Dismissal of Douglas
One of the
main Commanders that saved South Korea from possibly complete destruction was
Douglas MacArthur. Douglas
MacArthur was an American general, born January 26 1880. MacArthur served in
World War I and World War II. He was also an important general that served in
The Korean War of 1950 – 1953. On June 25 1950, the day North Korea invaded
South Korea, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 82. This
allowed the United Nations to assist South Korea in their battle against North
Korea. The United Nations allowed America to select a commander, and the Joint
Chiefs of Staff nominated MacArthur. MacArthur became the Commander-in-Chief of
the United Nations Command (UNCOM), he was also the Supreme Commander for the
Allied Powers (SCAP) in Japan and the Commander of the United States Army
Forces in the Far East (USAFFE).
Red China, the communist controlled part of China, was repeatedly intervening in the battle for Korea. MacArthur had previously suggested wiping out communism in China[1], but he was unsuccessful in convincing President Truman of the treat however, now that Red China was intervening yet again, he believed that Truman could be convinced. Red China had shown that it would not permit the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea to be destroyed, and the United States and the United Nations had shown, that they would not permit the Republic of South Korea to be destroyed[2]. Both sides were trying to completely wipe out the other by any means possible. On March 24 MacArthur made a bold claim in a public statement. He suggested that Red China was vastly overrated as a military power, and that if the United Nations chose to extend the war to their homeland, the Chinese would precipitately collapse. Then he offered to open negotiations to end the war[3]. President Truman was furious, on December 6 the previous year, he ordered that any such public pronouncements had to be cleared with Washington[4]. Truman informed Douglas MacArthur about his new ‘directive’ on April 11 1951, Truman received many letters, telegrams, and phone calls about the dismissal of MacArthur, most of them hosted anger and shock[5]. A mere two days after MacArthur stepped down, the Chinese attacked across the 38th parallel[6]. His period of actual field command in Korea was short, less than four months, but it included the most dramatic individual event of the war, MacArthur’s relief of command by President Truman[7].
[1] Stokesbury, James L. A Short History of the Korean War. New York: W. Morrow, 1988, 124.
[2] Ibid, 125.
[3] Ibid, 126.
[4] Ibid, 126.
[5] Melody, John. Korea: Canada’s Forgotten War. Canada: MacMillan, 1983, 87
[6] Stokesbury. Op.Cit, 125.
[7] Ibid, 113.
Red China, the communist controlled part of China, was repeatedly intervening in the battle for Korea. MacArthur had previously suggested wiping out communism in China[1], but he was unsuccessful in convincing President Truman of the treat however, now that Red China was intervening yet again, he believed that Truman could be convinced. Red China had shown that it would not permit the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea to be destroyed, and the United States and the United Nations had shown, that they would not permit the Republic of South Korea to be destroyed[2]. Both sides were trying to completely wipe out the other by any means possible. On March 24 MacArthur made a bold claim in a public statement. He suggested that Red China was vastly overrated as a military power, and that if the United Nations chose to extend the war to their homeland, the Chinese would precipitately collapse. Then he offered to open negotiations to end the war[3]. President Truman was furious, on December 6 the previous year, he ordered that any such public pronouncements had to be cleared with Washington[4]. Truman informed Douglas MacArthur about his new ‘directive’ on April 11 1951, Truman received many letters, telegrams, and phone calls about the dismissal of MacArthur, most of them hosted anger and shock[5]. A mere two days after MacArthur stepped down, the Chinese attacked across the 38th parallel[6]. His period of actual field command in Korea was short, less than four months, but it included the most dramatic individual event of the war, MacArthur’s relief of command by President Truman[7].
[1] Stokesbury, James L. A Short History of the Korean War. New York: W. Morrow, 1988, 124.
[2] Ibid, 125.
[3] Ibid, 126.
[4] Ibid, 126.
[5] Melody, John. Korea: Canada’s Forgotten War. Canada: MacMillan, 1983, 87
[6] Stokesbury. Op.Cit, 125.
[7] Ibid, 113.