Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 57



Only Noblemtl

#057

The current Army Chief of Staff is Charles P. Summerall.

He was the commander of the 1st Army Corps during World War I and served with the 42nd Division in capturing the Côte de Chatillon.

Thanks to that, he was the most friendly person I’ve ever received since the late Chief of Staff, who retired a long time ago.

“We can’t afford to lose a talent like you.”

Since Wilhelmina’s speech, I have gained greater fame than the now faded war hero Pershing.

Roosevelt advised that if you can’t avoid it, enjoy it, but the reality is not so easy.

The ruling party, including the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, has been reaching out to me here and there, coveting me. That’s why I was worried that I might actually be taken off my uniform and dragged to Washington against my will.

In such a situation, Summerall became a stronger shield than anyone else.

“Thank you, President.”

“What’s the thank you? I just did what I was supposed to do as the commander in chief of the army.”

Until the election was over, I was able to stay in the New York area under his protection on a mission to establish an Army Athletic Corps.

“Now that the election is over, the pressure on you will lessen a bit.”

“yes.”

“But what kind of people are those guys? They’ll probably try to strip you of your clothes and drag you away if they get a chance.”

“Ha, ha. But still, I···.”

“By the way, it may be a little early, but how about this place?”

I was taken aback by Summerall’s words.

That would be the case, as the Army Chief of Staff position did not have a set term of office.

Unless something special happened, it was customary for someone approaching retirement age, like Summerall, to keep their position until retirement.

And Summerall’s retirement was less than two years away in November 1931.

Moreover, it had only been a little over a year since he became the Chief of Staff.

Moreover, the position of Chief of Staff was too early for me, who was still in my forties.

“I thought there would be talk of going abroad.”

“Overseas is great. But where are you going?”

“yes?”

The United States had gained some decent profits from participating in World War I, but isolationism was on the rise again afterward.

In particular, the keynote of the Republican Party, which has been in power since Harding, has also been isolationism.

As a result, the number of US troops stationed overseas was decreasing year by year.

“The Philippines or···.”

Mitchell and Manuel were doing an excellent job.

But Wood, the governor of the Philippines, was the problem.

Wood, the most trustworthy of the three, passed away shortly after I left the Philippines.

Fortunately, the people who came later as governors-general of the Philippines were not people with great ambitions or aspirations. Therefore, most of the important matters were handled by following the tone of his predecessor, Wood.

Still, it wasn’t without its problems.

Besides, Mr. Mitchell, although his personality has become more rounded out since he was in America, where will that go?

Thanks to this, Manuel’s letters always included the question of when he would be able to come to the Philippines again.

Of course, the same question was written in Mitchell’s letter.

“The Philippines? After all that trouble you caused last time?”

“that is···.”

“I know. You think especially of the Philippines, where you spent your childhood. So you know it can’t be any worse, right?”

But if we send it to Europe,

“There are so many places that want you.”

He said that requests for his advice on organizing their sports units were pouring in from not only Britain and France, but even Germany and Russia.

“Besides, Queen Wilhelmina alone caused this much trouble, so if other royal families join in as well···.”

Summerall shook his head as if just thinking about it gave him a headache.

“Ultimately, we need to keep you here in America, and frankly, it would be a waste to make you a division commander.”

“Mr. President.”

“You have never let me down. No, you have always done your job 200%. At Chatillon, at West Point, at the Olympics, you have always shown the best performance. Oh, and honestly, the Philippines too…”

It was Summerall who was giggling, saying that Coolidge was the one who made the mistake and was being timid and hiding it, but he had heard from Wood how great I was.

“So I believe you will do well here too.”

“but···.”

“Honestly, I’m a little tired. I want to spend the rest of my life doing something meaningful like Senior Minoh.”

Meanwhile, Summerall has been talking about going to The Citadel, a public military college in Charleston, South Carolina, to become president.

“It may be difficult, but I still want to nurture talent like you.”

For a moment, I thought it was too early to tell.

Rather than becoming the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the height of the Great Depression and being distracted by the aftermath, it seemed much better to have a few months to prepare in advance.

“I will do my best.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I thought you wouldn’t leave it out.”

Summerall seemed quite satisfied with my answer.

But despite Summerall’s strong recommendation, there were considerable opponents to my becoming Chief of Staff.

“A person who is not even 50 years old is now the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?”

“Ha, since when did the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff become a position decided by popularity vote?”

“I heard that author Summerall wasn’t feeling well, and it certainly seems to be. Part of his head, I mean.”

Those who opposed this particularly strongly were those within the military.

How many people would want to have a junior, especially a very junior, as their boss?

But Hoover dismissed such opposition within the military, and as soon as he took office as president in March 1929, he appointed me as the 13th Army Chief of Staff.

“President Summerall gave a proper congratulatory gift for the inauguration.”

“Yes. There is considerable opposition within the military, but public opinion is the exact opposite.”

“The prevailing opinion is that the young and capable Army Chief of Staff will bring about innovation in the military.”

“Public opinion is also positive about the president who made such an innovative personnel decision.”

“Good.”

What was important to politicians was public opinion, not opposition within the military.

And it wasn’t just Hoover who was delighted with my appointment as Chief of Staff.

