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Robert:
I am getting a cmuch clearer history from Ben
Frank.
He has provided the underlying reasons and not
a description of a prejudice without
facts.
Resentment and competition happen all the time,
but when you treat a Division or any crew
without
showing appreciation there it is going to
cause
serious resentment and disgruntled
behavior.
Please review with Ben, because this
is interesting!
Dan
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 11:57
PM
Subject: Re: Truman and the Marines
Dan,
You are referring to my comment.
Truman was an
Arty. Battery Commander with the rank of Captain during the 1st World War.
Marines won laurels and decorations for their performance at Chateau Thierry
and Bellau Woods, And Genl. LeJune, a Marine, Commanded the 2nd US Army.
The designation, "Devil Dogs", (Teffel Hunden) [sp] was a term the Germans
used to define the Marines, and it is still assumed with pride by the young
Marines of today.
The French were lavish in their praise of the Marines,
awarding the Fuer De Guerre [sp] to the 5th and 6th Marine Regiment, the units
involved in those two critical battles.
This caused tremendous jealousy
amongst some Army men, and Truman was one of those who carried his resentment
through the intervening years, viewing the Marines as nothing more than "the
Navy's police force".
To add to his resentment, during that intervening
period, Marines were always the first Military Unit in National
Parades, primarily because they were the Nations only First Reaction Force.
Earlier in his younger days, Truman failed the entry exams for West Point,
and later in serving under such Graduates, he found them not at all anymore
qualified than he was, and felt they were working politically within the
Officer Hierarchy..
Robert
Love Shack wrote:
The comment was
that Truman Hated the Marines and West Point.Knowing what was provoking his feelings is what Iam
after.You do not like or
dislike something for a whim. Dan
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003
3:03 PM
Subject: Truman and the
Marines In a private letter distributed publicly by the
recipient, a congressman, Truman accused the Marines of running a
"propaganda machine almost as good as Stalin's," a remark for which he had
to publicly grovel in apology. And there were suggestions at the
time, an era of drastic military cost-cutting, that the Marines were
redundant and should be cut.
But what are the
"hateful" remarks you are referring to?
--Mandy Katz
Love Shack wrote:
There is more to more to Trumans distaste
of the Marine then is being told.When financial resources were low for military budgets there was
a lot of harshwords going
on. Especially the arbitrage and asset stripping that was going on
withthe large companies. It
ws brutal and political. Very few survived today
intact.Such as GM, Hughes,
Ford, Boeing, IBM...and a few others. During his tenure the DoD, CIA and USAF were
established.All were new
Government Departments.(BTW
are there any others I missed that were
started). I am
interested in the intent of Truman ire toward the
Marines.Hate is not a
reason. Something drove the decisionas there were many who were trying to disolve the
Marines. Not to
mention the ire of those who tried to prevent the USAF from
forming. Dan
Fahey
-----
Original Message -----
Sent:
Tuesday, September 09, 2003 2:34 PM
Subject:
Re: Kunsan and Inchon landings, Sept 12 & 15, 1950 Don;
I remember those remarks.....Truman always denigrated the Corps,
and hated Army West Pointers almost as much, since he had failed to
get into the Point. As a Marine in the First Battalion, we sent a
letter requesting Police Badges and whistles since Truman insisted on
calling Korea a Police Action.
Thank you for your service.
DGill11331@aol.com wrote:
In a message
dated 9/8/2003 10:32:53 PM Eastern Daylight Time, wanaki@infionline.net
writes:
The Inchon Landing
secured the future of the Marine Corps, which had
been
considered
no longer viable and facing disbanding and integration into
the
other
branches. As a consequence of the landing and the battle at
Chosin
Reservoir,
a public law was passed by both houses, declaring that this
Nation
would
always maintain a Marine Corps of three divisions and attached Air
Wings.
Ed Evanhoe wrote:
>We're coming up on the 53rd
anniversary of landing at Kunsan and the Inchon
>landing. Anyone have
any thoughts of these events?
>
>Ed
Korea had
two forgotten wars. The main one was the war itself the second was a
war that Truman leveled against the Marine Corps in the early part
of the war. Many people forget or just don' t know that the 5th
Marine Brigade was already engaged at the Pusan Perimeter, the 1st
Marine Regiment was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on its way to
the Inchon Landing and the 7th Marine Regiment was on it way from
Europe and other places to join the 5th and 1st Marines in Korea
when President Truman unleashed a brutal verbal assault against the
integrity of the Marine Corps.
My
company was part of the 1st Marine Regiment on a ship (US Noble
APA-218) on the high seas on the way to Inchon when Truman made his
nasty verbal assault against the Marine Corps. I heard Truman's
remarks first hand because the ship piped all the news from the
States over its PA system. To the Marines who heard Truman's remarks
-- his words had more of a detrimental effect on their moral than
almost anything we faced in Korea. Once a Truman fan after hearing
his remarks I never was a fan of his again.
Don
Gill
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