morning, and if you still feel I shouldn't fire him, I won't."

I knew the general very, very well; we'd been through a lot together, and I knew how his mind worked, and there wasn't a doubt in the world in my mind that when he saw what I'd put up with, that he'd agree with me.

And the next morning at eight fifteen when I got to my office, he was out there waiting for me, which was very unusual. General Marshall was usually a punctual man, but I had never known him to be ahead of time. He worked on a very tight schedule.

But that morning he looked up at me, and he says, "I spent most of the night on that file, Mr. President, and you should have fired the son of a bitch two years ago."

And so we went right ahead, and we did it. There were a good many details to be worked out. I asked General Bradley to be sure we had the full agreement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which he got; they were all unanimous in saying he should be fired. And we had to arrange to turn the command over to General Ridgway.

And then of course, we wanted to be sure that MacArthur got the news through official channels. We didn't want it to get into the newspapers first. I signed all the papers and went over to Blair House to have dinner. Some of the others stayed behind at the White House to decide on exactly how to get the word to Frank Pace [secretary of the army, then in Korea]. Pace was supposed to notify the general.

While I was still at Blair House, Joe Short [press secretary] came in to where the others were, and he said he had heard that the Chicago Tribune had the whole story and was going to print it the next morning.

So General Bradley came over to Blair House and told me what was up, and he says if MacArthur hears he's going to be fired before he officially is fired, before he's notified, he'd probably up and resign on me. And I told Bradley, "The son of a bitch isn't going to resign on me, I want him fired."

Douglas MacArthur was fired on April 9, 1951.

Miller:
As I recall, there was plenty of shouting.

Truman:
No more than I expected. I knew there'd be a big uproar, and I knew that MacArthur would take every advantage of it that he could, but I knew that in the end people would see through him and it would all die down.