“I do not wish to have it pointed out to me by some “whiz kid” at this late stage of the game, that World War II was a colossal mistake , an international misunderstanding for which the United States was proportionately responsible. World War II was nothing of the kind. It was an event wherein the military giants of those several Axis states decided that they could get away with an incredible land grab, a nation grab, a super-Napoleonic defacement of a world-sized map. They did this with the enthusiasm of their nationals behind them. In minor dissension may have sounded the voices of a few ardent patriots and heroic philosophers; but those were not the majority. An horrific chorus shouted, ‘Duce!’, or ‘Banzai!’ or ‘Heil Hitler!’ Eventually, because of the sacrifices endured by our men and the entire populations of Allied countries, the enemy went down to defeat. Enemy cities were pulverized or fried to a crisp. It was something they asked for and something they got. In reverse fashion, if we keep listening to the gospel of apology and equivocation which all too many politicians and savants are preaching today in the United States, we will be asking for the same thing. And in time, may achieve it. Like witch doctors, defense intellectuals have created jargon which tends to becloud understanding. I submit that military strategy and subsequent national defense policies are understandable if clearly presented. Moreover, the average citizen must be familiar with these subjects, because, through his franchise, he makes the most fundamental and far-reaching defense decisions.”
General Curtis LeMay – 1965
A very telling statement by the General. As another poster said, it was the left that painted Lemay and all military personnel as bloodthirsty tyrants or automatons.