GENERAL G. C. THOMAS - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 05/16/1957 - HFSID 67827

GERALD C. THOMAS
The retired Marine general signs a 1957 typed letter, responding to an inquiry about German Admiral Doenitz.
Typed Letter signed: "G. C. Thomas" , 1 page, 8x10½. Washington, D.C., 1957 May 16. To H. Keith Thompson, New York City, in full: "I returned last night from a trip of ten days to the West and found your letter of May 2, regarding the matter of Admiral Doenitz. Quite frankly, I have no knowledge of the merits or demerits of Admiral Doenitz' case and therefore do not feel that I am in any position to testify regarding him. Very truly yours". Gerald C. Thomas (1894-1984) was a US Marine officer decorated in three wars. In World War I, he earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart while fighting in the Battles of Belleau Wood and the Meuse-Argonne. He was Chief of Staff of the First Marine Division during the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II, and commander of that same division during the Korean War. He was Director of the Marine Corps Division of Plans and Policies (1944-1946) and, Assistant Commandant of the Corps (1952-1954). He retired as a four-star general in 1956, the same year he co-authored The Marine Corps Officer's Guide. Karl Doenitz (1891-1980) was commander of the German Navy during World War II (and principal architect of its U-Boat campaign), and Hitler's designated successor in the final month before German's unconditional surrender. Convicted of war crimes at the Nuremberg tribunals, he was imprisoned for 10 years. Released in October 1956, seven months before this letter was written, Doenitz wrote his memoirs (1958) and spent the rest of his life trying to convince a properly skeptical world that his role in Nazi Germany had been apolitical. It's unclear why the writer of this letter expected General Thomas, who spent World War II in the Pacific Theater, to have informed opinions about Doenitz. Mailing folds, not near signature. Fine condition.