General Douglas Macarthur's Duty, Honor Country

General MacArthur was the leader of the allied forces in the pacific southwest during the duration of WWII. When the Korean War broke out and North Korea invaded South Korea he was assigned commander of the United States Forces. While he was in charge during the war some say he was a genius for his defeats. “As U.S. and United Nations forces turned the tide of battle in Korea, MacArthur argued for a policy of pushing into North Korea to completely defeat the communist forces. Truman went along with this plan, but worried that the communist government of the People’s Republic of China might take the invasion as a hostile act and intervene in the conflict ("Truman Relieves MacArthur,")”. However, his victories were short lived once China entered the war, causing him to withdraw his troops from North Korea. By April 1951 the military was stable but General MacArthur could not keep his opinions to

The growing perceived ineffectiveness and illegitimacy of America’s role in Vietnam was the product of what was viewed as little more than an anti-communist crusade in which neither logistical concerns nor the nationalist motivations of a people who had yearned for sovereignty over centuries carried significant weight. Less and less Americans were willing to bankroll, much less have their sons paying “any price” or bearing “any burden” for what was becoming a quagmire. Bodybag after bodybag was being filled with American boys on a daily basis, not to mention that every dollar of damage incurred by the Communist enemy in Hanoi cost the United States ten dollars , helping to quickly bring an end to an era of unprecedented American prosperity.

Today we hear the word war and thoughts shift to the Middle East. In the 60’s we may have thought about Vietnam, in the 40’s perhaps Pearl Harbor or Hitler and in the 20’s maybe the U Boat or the Red Barron. The supposed winner and loser in each war may have crossed the mind as well but not much more. Why did these wars happen? What was being fought for and who was making the sacrifice? In David W. Blight’s article, “The meaning or the fight: Frederick Douglass and the memory of the fifty fourth Massachusetts,” he proves that in modern American society the memory of war is that of a fight and not of what was being fought for. Media, the entertainment industry, and even our education systems paint quite a different picture for each of us.

One of the Cold War’s most prominent is The Ugly American. Written in 1958, this book was a best seller, filled with different stories about why communism was winning and what must be done about it. The authors of the book The Ugly American used one main argument for its readers: “communism is a monolithic enemy whose fundamental values challenged those of the United States and whose ultimate goal was world domination.” (page 4) There stories were one of main forces driving people like Kennedy and Johnson to go and “save” Vietnam from

Shorting after the United States became involve in the Vietnam Conflict, many Americans began to realize the reasons behind the U.S. entering the Vietnam Conflict was based on falsified facts. One such falsification is the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Many America’s begin to form Antiwar organization such as The Vietnam Day Committee and Vietnam Veterans Against the War, which severed to education the population on the Vietnam Conflict and the lie that lead to the U.S. involvement in conflict. In the Vietnam Day Committee’s pamphlet, I found it disturbing and unjustified that they would make a comment such as, “A growing number of GIs have already refused to fight in Vietnam and have been court-martialed. They have shown great courage.” The last

The decision to go to war is not a decision that is taken lightly. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien faces cultural, social and political push factors that end up leading him to forgo his plan to dodge the draft, and to report as instructed, a mere yards away from his destination of Canada. In Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony, Rocky and Tayo, two young Native American men, experience cultural, social and political pull factors that draw them into the Army, fighting the Second World War for a country that considers them less than human. The stories of these characters are not unique, they are stories that are representative of the stories of young American men at the time, that faced cultural, social, and political push and pull factors during both conflicts. The purpose of this inquiry essay is to determine what those push and pull factors were, and why they lead these men to willingly engage in two of the most destructive conflicts in human history.

“War at its basic level has always been about soldiers. Nations rose and fell on the strength of their armies and the men who filled the ranks.” This is a very powerful quote, especially for the yet young country of the United States, for it gives credit where credit is truly due: to the men who carried out the orders from their superiors, gave their blood, sweat and tears, and in millions of cases their lives while fighting for ideals that they believed their country or government was founded upon, and to ensure the continuation of these ideals. Up until the end of the 20th Century, they did so in the worst of conditions, and this includes not only the battle scene, but also every day life. In

As Bill Kreuer enjoys lunch after a hard morning of PT at boot camp, US armed forces awake to a conflict in the pacific that threatens their lives. The Vietnam War was an event that would shape the future of a country and of a man. This war, which was fought between 1964 and 1973 between the Vietcong forces in Northern Vietnam and US forces in Sothern Vietnam, ventured to check the spread of communism in East Asia. Because the war was highly politicized the United States home front, some troops returned from the conflict only to be shamed by the people they were told they were defending. Bill Kreuer., an enlisted man during the war, felt the weight of this harassment and ultimately decided that his involvement in the war was not to spoken of.

