The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-10-16
Macarthur Talk Text

TOKYO, Tuesday, Oct. 49, Up -
Text of General Macarthur adj
dress today:
Today the japanese armed forces
throughout Japan completed their
Rehabilitation and ceased to exist
as such. These forces are now COM
pletely abolished.
I know of no rehabilitation in
history either in war or peace by
our own or any other country that
has been accomplished as rapidly
or so frictionlessly. Everything mil
tary. naval or air is forbidden to
Japan. This ends its military might
and its military influence in inter-
national affairs. It no longer reck-
ons as a world power either large
or small. It's path in the future,
if it is to survive, must be con-
fined to the ways Of peace. APP
proximately 100000 armed men,
including. those in the outlying the
aters, have laid down their weap-
ons.
In the accomplishment of the ex-
traordinarily difficult and danger
Gus surrender in Japan, unique in
the annals Of history, not a shot
was necessary, not a drop OF Al
lied blood was shed.
The vindication of the great de-
cision of Potsdam is complete.
Nothing could exceed the abjectnes
the humiliation and the finality of
this surrender. It is not only physi-
cally thorough, but has been equ-
ally destructive on apanese splr-
it. From staggering arrogance,
the former japanese military have
passed to servility and fear. They
are thoroughly beaten and cowed,
and tremble before the terrible re-
tribution the surrender terms i'm
pose upon their country in punish
ment for its great sins.
Again I wish to pay tribute to
the magnificent conduct of our
troops. With few exceptions, they
could well be taken as a model
for all time, as conquering army.
No historian in later years when
passions cool can arrange their
conduct. They could so easily and
UNDERSTANDABLE have emulated the
ruthlessness VII c h their enemy
freely practiced when conditions
were reversed. But their perfect
balance between implacable firm
ness of duty on the one hand and
resolute restraint from cruelness
and brutalties on the other has
taught a lesson to the japanese
civil population that is startling in
it's impact.
Nothing has 50 tended to impress
Japanese thought, not even the ca
tastrophic fact of military defeat
itself. They have for the first time
seen the free mans way of life
in actual action, and it has stunned
them into new thought and new
ideas. A revolution-or more prop
perly speaking, the evolution -
which will restore the dignity and
freedom of the common man, has
begun. 1t will take much time, and
require great patience, but IT world
public opinion will permit Of these
two essential factors, mankind will
be repaid. Herein lies the way to
true and final peace.
The Japanese army, contrary to
some concepts that have been ad-
vocated, wa thoroughly defeated
before the surrender. The strategic
maneuvering of the Allies 50 scat
tered and divided them; their
thrusts had so immobilized, disin-
tegrated and split its units; it's sup
ply and transportation lines we're
so utterly destroyed; its equipment
was so exhausted, its morale so
shattered. that it's early surrender
became inevitable. Bastion after
bastion, considered by it as i'm
pregnable in barring our way, had
been by-passed and rendered inn
potent and useless, while our tact
ical penetrations and developments
resulted in piece-meal destruction
of many isolated fragments. It was
weak everywhere. forced to fight
where it stood, unable to render
mutual support between its parts,
and presented a picture of collapse
that was complete and absolute. :
The basic cause of the surrender
is not to be attributed to an ar
bitrary decision of authority. It
was inevitable because of the stra-
tegic and tactical circumstances
forced the surrender with relative
become hopeless. 1t was merely a
question of when, with our troops
poised for final invasion. This In
vasion would have been annihilat-
ing, but might well have cost hun
dreds of thousands of American
lives.
The victory was a triumph for
the concept of the complete inte-
grafton Of the three dim ensions Of
war-ground, sea and air.
BY a thorough use of each arm
in conjunction with the correspond
ing utilization of the other two, the
enemy was reduced to condition
Of helplessness. BY largely avoid
ing methods involving the separate
use of the services and by avoiding
methods Of frontal assault as far
as possible, our combined power
forced the surrneder with relative