On April 5, 1951, General Douglas McArthur was invited to speak to congress, after being fired by President Harry S. Truman. Here is a link to that address. It is remarkable:

General Douglas MacArthur | Farewell Address to Congress | General Douglas MacArthur Milwaukee Memorial (macarthurmilwaukeeforum.com)

I remember watching this speech, but because I was only 4 years old in 1951, I suspect that I watched videos of it produced at a later date. Regardless of when or how I watched it, this speech still resonates with me.

Here is an exact quote from that speech:

“Men since the beginning of time have sought peace. Various methods through the ages have been attempted to devise an international process to prevent or settle disputes between nations. From the very start workable methods were found in so far as individual citizens were concerned, but the mechanics of an instrumentality of larger international scope have never been successful. Military alliances, balances of power, Leagues of Nations, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be ‘by way of the crucible of war. The utter destructiveness of war now blocks out, this alternative. We have had our last chance. If we will not devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature and all the material and cultural developments of the past 2000 years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh. ”

But once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. War’s very object is victory, not prolonged indecision.

In war there can be no substitute for victory.

Ultimately the United States chose to negotiate an end to the fighting in Korea. While South Korea was liberated and free, North Korea descended into predictable despair.

McArthur went on to say:

There are some who for varying reasons would appease Red China. They are blind to history’s clear lesson, for history teaches with unmistakable emphasis that appeasement but begets new and bloodier wars. It points to no single instance where this end has justified that means, where appeasement has led to more than a sham peace. Like blackmail, it lays the basis for new and successively greater demands until, as in blackmail, violence becomes the only other alternative. Why, my soldiers asked me, surrender military advantages to an enemy in the field? I could not answer.

In retrospect, McArthur was unfortunately right about future wars with communism. The Vietnam was an example of that. Once again, the U.S. did not even consider seeking victory, and as a result all of Vietnam was lost. As a Vietnam combat veteran, the pain of our decision to surrender to communism, while victory was in sight, continues to this very day.

During World War II our military and civilian commanders made the decision to bomb Germany, including bombing civilian centers. PBS’s American Enterprise series broadcast a documentary titled “The Bombing of Germany.”

The Most Unethical Act: Losing a War – Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary Magazine

The last line of the film included the following remark by Conrad C. Crane, director of the U.S. Army Military History Institute. “The most unethical act for Allies in World War II would have been allowing themselves to lose.”

This article concludes with the following statement:

This is a concept that applies not only to the war against Hitler but also to the one that America is currently fighting against Islamo-fascists. We have heard a great deal in the past few years about unethical tactics both in terms of attacking terrorist strongholds and in dealing with prisoners who possess information about future threats. As the Obama administration tries to avoid further debacles like its reaction to the Christmas Day bombing attempt over Detroit and to maintain pressure on the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the conclusion of The Bombing of Germany should haunt them. It is all well and good to try to earn applause for being more moral than our opponents. But when facing an enemy whose goal is the destruction of our society and the murder of countless innocents, the prime objective must remain the same as it was in World War II. Allowing ourselves to lose such a war is the most unethical act imaginable.

That article was written by Jonathan S. Tobin in 2010. But it could be made today. There still is no substitute for victory. War is always awful. It is truly the scourge of mankind. But when war is necessary, the most unethical decision is to settle for something less than victory. When Democrats in congress forced President Gerald Ford to surrender in Vietnam, it threw the sacrifices made by every U.S. serviceman who fought in Vietnam, including me, on the scrap heap of history. If we are to fight a war, then we have a solemn duty to fully commit to achieving victory. McArthur warned us about this in 1951. It was true then; it is true now. When confronting evil, there is no substitute for victory.

TDM