Michael D. Pearlman’s, Truman & MacArthur Policy, Politics, and the Hunger for Honor and Renown, written in 2008, reflects on the relationship of President Truman and General MacArthur during the Korean War. Pearlman reexamines their public confrontation, discovering the political and military perspectives, and the decisions that were made that impacted the role of the presidential administration. Pearlman provides insight into the different ideologies and methods that were used that determined the outcome of the war. Pearlman gives an objective and comprehensive account of events that occurred with the Korean War. He reflects on the partisan competition in Washington and the political power of military officers. Pearlman makes the point

In the 1960’s American soldiers were deployed to South Vietnam to protect the democratic nation from the invasion by the communist North Vietnam. In both cases, American’s were desperately trying to stand against the rising threat of communism and tyranny. Then in the 1990’s, American soldiers were once again called upon to protect the people of the world from tyranny. American soldiers were deployed to the Middle East to fight against the rising threat of tyranny that threatened the area. In all of these conflicts, Americans were tasked with protecting the freedom of people throughout the world. The purpose of these wars would also explain the high levels of patriotism among these generations of Americans. During the Cold War, when fighting the Soviet Union, “Not only did stereotyped notions of the Soviet Union make America seem great,” it also “increased the appreciation Americans felt for their own brand of ‘freedom and democracy’” (Hirshberg 3). The American people who lived through these conflicts became more patriotic because the contradiction of values highlighted the best aspects of American society. Even for those Americans who did not care about the highlighted aspects of America, The Cold War “helped perpetuate a proud patriotism by uniting the nation against the common enemy” (Hirshberg 3). Almost every American who lived during a time of war against another state has experienced a surge of patriotism because these

Throughout MacArthur’s speech, he refers to the nasty nature of being on the frontlines. Specifically in paragraph 12, he uses words such as “relentless heat” and “devastating storms” to paint a picture of how bad war is. Most people don’t realize the horrific

“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” This quote, by George Orwell, is the epitome of the very definition and role of a soldier. All around the world, people can sleep peacefully while soldiers are taking a stand for the very human rights that allow for such carefree attitudes. Throughout history--and even in present times-- soldiers are the ones that have risked their lives in taking a stand against ideas or events that infringed upon their beliefs; and this was no different in the Korean War. The Battle of Pusan Perimeter during the Korean War was not only a stand for the freedom of South Korea, but was also a stand against the very idea of communism and totalitarianism.

‘Dear America’ is a rather sober look at the war fought in Vietnam from the point of view of the soldiers fighting in it. The book is a collection of 200 letters penned by the soldiers and their families during the war. It is through the simplicity of the writers’ language and the honesty in their words that makes Dear America a history book and not a war novel. Through these readings, the myths of the glories of war are promptly dispelled to make way for the harsh truths that accompany it. War is known to take the humanity out of many a soldier but all that is left of it shines through the pages of their candid, homebound letters.

On April 11th, 1951, General Douglas MacArthur was relieved from the war (History). The American five-star general and Field Marshal of the Philippines Army gave his Farewell Address to Congress on April 19th, 1951 (History). As he was speaking to the American people, MacArthur was feeling a sense of pride for his accomplishments in the numerous battles he was involved in. The purpose of the speech was to justify his actions in the Korean war (O’Neal). With a strong emphasis on pathos in which he utilizes figurative language, MacArthur appeals to his audience’s sense of duty and patriotism to realize what being in the service means.

In 1951, MacArthur was relieved of his duty. This came to pass during the Korean war when South Korea was invaded by the North Korean army, and MacArthur led the recently formed United Nations and swiftly pushed back the North Koreans’ attack. On the other hand, he could not foresee the Chinese forces’ approaching powers, and the UN forces soon had to evacuate. After the setback, MacArthur angrily spoke of his position that China must be included in this war, though President Truman told him to stay silent about that opinion. Infuriated by MacArthur’s defiance, Truman fired him. As an article in the New York Times described the situation, “The President said he had relieved General MacArthur ‘with deep regret’ because he had concluded that