NRR Project: Douglas MacArthur's Farewell Speech (April 19, 1951)

 

NRR Project: Douglas MacArthur’s Farewell Address

Delivered April 19, 1951

34:31

Christopher H. Sterling’s essay on this event at the NationalRecording Registry is quite comprehensive.

MacArthur was a highly decorated five-star general when President Harry Truman relieved him of command in the Korean conflict. MacArthur was a lauded figure, a Medal of Honor winner, the architect of Japan’s recovery after World War II. He was also an egotistical horse’s patootie.

He desired to attack China in connection with the Korean War, a direction to which Truman did not want to take the country. Of course, as civilians control the U.S. military, the two leaders found themselves locked in conflict. Finally, Truman dismissed him.

MacArthur was then invited by a heavily Republican Congress to address it in joint session on April 19, 1951. During the course of his half-hour at the podium, the general reiterated his ideas for fighting the Chinese and documented the government’s refusal to see things his way.

He concluded with the immortal phrase – “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: A Streetcar Named Desire soundtrack.