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Paratrooper general
Matthew Ridgway is renowned for wearing a
hand-grenade |
1951: MacArthur fired - Ridgway takes
over |
England have
US President Harry S Truman has dismissed General Douglas MacArthur as
commander of United Nations and US forces in the Far East after
disagreements over foreign policy in Korea.
General MacArthur will
be replaced by Lieutenant-General Matthew Ridgway, appointed as head of
the 8th Army in Korea by General MacArthur himself last December.
At 0100 local time, Washington issued the official announcement of the
general's dismissal along with several documents showing he had ignored
orders to refrain from making political statements.
The move has shocked the American public and angered Republican
politicians who revere General MacArthur as a distinguished soldier and
leader.
In a broadcast to the nation tonight, the president acknowledged the
general was one of America's greatest military commanders. But he added:
"The cause of world peace is more important than any
individual."
Last month, General MacArthur called for an attack on
China itself unless Communist forces laid down their arms in Korea.
Tonight President Truman re-affirmed his belief that extending the
battle beyond Korea could lead to a third world war if the Soviet Union
decided to enter the fray.
"A number of events have made it evident that General MacArthur did not
agree with that policy," he said. "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."
He also made it clear he was ready to negotiate with the North Koreans
on a peace settlement as long as fighting stopped.
Republican leaders in Congress and the Senate expressed their anger
saying the dismissal had endangered national unity and they called for
Congress to investigate foreign policy in Korea.
General MacArthur's successor, Lt-General Ridgway, is a highly
respected paratrooper commander who jumped with his men in World War II
during the invasion of Sicily and on D-Day.
He earned many awards for bravery along with the nickname "the fighting
and jumping general".
Since his arrival in Korea last year, Lt-Gen Ridgway has regrouped
retreating allied forces, boosted army morale and hit back at the enemy in
what he calls a "limited offensive" pushing the Communists back north
across the 38th parallel.
British troops have compared him to General Montgomery in the way he
inspires his men on the battlefield.
His habit of wearing a hand grenade at his shoulder is as familiar to
the troops as Montgomery's beret.