"I was still in Europe at the time. Truman said he had the authority to relieve him and he did it. I have never made up my mind whether he was right or not, but I happened to be with a British unit the night we learned of MacArthur's dismissal. The British had a brigade in Korea at the time and the British officers in the Mess were very anti-MacArthur and celebrating his demise. I think MacArthur was a magnificent general, but he became more and more insulated from the world by his staff, many of whom had been with him since the Bataan days. I think that was part of the problem. He was not a young man at the time of Korea. I think, perhaps, he got too dependent on his staff officers and certain things happened which were not in MacArthur's best interest... Even after MacArthur was relieved by the President of the United States he had a tickertape parade in New York City and he made two great speeches, one to Congress and one about Duty, Honor, Country. The Duty, Honor, Country speech is one of the greatest ever made by a military man, and he made it without a note at the age of seventy-five. I believe Douglas MacArthur in 1945 could have come home and run for president and won going away. He was worshiped at the end of the war."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Silver Star Medal recipientsUnited States Army peopleDistinguished Service Cross recipientsPeople from BostonRepublic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross recipients
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 67
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_S._Patton_IV
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
George S. Patton IV
31 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by George S. Patton IV →
Related Quotes
"Christ, I'm busy and there's a lot of people who wanna give me parties and I've got to go and say good-bye to the tro…"
"In each generation, as long as we are to remain a great nation, a group of us are somehow chosen, perhaps by the Almi…"
"The connecting file between the old and the new- George came to West Point in 1942 steeped in Army tradition. Like hi…"
"I've got to say the soldiers in Vietnam that I was associated with in my three tours, who were pretty much front-line…"
"Ever since I was a child I never wanted to be anything else but a soldier."
"While I was never over-romanced by the West Point graduate, at the same time, I always felt, by God, a West Pointer o…"
"It was one of those hot days and it got to be about a hundred degrees, and old Mike just got fed up and threw his boo…"
"A great transformation came over West Point. Many of the staff and faculty who had been there previously were non-com…"
"The lessons of West Point are many, but the Academy has been the source of discipline, courage, and strength for many…"
"I don't know how long this thing will last... We can still lose this war. That's a real clear statement. I wouldn't b…"