More on Beware Generals Bearing a Grudge

["Craven, Jim" <JCraven@xxxxxxxxx>]

Jim C. writes: >Like another general, also a malignant narcissist,
megalomaniac and control freak--General Patton--MacArthur put leading
Japanese fascists back into power in postwar Japan as Patton had done
with nazis in postwar Germany <

Patton & MacArthur were both from the most aristocratic families. I
understand that they both had their own "strings" of polo ponies and
both played polo, a very aristocratic sport.

Jim Devine

Yes indeed. Both went to the "right" prep schools, both got into West
Point through the ol inside fix, both pursued tactics of "leap-frogging"
in deploying forces (sometimes it worked out sometimes it didn't), both
got meteroic promotions relative to time in service, both were
repeatedly censored for violating orders of higher-ups and not giving
due deference of military protocol to superiors while at the same time
coming down hard on those who did--or were alleged to have done--the
same to themselves. MacArthur was a total "Mommy's boy" whose mother,
"Pinky" MacArthur, even moved in right next to West Point so she could
be near him the whole time and who used her own standing to cover him
while at West Point. Both believed in reincarnation and believed they
were reincarnations of previous "great generals" and "leaders". And the
list of similiarities goes on and on.

It all reminds me of my times with my father who used to tell me stories
from World War II and whever a picture of MacArthur would pop up on some
historical thing on the tv, my father would just get this look on his
face and shudder. My father used to fly regularly to the Philippines
that he knew so well and he would tell me that sure their were Filipinos
who revered MacArthur from the "I shall return" shit but he told me that
he also knew Filipinos who had been guerrilas against the Japanese, who
saw Japanese war criminals get off and even used as postwar police as
had been done by the French in Vietnam, who absolutely hated MacArthur
but whose own views would never be aired on tv in the Philippines
because of the even postwar influence of the MacArthur name (e.g. the
family owned San Miguel brewery--one of the most famous of the beers in
the Philippines--plus a whole lot of land, plus many gold mines etc.

Jim C.