The Wilmington morning star., 1945-06-19
Talk To Soldiers
Rv ANNE O,HARE MCCORMICK

wong rThev have led and won the most de-
cisive military campaign OF all time They
return Tom a battle in which the enemy was
not only defeated but destroyed to an extent |
unprec edented and impossible IN any conflict
of the past They welcomed by thel.
countrymen with fervor end acclaim thai
will each it's climax when General EisenhoW-
or hits New York next Tuesday. The country
is so proud of them end their achievements
that they evoke the greatest wave OF popular
emotion this Unconditional war has brought
forth.
The remarkable thing is that the military
commanders do not come back as conquerln2
heroes. They come back as war-haters, sue
cessf11l soldiers who abhor the business in
uhcn thew have been engaged. General Fat
ton said in Boston that if any American want
cd to see hell he should look down on Europe
from the air. The worst he'll is Germany; II
is as if the rnoralists are right VINO believe
that the Germans delivered themselves to- the
devil and find themselves TODAY In the only
Mace to which Satan could lead them. Gen
oral Eisenhower declared in his farewell press
conference in Paris that the Allies were com
rlatev justified in bombing German cities In
To r,1bble but he did not underestimate the
| consequences of the destruction or conceal MS
| conviction that it presented us with elemental
| human problems SO pressing that all polucal
| settlements were secondary
These are conquerors VINO do not glorlty
war There is no military pllde in their utter
ances. They come back simply, humbly their
THOUGHTS with the men who fought the bat
files All sounded the note struck by General
Eisenhower when he said in London that 'hu-
1nilitv must always be the portion OF any
man who receives acclaim earned IN the plooc
of his fcllowers,' and ''honors cannot hide III
his memory the crosses that mark the resting
places Of the dead.
| American has produced an amazing num-
Der Of brilliant commanders IN this war Men
| in other armies are astonlshed at the power
and sririt of the forces this non-miltary ma
ton has built UP from scratch. But this army
remains an army of civilians Even the pro
fessional soldiers are civilians at heart This
was what struck the observer who had the
opportunity to see Eisenhower in his head
quarters in the formal setting of Versailles
or Bradley, Patton, Hodges or Patch in the
mud and thunder of the front line areas.
And this is what must strike any stay-at-
home as he watches and listens to the return
ing officers and the Homecoming troops. The
horrors they have seen and experienced are
stamped upon the minds OF these men for
ever tut war has not hardened them or mill
| tarized them or changed the natural direction
Of their thoughts They are moved or out
ragged by human suffering. They are indiv!-
duals and they see other people as individuals
Their democracy is not only OF the head but
of the heart
Thus when General Eisenhower, speaking
forthrghtly Russian-American relations to
the Paris correspondents, reminded them that
peace lies with all the peoples of the world
and not just for the moment with some po-
litical leader he stated basic fact that puts
the decisions of today, even Big Three dec,
sions in the perspective Americans under
stand. He speaks for the soldiers when he
| 11,-{ lO eo1J
concerned is shared by every United Nations
soldier in the world"
He speaks for the soldiers WREN he declares
that the problems of postwar cooperation
ought to be solved 'if we can all of us-I
mean just citizens-find it within reason to
be conciliatory, to be conslderate, and once
in while to give up something to meet tho
other fellows desperate need Certainly that's
what the soldier wants.
The Supreme Commander has a right 10
speak for the soldiers. He has a right to
speak of peacetime cooperation, for no lead
err in this or perhaps in any other war; has
been successful in Harvesting into work
ing team the fighting forces OF many nations
At SHAEF headquarters it was never per
MISSILE to speak Of the American ARMY or
the British Army 1t was always the Allied
Army Officers who worked under General
| Ike marveled at his even temper 1t was
the only GHQ they ever knew. they said,
| where differences of opinion never developed
| heat or friction and bad news never spread
gloom.
| 1t will be unfortunate if the difficulties that
delay the functioning of the Allied ControA
Council are not ironed out promptly 1t will
be doubly unfortunate if General Eisenhowers
exceptional talents as diplomat and concilia
tor are not employed in this key council
Teamwork among the four powers occupying
Germany is the sine qua non for harmonious
cooperation in other fields. Without it there
will ne no reconstruction and no Europe.
General Eisenhower has already discovered
that partnership in peace is more difficult
than partnership in war; because in peace the
partners divided in their aims, while in
war single end, a common enemy, hold
them together. But he has the qualities OF
optimism, courage understanding OF differ
ences steeled by firmness that the battle for
peace requires That it will be a battle, longer
and more complex than military struggle
! is clear to anyone who looks at Europe as it
| will appear to the three statesmen who meet
| to survey the horizons of the future from the
ruins of Berlin.-NeW York Times.