Quote:
Originally Posted by Roddoss72
Well some of the US veterans i have spoken to during our Anzac Day marches, would gladly have put a bullet into him even after all these years, why because he left so many wounded behind and told those wounded to stand and fight to the last, while he drank cognac and smoked his pipe thousands of mile away in a cushy atmosphere in Brisbane, if he actually threatened to resign then why didn't he do it, if MacArthur had that a strong a convictions then he would have carried out his threat but again here comes into play his cowardice.
And onto Korea, MacArthur was sacked because when he wanted to invade China, i can guess the amount of American troops that would have perished in that fiasco, but here again we have the great leader leading from behind, at the time of his intention to invade China he was in Japan.
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Yes, MacArthur was sacked and I believe President Truman was right in doing so. In theory, the President and COngress decide national policy and soldiers are tasked to execute that policy. Macarthur overstepped those bounds. However, it is also the duty of soldiers to point out to the government what is possible and what is not. That's a fine line and it takes an officer with a good grasp of diplomatic tact to do this. Ike, who was a colonel in the Philippines before WWII, had the knack for this.
I respect your view about Macarthur but I do have to point out that he is viewed differently by a lot of Filipino WWII vets here. As the saying goes, "I may disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it."