April 11, 1951: Truman gets rid of MacArthur

Just as I had predicted, Truman was so fed up with MacArthur that he fired him and is not longer the general of the United States Army. It had been a long battle between Truman and MacArthur and it is easy for me to say that neither man liked the other. Although they were not fond of each other, they both had a great deal of respect for one another. MacArthur forgot that Truman was ultimately the one and only Commander in Chief even though MacArthur was second below him. MacArthur continuously disobeyed Truman’s explicit orders and criticized his ideals for the war. In a letter to Congressman Joseph W. Martin, MacArthur says,

“My views and recommendations with respect to the situation created by Red China’s entry into war against us in Korea have been submitted to Washington in most complete detail. Generally these views are well known and clearly understood, as they follow the conventional pattern of meeting force with maximum counterforce, as we have never failed to do in the past. Your view with respect to the utilization of the Chinese forces on Formosa is in conflict with neither logic nor this tradition” (Buhite 401).

Truman has put General Matthew Ridgway as Commanding General of the American war effort while MacArthur is set to return home in about a week. Although it will be different without MacArthur’s strong sense of character and determination, I will be glad to work with a more cautious man who thinks things through before making a terrible mistake. I have learned much from MacArthur but I look forward to working closely with Ridgway and fighting this war intelligently.

Image Caption: General Ridgway is appointed as the Commander of the U.S. Army in Korea. http://unionvets.com/images/war/GeneralMBRidgwaylg.jpg