Two Books: Great Generals Series (LeMay) and Tear Down That Myth (by Will Bunch)

Great Generals Series: LeMay by Barrett Tillman (forward by Wesley Clark)

General LeMay was known for many things:

1. He was a young general, being promoted to Brigadier General at 37 years of age (15 years of service) and General (4 stars) at 45 years of age (23 years of service.)

2. He headed the famous Berlin Airlift.

3. He turned the Strategic Air Command (SAC) into an effective deterrent force.

4. In wartime he
a. developed the “LeMay Combat Box” which enabled the B-17 bombers to fly in a manner that allowed for them to bomb effectively and concentrate their defensive fire power against enemy fighters.
b. came up with the strategy of doing low level incendiary bombing over Japan.

5. He was also quick to call for the use of total force when a conflict broke out (e. g., he wanted to attack Korean and Vietnamese cities; he also wanted air strikes during the Cuban Missile Crisis)

Of course, one didn’t need to read Tillman’s book to find out any of the above. What the book did bring out was the following:

a. LeMay was a life long tinkerer; for example he was a ham radio operator and he also built his own color television. He had even greater hands on knowledge of the machines that his crews were flying; he knew the ins and outs of what his crews were to do. For example, when crews reported that certain “sighting blisters” iced over in the B-29 bomber, he knew which windows should be opened to take care of the problem.

b. He also was able to do very cold blooded logical analysis of the problems he encountered. Examples; when he took over a bomber wing in Europe, it was “conventional wisdom” that a plane that flew in a straight path for more than a few seconds was doomed to get shot down. LeMay reacted to that by getting out Army field manuals on the accuracy of artillery; he calculated what the odds really were and based his flying strategy on that. As a result: his flights caused more bombing damage and suffered fewer losses than others; hence his tactics became standard.

Also as far as the bombing runs in Japan: he figured out that the jet stream winds at high altitude over Japan made accurate high level bombing all but impossible, but also figured out that by flying lower, planes would use less fuel; hence they could carry heavier bomb loads. He also discovered that Japanese cities didn’t have “light flak” that was necessary to shoot down low flying planes.
Hence the switch to low level attacks with heavy incendiary loads.

c. LeMay, while having high standards and being ruthless in enforcing them, did not micromanage his subordinates. If they performed well, he left them alone. Also, he wasn’t impressed with “chicken-shit”. I have to admit that I cheered when I read the story of one of his “surprise inspections”: the colonel who was the head of the base got wind of a proposed inspection and therefore made an extra effort to get his base extra clean for the General’s visit. He also had his airmen taking time off of their jobs to clean, sweep, etc.

The General noticed that the flightline was a bit “too clean” and observed radio techs with brooms. He told the Colonel: “if your men have nothing better to do than this I don’t need you” and fired him on the spot.

General LeMay expected much from his crews; he expected them to willingly risk their lives and he set the example by risking his own (until ordered not to after he received the briefing on the atomic bombs). He was certainly a “set the example” type.

In short, General LeMay was intelligent, logical, calculating, and had a cold blooded focus (though he did care about rewarding his crews). You’d want him on your side during a war, though you wouldn’t want him as a political leader (yes, he was Wallace’s running mate in 1968 and he was part of the last “independent ticket” to win a state’s electoral votes in a general election).

Book Two:

Tear Down This Myth by Will Bunch

Remember this from the 2008 election?

Well, President Ronald Reagan has been brought up a great deal even by those who opposed his actual policies. Hence the book by Will Bunch.

Bunch basically argues this:

1. There is a big difference between what Reagan said in speeches and what he actually did as President.
2. The right wing has made President Reagan into a bit of an icon based on his speeches and sometime popularity.
3. In terms of policy: the times when President Reagan was the least successful is when he more closely followed his own rhetoric. The times he was the most successful is when he acted in a way that the current Republicans wouldn’t approve of!
4. He was NOT the “amicable dunce” that liberals made him out to be (“ketchup is a vegetable”, “trees cause air pollution” not withstanding)

Some facts: President Reagan grew government (added to the payroll, added an agency, raised taxes several times).

Inflation did go down under Reagan, but mostly due to the then-unpopular policies of Paul Volker, who was appointed by President Carter.

President Reagan indeed did a “cut and run” after Hezbolla killed the Marines in Lebanon (and did the right thing, IMHO).

He also thought that it was terrorism to kill innocent civilians in retaliation for a terrorist act! He had no desire for the US to be seen as an international bully. Of course, he did fund bloody right wing regimes in Latin America.

As far as the gas lines and energy: OPEC had to reduce its demands due, in part, to the success of our using less energy (a Carter program); Reagan promptly rolled back these programs.

His presidency was NOT one of the best of all times; neither was it the worst. His policies weren’t all that popular and people had enough of them eventually; President Bill Clinton ended up much of the mess that President Reagan and President H. W. Bush left behind.

In short, current Republicans have created a myth to sustain themselves and the myth doesn’t have that much in common with his actual presidency.