| MacArthur's Speech |
| Written by Posted by Jack Price on Class e-mail | |
| Wednesday, 16 May 2007 | |
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By and with permission to forward: MacArthur's Speech to the Corps of Cadets By Lieutenant General James R. Ellis, US Army (Ret) Saturday, 12 May 1962 General of the Army MacArthur’s trip to West Point had been well publicized and would be a major event. The afternoon before, I called the Academy Public Affairs Officer (PAO)(an excellent officer with whom the Brigade Staff had a good working relationship), and I asked him about arrangements to record the General’s speech. He said they did not do thatinstead they would release a copy of the speaker’s written remarks to the press after the event. This did not seem satisfactory. I asked my roommate, Pete Wuerpel, to see if he could do something so that at least he and I would have a recording of the speech. Pete was the Cadet Brigade Adjutant and used the dining hall public address system at every meal to make announcements. He borrowed a reel to reel recorder from a fellow cadet and made the connections. That Saturday was a perfect dayclear and sunny but not too hot. As you remember, the parade field was oriented differently than today with the reviewing stand directly across the street from the Superintendent’s House. The dining hall had not been expanded and had not encroached on the parade fieldconsequently the field was larger than it is now. Spectators completely surrounded the fieldthe Academy civilian police (who worked with the MP’s and were responsible for crowd control) estimated the number at 150,000. Remember, the Academy was wide open to the public at that time. It was a full Brigade Parade. At the appropriate time the Thayer Award was presented to General MacArthur by the President of the Association of Graduates, Lieutenant General (Retired) Leslie Groves (who had directed the Manhattan Project in WWII). Following the presentation, Generals MacArthur and Westmoreland and I trooped the line in a jeep driven by the Supe’s driver. A picture of the jeep moving in front of the Corps appeared on one of those two page displays in Life magazine following MacArthur’s death in 1964. After the parade, the Corps, Tac Officers, Instructors and invited guests moved into Washington Hall. Generals MacArthur, Westmoreland and Groves took their places on the dais which had been set up just inside the main door. Glen Blumhardt, Cadet 1st Regimental Commander, escorted Mrs. MacArthur and Mrs. Westmoreland to a table on the Poop Deck. My table was immediately in front of the dais. Cadet tables held 10 people. As Brigade Commander I was table-com hosting nine active duty and retired 4 Star Generalsminding my manners with every bite! Following lunch, General MacArthur gave that great Duty, Honor, Country speech. I’m sure you have heard it many times. He had no notes except one 3 x 5 card with one word on it“doorman”you have heard the joke. The occasional ‘klunk’ on the audio is the sound of the General’s ring hitting the wooden podium as he shifted his grip. When he finished he turned around and saluted his wife on the Poop Deck. At the end there were no dry eyes on my table. After the official party left, Wuerpel and I were changing in our room (8½ Division which no longer exists), we both had dates waiting--(I married mine 7 weeks laterwe celebrate our 45th this summer). Pete had recovered the recorder. The phone rang: PAO (in a panic), “The General had no written text and the press is going crazy for a copy of the speechsomeone told me you made a recording.” Ellis, “Yes sir, it is here on the table”. PAO, “My minion will be there shortly to pick it up.” (Interesting title for the Captain who rushed in 10 minutes later and ran out with the tape). The PAO took it to the Foreign Language lab and made multiple copies. A secretary worked all afternoon transcribing the speech to hard copy to release to the press. Pete retrieved the original tape and, to the best of my knowledge, still has it. END |
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