Notable American World War II general (1907-1990) who commanded the 82nd Airborne Division during the pivotal Battle of Normandy. TLS, four pages, 8 x 10.5, Headquarters, Allied Forces Southern Europe letterhead, May 28, 1952. Letter to a member of the 82nd Airborne veterans' group, in part: "The idea of the Airborne League is, I believe, very good…I am convinced that in time it could be a very influential and very worthwhile, from the viewpoint of our country's future, association of people. It will face many problems and meet with some hostility. Knowing the temper of the people who comprise it I know that it will thrive with opposition. It will be accused of being a copy of the Nay League or the Marine Corps League or the Air Force Association and such groupings of Veterans, but we both know that it is none of these things, that it can be an association conceived on the idea of things to come rather than dedicated to reliving the past…Knowing as we do that our future survival, in the larger sense, will lie in this field of the fullest exploitation of our air mobility, one is impressed by what could be done through an Airborne League."
He goes on to discuss the development of American air power, observing: "From the national viewpoint there is no doubt in my mind that a full measure of air mobility must be given to all of our land forces. In fact, I am quite convinced that with it we could have ended the last war in the Fall of '44, and with it we could have put forces on the Yalu and ended the Korean affair before the Chinese intervened. I talked to General MacArthur personally about this at some length, and he too sought but failed to obtain large Airborne forces. They simply were not available." He continues to hammer the importance of an airborne branch and makes suggestions for lobbying Congress and the Eisenhower administration into effecting an increase in American air mobility. In fine condition.
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