Question

Do you think the outcome of the Korean War would have been different had General MacArthur not been fired? Why or why not?

Answer 1

This is a question about your opinion, but it always helps to have a informed opinion so I think your most reliable source would be http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/truman-relieves-macarthur-of-duties-in-korea
I hope this helps, if not say something and I will be right back here. :)

Answer 2

YES! Thank you so much! :)

Answer 3

Not really. Though I was young I lived it and remember quite a bit about the times. MacArthur was pretty much all show and no go. He, by an large, sat out WW II in Australia (referred to as Dugout Doug). He was appointed the honor of signing the surrender with Japan - while the Admirals that really won the war looked on. He did do a good job of re-establishing Japan's economy; I'll give him that. As far as Korea goes, it didn't take a brain surgeon to setup the Inchon landing. Duh. North Korean forces were way south of him and the bay was pretty much deserted. Then he really showed his stupidity by landing the marines in Wonsan harbor and having them march - where? - into the mountains and down into Chosin Reservoir - in the middle of winter. Things drug on awhile - Truman had enough and finally fired him. Thank goodness. MacArthur had wanted to use atomic weapons along the Yalu river to keep the communist Chinese at bay. Stupid - Russia wasn't going to stand still for that. I think finally Eisenhower got in office, they argued about the shape of the negotiating table for about a year and finally reached an armistice. That's a long way of saying that MacArthur didn't really have any sway with Truman - and I'll guarantee you he would have had even less with Eisenhower if he had still been on duty when he took office. Nothing scholarly here - just thoughts from the times.

Answer 4

Wow! Thank you for taking the time to give you opinion! Definitely helped. @WesGPS

Answer 5

You're welcome. My recently deceased uncle drilled quite a bit of this stuff into me. He had been a Marine prior to WW II and continued when the war started. He participated in five island campaigns Guadalcanal, Tarrawa, Tinnian, and two others that escape me at the moment. During the Korean War he was in on the Inchon Landing as well as Chosin. In spite of having a bullet glance off his helment on Tulagi (across from Guadalcanal) he said the one action he thought he might not make it out of was Chosin. He did though, and went on to do body escort duty after the war, then Korea, then embassy duty in Haiti, then ran a company through Paris Island that was headed to Vietnam. He retired as a 1st Sergeant (called "Top") in 1962. Saw two of his sisters (one of them my mother) through nursing home hell, then served that duty himself dying a couple of months back at 90. No wife, the Marines didn't issue him one, and he hated MacArthur until his last breath.