Insubordination Quotes
The actress was in Jordan and was requested for a command performance before King Hussein. She was told to curtsey when she was introduced to the King.
As the military governor of Louisiana during the Civil War he issued this order in response to the insults and abuse that Federal officers were routinely receiving from the women of New Orleans. For this he was branded a criminal by Jefferson Davis and received a derogatory nickname. See {633651}.
MacArthur had been the Commander of our Military Forces in Korea. He had a huge ego, and he wanted to cross the border and attack China since Chinese Troops were aiding the North Vietnamese. He had previously assured the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the President that the Chinese would not send troops into Korea, but he was then wrong. And when they had attacked, they had erased the territorial gains that MacArthur had previously gained. The Joint Chief’s of Staff, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State had decided upon a strategy which this time did not follow MacArthur’s strategic advice. The President approved the strategy, but MacArthur spoke and acted contrary. The President met with MacArthur and reiterated the strategy that the President approved. But MacArthur did not follow the orders of the Joint Chiefs. At the time, he and Eisenhower were America’s two most famous military leaders, and of the two MacArthur was senior and thought that he should be President. After he was fired, MacArthur addressed a Joint Session of Congress and gave his "Old Soldiers Never Die" speech which was his first active step towards the Presidency. It was a very sentimental speech with little content and nothing about why he had disobeyed orders. He was totally shocked when it was Eisenhower who was selected to run for President and not him.
Eggleston was an accomplished writer who had served in the Confederate army of the Civil War. 20 year after the war he wrote a series of articles for the prestigious Northern Atlantic Monthly trying to convey the war from the Southerner’s point of view.
The only soldier ever so honored
“Krauts” was a derogatory term for Germans. The American GIs loved Mauldin’s cartoons. However, much of the humor was directed at the Officers who were not as enthusiastic about the cartoons. The War Department didn’t agree with Patton and other officers who wanted the Mauldin Cartoons censored. They had determined that the cartoons were terrific for morale, and hence they printed them and distributed them to our troops the world over. See {629515} for Mauldin’s view of Patton.
Eisenhower was referring to MacArthur’s decision, as Army Chief of Staff, to take personal command of infantry, calvary and battle tanks he had ordered assembled to oust the WWI Veterans and their families from the shantytown they had erected in Washington DC to protest the fact that they had not been paid the bonuses that the law required. The attack on the protesting veterans was one of the great disgraces of American history. Eisenhower, knowing full well MacArthur’s penchant for strong attack, thought a more prudent officer should take charge of the delicate operation, and not the heavy-handed, aggressive General. See Quotation 643961.
Goodpaster served as Staff Secretary and Defense Liaison Officer to President Eisenhower from 1954–1961. McCarthy accused many competent, loyal Americans of disloyalty, incompetence and treason. The reason that this particular quotation was noteworthy was that it particularly offended President Eisenhower and galvanized him into action to stop McCarthy’s excesses. See {632334}.
