Course 2, Volume 1A. American Foreign Policy in Growth and Action Page: 216
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AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY IN GROWTH AND ACTION
PRESIDENT TRUMAN'S STATEMENT ON
THE RECALL OF GENERAL MACARTHUR,
WASHINGTON, APRIL 11, 1951: . . . With deep
regret I have concluded that General
President . . . MacArthur is unable to give his
wholehearted support to the policies of
Truman the United States Government and of
decides to the United Nations. . . . Full and vig-
remove orous debate on matters of national
General policy is a vital element of the consti-
MacArthur tutional system of our free democracy.
from his It is fundamental, however, that mili-
tary commanders must be governed by
Far East the policies and directives issued to them
commands in the manner provided by our laws and
Constitution. . . .
Because of a breakdown of communications,
word of the President's action
President reached General MacArthur in To-
Truman kyo through a news bulletin before
explains he was officially presented with the
his action order from Washington relieving
to the him of command. On the evening
American of April 11th, President Truman
people made a radio address to the nation
in which he explained his action
in the light of the threat to world peace.
PRESIDENT TRUMAN'S ADDRESS ON PRE-
VENTING A NEW WORLD WAR, WASHING-
TON, APRIL 11, 1951: . . . In the simplest 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. . . . Now,
many persons . . . 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 ag-
gression against Korea is the boldest and most dan-
gerous move the Communists have yet made. The
attack on Korea was part of a greater plan for
conquering all of Asia. . . . The question we have
had to face is whether the Communist plan of con-
quest can be stopped without general war. . . . So
far, by fighting a limited war in Korea, we have pre-
vented aggression from succeeding and bringing on
a general war. . . . the forces of the United Na-
tions will strive to limit the conflict if possible. . . .
But you may ask: .. . . why don't we bomb Man-
churia 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. . . . First
of all, it is clear that our efforts in Korea can blunt
the will of the Chinese Communists to continue the
struggle. . . . Second, the free world as a whole is
growing in military strength every day. . . . If theCommunist authorities realize that they cannot de-
feat us in Korea, if they realize that it would be
foolhardy to widen the hostilities beyond Korea. . . .
A peaceful settlement may then be possible. . . . I
believe that we must try to limit the war to Korea
for these vital reasons: To make sure that the pre-
cious lives of our fighting men are not wasted; to see
that the security of our country and the free world
is not needlessly 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. . . . The change of commands in the Far East
means no change whatever in the policy of the United
States. . . . We are fighting to resist an outrageous
aggression in Korea. We are trying to keep the Ko-
rean conflict from spreading. . . . But at the same
time we must conduct our military activities so as to
insure the security of our forces. . . . 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. . . . 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....
In the public statement and again in this speech
President Truman announced that
General Lieutenant General Matthew B.
Ridgway Ridgway, commander of the 8th
named to head Army in Korea, would succeed Gen-
UN forces eral MacArthur as SCAP and as
in Korea UN commander in Korea.42
The removal of General Mac-
Arthur from his Far Eastern commands loosed
torrents of emotionalism throughout the United
States. Rarely has an act of an American Presi-
dent called down upon the head of
General the Chief Executive such bitter de-
MacArthur's nunciation and vituperative criti-
triumphant cism. General MacArthur left To-
homecoming kyo on April 16, 1851, stopped in
Hawaii the following day and
reached San Francisco on the 17th. Both at Hon-
olulu and at San Francisco he was received by
cheering crowds. His welcome in Washington in
the early morning of April 19th was equally tu-
multuous. Later that day he addressed a joint
session of the House and Senate while many
42Lieut Gen. James A. Van Fleet was named to succeed Gen.
Ridgway as commander of the 8th Army.216
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Air University (U.S.). Extension Course Institute. Course 2, Volume 1A. American Foreign Policy in Growth and Action, book, April 1959; Alabama. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1077937/m1/230/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National WASP WWII Museum.