Griffin W.E.B. - The Corps 09 - Under Fire

"No imposition at all, Mr. President," Fowler said.

"Can I have them for ten minutes, ladies?" the President asked. "They'll tell you what this is all about later."

"Of course, Mr. President," Patricia Pickering said. "I suppose I have made a flaming ass of myself, haven't I?"

"I suspect my wife would have done exactly what you did," the President said. "Bess suspects that all my friends are always plying me with liquor."

She found herself at the door.

"Again, my apologies, ladies," the President said, and they went through the door.

"And my apologies, Mr. President," Pickering said when the door was closed. "The main reason she's on a tear is that she thinks I volunteered to go back in the Corps, and that Dick Fowler arranged it as a favor."

"If you'd like, I can straighten her out on that," the Pres-ident said.

"I would be grateful, Mr. President."

"Formidable lady, General," General Howe said.

"I don't think a shrinking violet could run the Foster Ho-tel chain the way she runs it," the President said. "Now, where were we?"

"I was about to offer Fleming a drink," Fowler said. "Now I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

"I think it is," Pickering said.

"I'll make them," Fowler said. "The usual?"

"Yes."

"For you, too, Ken?" Fowler asked.

"Yes, sir, please," McCoy said.

"To get right to the heart of this," the President said. "When Admiral Hillenkoetter first brought your name up, General, he said that you had first gone to the Pacific as the private eyes of Navy Secretary Knox, and that that had evolved into your being the private eyes of President Roo-sevelt."

"Yes, sir, that accurately describes what happened."

"I found that fascinating," Truman said. "Although I didn't say anything to the admiral."

"Sir?"

"Until that moment, I thought I had the bright idea all on my own," Truman said. "That if you really want to know what's going on around the military, send someone who considers his primary loyalty is to the President, not the military establishment. General Howe and I go back to France-we were both captains in France. Then we saw one another over the years in the National Guard. In War Two, when I was in the Senate, he went back into the Army, and rose to major general. When this Korean thing broke, he was about the first person I knew I was going to need, and I called him to active duty-to be my eyes in this war."

"I see," Pickering said.

"And when he came down from Maine, I told him about you, about Captain McCoy's assessment, and the trouble he had with it, and we are agreed that your talents in this sort of thing should not be allowed to lay fallow."

"Mr. President, I'm afraid you're overestimating my tal-ents," Pickering said.

"You can do one thing I can't, General," Howe said. "You can talk to MacArthur, maybe even ask him ques-tions no one else would dare ask him."

"Wow!" Pickering said, as Fowler handed him a drink.

"Would you be willing to take on such an assignment?"

"Sir, I'm at your orders," Pickering said.

`Take a look at this," the President said, handing Picker-ing a squarish envelope. "And tell me if it's all right."

THE WHIT E HOUS E

WASHINGTON , D.C.

JULY 1, 1950

GENERAL OF THE ARMY DOUGLAS MACARTHUR

THE DAI ICHI BUILDING

TOKYO, JAPAN

BY OFFICER COURIER

DEAR GENERAL MACARTHUR:

THERE IS ONE SMALL PIECE OF GOOD NEWS IN WHAT FRANKLY LOOKS TO ME LIKE A DARK SITUATION, AND WHICH I WANTED TO GET IN YOUR HANDS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

ADMIRAL HILLENKOETTER, THE DIRECTOR OF THE CIA, HAS ASKED ME TO RECALL TO ACTIVE DUTY YOUR FRIEND BRIGADIER GEN-ERAL FLEMING PICKERING, USMCR, AND I HAVE DONE SO. AT ADMIRAL HILLENKOET-TER `S RECOMMENDATION, I HAVE NAMED GENERAL PICKERING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE CIA FOR ASIA, A POSITION MUCH LIKE THE ONE HE HELD DURING WORLD WAR II, WHERE HE WAS SO VALUABLE TO YOUR-SELF, OSS DIRECTOR DONOVAN, AND PRESI-DENT ROOSEVELT.

HE WILL BE COMING TO THE FAR EAST IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE, AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT HE ENJOYS MY EVERY CONFI-DENCE AND THAT YOU MAY FEEL FREE TO SAY ANYTHING TO HIM THAT YOU WOULD SAY TO ME.

SINCERELY,

Harry S. Truman

HARRY S. TRUMAN

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES

Pickering raised his eyes from the letter to the President. "Is that about the way President Roosevelt handled it?" Truman asked.

"He referred to the general as `my dear Douglas,'" Pick-ering said.

"He knew MacArthur," Truman said. "I don't. And I don't think I want to know the sonofabitch."

"Harry!" General Howe cautioned.

"He's an officer in the U.S. Army," Truman said. "Not the Viceroy of Japan, but I don't think he knows that, and if he does, he doesn't want to admit it. And I want you to know how I feel about him, General."

"I understand, sir."

"How do you feel about him?" Truman asked.

"He's a brilliant man-possibly, probably, the best gen-eral of our era, Mr. President."

"Better than Eisenhower? Bradley?"

"I never had the opportunity to watch General Eisen-hower at work, Mr. President. But I have watched General MacArthur. The word `genius' is not out of place. But he sometimes manifests traits of character that are disturbing to me personally. He can be petty, for example."

"For example?"

"Every unit on Corregidor but the 4th Marines was given the Presidential Unit Citation. General MacArthur said the Marines had enough medals."

"That's all?"

"His blind loyalty to the Bataan Gang disturbs me, Mr. President."

"That's why you didn't take McCoy's assessment to him?"

"I think his support of General Willoughby would have been irrational, and that very likely would have caused McCoy more trouble than he was already in, Mr. Presi-dent."

"All I expect him to do is not disobey orders," Truman said. "If he does, I want to know about it. Would that be a problem for you?"

"No, sir."

"Okay. This will go out tonight," Truman said. "I want you to work closely with Ralph here, but you both have the authority to communicate directly with me. If there's a disagreement between you, I want to hear both sides, and I'll decide. Clear?"

"Clear," General Howe said.

"Yes, sir."

"General Howe wants to pick your brain, Captain Mc-Coy," the President said. "I want you to tell him everything you know."

"Yes, sir," McCoy said.

"McCoy gave us a briefing tonight you might find fasci-nating yourself, Mr. President-"

"Us? Who's Us?" the President interrupted sharply. "Who else have you let in on McCoy's assessment?"

"Sir, when you ordered my recall, General Cates as-signed two officers to me, officers who had been with me in the OSS in War Two. Colonel Ed Banning and Marine Gunner Zimmerman."

"That was very obliging of the Commandant," the Presi-dent said.

It was a question. Pickering decided he could let it pass, but decided not to.

Is that a courageous decision, or is the Famous Grouse talking?

"Mr. President, General Cates is afraid that when the Marine Corps can't perform the miracle everyone will ex-pect it to, it will reflect badly on the Corps."

"What miracle won't it be able to perform? And how will the assignment of these two officers to you keep that from reflecting badly on the Marine Corps?"

"General Cates hopes that whenever I have the opportu-nity I will inject `the First Marine Division is at half wartime strength.'"

"Half wartime strength?" General Howe asked incredu-lously.

"Half strength," Pickering repeated. "And in the entire Marine Corps, there are only about eighty thousand offi-cers and men, plus twice that many in the reserve."

"God, I knew there had been reductions, but I didn't know it was that bad!" Howe said.

"It's that bad," Pickering said.