MacArthur Page #10

Well, the Eighth Army is Ridgway's now.

He can do what he likes.

It won't do any good.

For the first time

in military history,

a commander has been denied

the use of his military power

to safeguard the lives of his

soldiers and the safety of his army.

It leaves me with a sense

of inexpressible shock.

Well, hallelujah. Matt

Ridgway's retaken Seoul.

What'd I tell you?

I wish I could celebrate,

but the war hasn't been won.

The battle lines roll up

and down, up and down.

Victory nowhere in sight.

This isn't war.

It's half war.

It's an immoral

compromise with evil.

There's more than dust

settling in Korea, Sid.

It's American blood.

Yes, sir.

Oh, the head of

the United Kingdom

mission wants an

appointment with you, sir.

Well, what does he want?

He's worried that we're

getting desperate in Korea,

and we'll use the bomb.

Probably more worried about protecting

British profits in Hong Kong

than in saving lives in Korea.

I'll shift his appointment, sir.

Excuse me, General. We just got

word that Washington wants you

to stop all offensive

operations immediately.

What?

They want to affect a political,

rather than a military solution.

They're planning to draft

a cease-fire proposal.

They ask for any recommendations

you may have for minor adjustments

along your battle lines

to consolidate your position

for adequate defense.

Minor adjustments?

What are they talking about?

Why should I recommend anything?

This is total capitulation.

Well, sir,

in view of Truman's feeling,

you want to substitute

your policy for his.

I couldn't substitute

my policy for Mr. Truman's,

because Mr. Truman

doesn't have a policy!

Well, fine, sir.

Why don't you

let me notify them that

you're taking the proposals under

study, and that way, we'll be...

No. I have

a better idea.

We'll send a message

to the Chinese commander.

Put it on all the wire services.

I want maximum exposure.

Sir, you have been

specifically prohibited

from issuing any statements.

Sir, that is a direct

order from the president.

And that is part of

a dangerous concept,

that men of the armed forces

owe their primary allegiance

to these temporary occupants

of the White House,

instead of to the country and the

Constitution we're sworn to defend!

I ought to kick his insubordinate

ass right in the Sea of Japan.

The lousiest trick he's pulled.

I travel 14,000 miles to reach

an understanding face to face,

and he still thinks he can do

exactly what he damn well pleases.

Can you imagine? He

actually sent a message to the Chinese

threatening to

destroy their forces

unless they were to negotiate a

solution with him personally.

You know, there's a story

where Abe Lincoln was trying to

mount a horse that was skittish,

and the horse kicked a hind

hoof into the stirrup.

So Lincoln says to him, "If you're

gonna get on, I'll get off."

Well, I'm not getting off.

I think Roosevelt should have pulled

Wainwright out of Corregidor,

and left that five-star,

brass-hat MacArthur there

to be the martyr.

What shall I do with

the cease-fire proposal?

Scrap it.

I can't approach the Chinese

on any political basis,

not after this.

That man's trying to start World War

III, and I'm trying to prevent it.

I'll fire that brass-hat

prima Donna right now.

Who the hell does

he think he is? God?

What do you think Congress would

do if I relieve the big general?

Congress would flay you alive.

Fortunately for me, the navy

outfielder's throw was also wild,

over the third baseman's head,

and with those two wild throws,

I was able to dash around

the bases into home

with what turned out

to be the winning run.

Excuse me.

And the final score was

West Point 4, Annapolis 3.

I think that the loudest

cheers were led by my mother.

She was always there.

They used to say about us

that we were the first...

The only mother and son

ever to graduate

from West Point on the same day.

That was in Annapolis

in the spring of...

Well, Jeannie,

we're going home at last.

That was the first varsity

baseball game ever played

between West Point

and the Naval Academy.

Well, so much for

my baseball career,

and for happy memories.

And now will you

excuse us, please?

I've

never seen anything like it.

The entire city's

come out to celebrate

the return of

America's greatest hero.

Officials estimate from seven to 10

million people are here on hand,

and that surpasses

Lindbergh's and Eisenhower's

homecomings put together.

Schools are out,

the crowd is excited,

the office workers are...

Just have taken a holiday.

Meanwhile,

in our nation's capital,

the statement from the Joint Chiefs

of Staff said in part, quote,

"It is fundamental

that all military commanders

"must be governed by our laws and

the constitutional guarantee

"of civilian control

over the military."

When asked to comment,

President Truman said...

Well, people who think

they're God

are bound to get into trouble

sooner or later.

What you have to understand

is that the people

of this country

are men and women

of common sense,

and whenever anybody

gets too far out of line,

the people are gonna take charge

and put him out of business.

But once war

has been forced upon us,

there is no other alternative

than to apply every available

means to bring it to a swift end.

War's very object is victory,

not prolonged indecision.

In war,

there can be no

substitute for victory.

For history teaches us,

with unmistakable emphasis,

that appeasement but begets

new and bloodier war.

Like blackmail,

it lays the basis for new and

increasingly greater demands

until, as in blackmail,

violence becomes

the only alternative.

"Why?"

"Why," my soldiers ask of me,

"surrender military advantages

to an enemy in the field?"

I could not answer.

The magnificence of the courage and

fortitude of the Korean people

defies description.

They have chosen to risk death

rather than slavery.

Their last words to me were,

"Don't scuttle the Pacific."

I am closing my 52 years

of military service.

When I joined the army, even

before the turn of the century,

it was the fulfillment of all

my boyish hopes and dreams.

The world has turned

over many times

since I took the oath

on the plain at West Point,

and the hopes and dreams

have long since vanished.

But I still remember the refrain

of one of the most popular

barrack ballads of that day,

which proclaimed

most proudly that,

"Old soldiers never die.

"They just fade away."

Like the old soldier

of that ballad,

I now close my military career,

and just fade away.

An old soldier

who tried to do his duty

as God gave him

the light to see that duty.

Goodbye.

Goodbye, hell.

He's running for president.

I give you

the greatest war hero

America has ever known,

our finest leader of men,

our most brilliant strategist,

a man of inspiration

and a man of action.

I give you the next President

of the United States,

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