Posted on 11/15/2006 7:40:38 AM PST by Borges
As I recall, he was no fan of Kennedy, who he described as "having his finger glued to the chicken-switch"
Bump for a great American, Gen Curtis LeMay!
It has been remarked that the general's greatest failing was in falling into the clutches of politicians. And just because you are a good general, does not mean that you are a good politician.
N.B.: When politicians fight, they do not obey the rules of war.
Arguably one of the chief architects of the defeat of the Japanese Empire in WWII...
"I don't mind being called tough since I find in this racket it's the tough guys who lead the survivors" - Curtis E. Lemay
"If you kill enough of them, they stop fighting" - Curtis E. Lemay
"We should bomb Vietnam back into the stone age" - Curtis E. Lemay
Somehow, this guy doesn't sound like General Wesley Clark.
Clark is a "pantywaist" and is the type of general favored by dims - their best attribute is that they look good at cocktail parties,
I remember seeing an editorial cartoon when I was a kid way back in 1968 when Wallace and LeMay were running for president and vice president. In the cartoon were caricatures of the 2 candidates with a poster behind them saying "RUN EM DOWN....BLOW EM UP." Wallce then says to a reporter "this sums up or positions on domestic and foreign issues." I thought that was pretty funny.
My first thought was of "The Begatting of the President", an album I still have, narrated by Orson Welles. LeMay's offering of "Let us SMITE them" always makes me chuckle...
Ten articles...
Gunny G's FURLArchive/Bookmarks...
http://www.furl.net/search?enc=UTF-8&search=true&sort=&dir=&pos=1&count=25&showRead=all&expd=7&keyword=Curtis+LeMay&src=1&x=14&y=1&category=-1&date=0
LeMay's retirement caused a huge stir in the Department of Defense. After serving with distinction, he was awarded 100% medical disability retirement for facial paralysis. Ergo his retirement pay was 100% tax free.
Subsequently all Flag officer and Medical officer disability retirements had to be personally approved by the Office of the SecDef to make sure no funny business was going on.
I have a National Geographic from 1968 featuring him and how he cxhanged theb USAF.
The Big Stick man would be persecuted as a so called "war criminal" today. People like him don't make it past the lowest officer ranks in this PCified sad age.
Have you seen 'The Fog of War'? Robert McNamara, who served under Lemay, says that Lemay told his troops that they better win because otherwise they'd be tried as War Criminals. It seems like the losing side would always be perceived that way no matter what doesn't it?
Sounds like something Herblock would do.
As much as it pains me to say this, Lemay served under McNamara. McNamara was SECDEF, LeMay's boss.
General Lemay was for the Aior Force that The Great General Patton waqs for the Army.
I served under Lemay and respected him as a great General who perhaps kept us out of WW3. World War 3 would have been one of the greatest castrophes that the world has ever known.
"We need some quotes from this great American."
Maybe you can help.
Over the years, I've heard folks say that LeMay answered a reporter's
question about why so many nuclear bombs were needed for the US arsenal...
and that LeMay said that if there was a nuclear war, he didn't just
want to see the rubble bounce in the USSR.
He wanted to see it bounce twice.
BUT, I've also heard the "see the rubble bounce twice" zinger attributed
to Churchill.
Any pointers?
My Googling didn't seem to clear this up.
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