MacArthur
Sir: Twice I saw him. On the beach at Morotai and in the foothills of Mindanao. There was an aura of greatness about him. He gave the impression of being aloof and austere and was not universally loved, but the devotion he inspired from associates could not have come from a lesser source than greatness [April 10].
Relentless in war, forgiving in peace, he will tower in the annals of our history. One of the truly great Americans has gone to his reward.
KEN GUSTAFSON
Thief River Falls, Minn.
Sir: The photo of MacArthur wading ashore at Leyte is particularly memorable to me, for it is just as I saw him in October 1944 as I waited with hundreds of others on the battered beach of Dulag.
As an Army combat correspondent, I was attached to the recon troop of the 7th Infantry Division, in whose sector he landed. Heavily guarded by the recon troop, he chatted jovially with each regimental commander, asking each time, "How do you find the Nip?"
It was back at the beach, later, that I headed a mad scurry of military personnel and civilian war correspondents to get his "short-snorter" signature. Modestly, and with a smile, he gave it most willingly. Only a few of us got it, though, before his aides brushed us aside and got him back on board. I could place no greater value on any man's autograph than that of General MacArthur.
RICHARD R. BECK
Philadelphia
Sir: Many Japanese, including myself, greet the death of General MacArthur with mixed feelings. The general is in the minds of most Japanese immediately associated with one specific incident.
Shortly after "Emperor" MacArthur (as he was often called) was relieved of his command by President Truman, we heard that he said that all Japanese were "twelve-year-olds." I doubt that the general personally realized to what extent his words wounded the pride of the Japanese.
SHINKO SAYEKI
Harvard University
Cambridge, Mass.
Sir: We Turks regarded MacArthur as "the greatest hero," next to our beloved father and builder of the modern Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
ADNAN SAKA
New York City
Sir: The publication of the Lucas memo prior to the burial of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was the journalistic error of the century. Publication three weeks later might have been excusable if reference to Truman and various generals had been deleted. While MacArthur was probably correctly quoted, there was no intimation that he approved the memo, as written, for publication, no matter how long after his death. Such journalistic childishness goes so far beyond common decency that it leaves a bad smell.
JOSHUA K. BOLLES
Alamogordo, N. Mex.
Sir: The general was the most brilliant military commander since Napoleon. But his true greatness lay in his absolute devotion to his country, his refusal to compromise his idealism, his personal integrity. In a word, his greatness was his character.
RALPH E. LIDSTER
Whittier, Calif. l
acocca's Mustang
Sir: Your story on Lee lacocca [April 17] was truly a tribute to America. Could he have worked his way up in any other country? I doubt it.
STANLEY KAYE
New York City