Evening star., 1952-10-31
White House Denies
Custer Of Van Fleet in
Korea Troop Dispute
By John A. Giles

The presidential campaign de-
bate over replacing American SOL
dierS in Korea with South Koreans
spread far and wide today.
The heat of the world battle
brought White House denial that
Gen. James A. Van Fleet was be-
ing relieved as 9th Army COM
mander in Korea. And from secret
Pentagon files came a mass OF
data showing:
/. Gen. Van Fleets request that
South Korean forces be doubled
from 10 to 20 divisions-f1rst dis
closed by Gen. Eisenhower in a
New York campaign speech We'd
nesday night-was opposed as pre-
mature by Gen. Matthew B. Ridg-
way while he was U. N. COM
mander in Tokyo.
2. The Joint Chiefs of Staff and
Secretary of Defense Lovett up
held Gen. Ridgway's contention.
LOng-Range Training.
8. The Defense Department said
1t had been carrying out a long
range training program to turn
over the defense of Korea to the
South Koreans.
4. Gen. Mark Clark, who sue
ceeded Gen. Ridgway when the
latter moved on to Paris to re-
place Gen. Eisenhower as NATO
commander, has pursued this
program and submitted a larger
range proposal for further expan-
sion.
S. The Pentagon, which was
thrown into confusion by the
Eisenhower speech, hastily called
a series of high-level conferences
yesterday and is studying the
Clark plan.
Late last night the officials
finally came up with a statement
of some 1000 words. There had
been several long telecommunica-
ton conversations with Gen.
Clark's Tokyo headquarters on the
matter.
Newspaper Publishes Report.
The New York Daily News pub
llshed story today saying Gen.
Van Fleet was being relieved for
writing the letter quoted by Gen.
Eisenhower in his campaign
speech. The letter was addressed
to his former chief of staff, now
a patient at Walter Reed Army
Hospital, and turned over to Gen.
Eisenhower by Mrs. Van Fleet.
AT Detroit, where President
Truman is campaigning for Gov.
Stevenson. a press aide asserted:
President Truman has not fired
Gen. Van Fleet and has no in
tention of firing him."
Earlier, the Army and Defense
Departments and Gen. Clark's
Tokyo headquarters had denied
receiving any White House orders
to relieve Gen. Van Fleet, who
refused to comment at Seoul, Ko-
rea.
The News said the official or
ders are to be kept secret until
after the voting next Tuesday. It
added Gen. Van Fleets successor
would be 1t. Gen. Maxwell D.
Taylor, now deputy chief of staff
and previously speculated upon as
the next 9th Army commander
when Gen. Van Fleet does come
home.
Gen. Van Fleet wrote that the
South Korean forces are now in
"apple-pie" order but that he had
been unable thus far to win ap-i
proval of his plan to double their
strength to 20 divisions.
He added:
Being unable to get 10 more. /
said: Give me six and would re-
lease two United States divisions:
or, give me four and I would re-
lease one United States division. i
1t finally got down to a two
division increase but still no ap-i
proval to this date"
6. o. p. Blasts Policy.
The Republican National Com
mittee got out statement, appar-
entity prepared in advance of the
White House denial that Gen. Van
Fleet would be ouSted. The state
ment. by Senator Carlson of KAN
sas. said Gen. Douglas Macarthur
was dismissed as U. N. Far East
commander for complaining
about not being permitted to win
the Korean war" and 1t. Gen. Al
fred e. Wedemeyer retired in dis
gust over official policy"
Nov Gen. James A. Van Fleet,
who has done such a magnificent
job as commander in Korea, is
coming home" the statement said, |