“Finally!! Honey, have you seen this? Our son has finally achieved the dream you’ve been longing for. Really···.”

It was none other than his mother, Mrs. Pinky, who shed tears of joy so great that her handkerchief was soaked.

“Madam, you have really worked hard.”

“Yeah. I’ve had a really hard time.”

“Of course. I know everything.”

Mrs. Pinky recalled the past with a hazy look in her eyes as she listened to the words of her housekeeper who had been with her for a long time.

Her husband Arthur, who emerged like a comet as a hero of the American Civil War, continued to live up to his title of hero in the ensuing war with Spain.

However, Arthur also had one weakness: political power.

“I was also clumsy back then.”

“You’re young, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. Neither he nor I knew anything.”

While others were having seven or eight children without any problems, she was only able to give birth to three children.

Even the second son, Malcolm…

So I didn’t have time to pay proper attention to my husband.

“Because I was so focused on raising Arthur and Dougie.”

Perhaps that was why her husband Arthur eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant general, but ultimately failed to become the Army Chief of Staff.

People said that it was not because she was not a good wife, but because of that writer Taft, with whom she had a falling out since the Philippines…

“But it would have been better if I had stepped forward and filled in what that gentleman lacked···.”

During the time when Taft and Arthur were feuding, Mrs. Pinky was not by her husband’s side.

At the time, MacArthur was attending West Point, and she was staying long-term at the Craney Hotel to support her son.

Anyway, Arthur served devotedly for 49 years, but his end was quite miserable.

Even to the point where Mrs. Pinky was not able to receive the pension she was entitled to as a surviving family member after her husband’s death.

Flanders, who was a close friend of the deceased Arthur, fought for her all the way to trial, but it took a considerable amount of time for her rights to be recognized.

“He was a very lethal and petty guy.”

When she thought of then-President Taft, a curse word naturally came out of Mrs. Pinky’s mouth.

As if she had been waiting for him, the housekeeper came and played the gong.

“That’s right. People really don’t have eyes to see. I don’t know how they elected such a writer as president.”

“Right? It must have been because our women couldn’t vote back then.”

“sure.”

Anyway, Mrs. Pinky was even more moved by her son Douglas’s success when she recalled her husband’s bitter final years.

“Honey, I raised our son so well. You have no idea how hard I worked to give him everything I couldn’t give you. Do you think I’ve succeeded to this extent?”

“It is true that you have succeeded. If your wife is not successful, then who else is?”

Listening to the housekeeper’s cries, Mrs. Pinky swept over the photo of her husband Arthur with tearful eyes.

Mrs. Pinky, who had been lost in thought for a while, clenched her fists and shouted.

“No, I almost forgot there was still more left.”

“Oh, you mean the president’s wedding?”

“Okay. This time for sure···.”

This was almost like the last chance.

If there is one thing I have realized over the past several decades as a general’s wife and a general’s mother, it is this:

“If there are moments of brilliant brilliance, there will also come moments of darkness.”

No matter how great my son is, he won’t be able to serve as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff until he dies, right?

Of course, I didn’t think this would be the end of the talented youngest.

But it was clear that after this splendid moment, some time would be needed to prepare before it could take off again.

“Don’t you know my son’s personality? He must be completely absorbed in something and not be able to come to his senses.”

For fear that someone might say he was a MacArthur, once he set a goal, he would not look around and would get so absorbed in it that he would lose his mind.

“You’re a bit of a workaholic, aren’t you, sir? At West Point, in the Philippines, and now at the Olympics…”

“That’s why. This time too, after the inauguration ceremony and work, I’ll be so caught up in it that I won’t have time to meet women. That’s for sure.”

Mrs. Pinky was overcome with regret when she thought about the Olympics.

“I should have pushed harder back then.”

I wasn’t really into the girl who was always playing around with things.

Still, he was young and, judging from the way he exercised, he seemed to be in pretty good shape.

It didn’t seem like a total blunder since he went to a university like Stamper or something.

Then what should I do? My son flatly rejected it, saying it wasn’t his taste.

I was briefly annoyed by my son’s reaction, but later I found out that Harley’s family believed in some strange religion called Baha or something, and my heart was relieved.

still···.

“If we had gotten married then, we might have had a baby by now.”

“That’s true, too.”

Since my son’s trip to Europe, his tastes in women have changed quite a bit.

“But isn’t it better than running around like before, saying that I should just wear a skirt?”

“But there’s a limit. Do you know what the rumor is going around these days? That guy has different tastes… Ha, I’m really pissed.”

The housekeeper quickly handed over a glass of water to Mrs. Pinky, who seemed excited.

“Okay, okay. Take this and calm down. People are prone to talking nonsense.”

“Yeah, I know. I know, but still···.”

Pinkie whined, her anger exploding and unbearable.

“You’ve become the Army Chief of Staff. Even before, there were lines of women waiting to stand next to you, but won’t that line get even longer now?”

The housekeeper was right.

If you look carefully, there will definitely be a woman who is pretty enough to catch your son’s eye, healthy, from a good family background, and who is as sincere as her in supporting both her husband and his wife.

And at that moment,

Ding dong.

The doorbell rang.

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I’m short on money and time.