GENERAL JOSEPH W. "VINEGAR JOE" STILWELL - MEMORANDUM SIGNED 01/07/1931 - HFSID 291464

JOSEPH W. STILWELL
Copy of a memorandum by Stilwell decrying bureaucratic delays in adoption of a new light machine gun for the US Army. This copy is initialed by Stilwell and addressed by him to "Trotsky." "If the mills of the Gods grind slowly," he says,"they haven't a thing on the machinery in use in the United States Army."
Memorandum signed: "J. W. S", 2 pages, 8x10½. Fort Benning, Georgia, 1931 January 7. Carbon copy of a memorandum written by Stilwell, including copy of his full signature. This copy has been initialed by Stilwell in red pencil, and addressed by him to "Trotsky". Untitled document describing bureaucratic delays in getting the US Army's approval for procurement of a new light machine gun for the infantry. Accompanied by four vintage photos of soldiers demonstrating a light machine gun, presumably the model promoted by Stilwell. Stilwell sums up his view of the process in the final paragraph: "We keep pushing away at this proposition, by suggestion and inquiry. Charley Dravo runs a play on his end, and then I run one down here, and I think we are gradually going down the field. Personally and individually I must say that everyone I've dealt with has been very receptive, very fair, and very anxious to do the best in his power for the Infantry - the only reason we don't go faster is that our machinery is geared too low. If it were possible to cut the tape, I believe all concerned would be only too glad to do it." Joseph Warren Stilwell (1883-1946) was a tactically skilled US Army officer who, if assigned to the European or Pacific Theaters when World War II commenced, Stilwell might have been remembered as a gifted corps or army commander. Instead, President Roosevelt sent him in 1942 to the China-Burma-India Theater, where he led British and Chinese forces in combat and served as Chief of Staff to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek. Stilwell, who reveled in the nickname "Vinegar Joe," was not a talented diplomat. Although he led British troops on foot in a daring escape from Burma, he soon antagonized British commanders and Chiang himself. (Stilwell came to believe, not unreasonably, that Britain was more concerned with protecting its colonial possessions in Asia, and Chiang with retaining power and preserving his forces for a later showdown with Mao Zedong's communists, while waiting for the US campaign in the Pacific to defeat Japan.) Stillwell thought Chiang, whom he privately called "Peanut," corrupt and militarily incompetent. He also clashed with US General Claire Chennault, Time magazine editor Henry Luce, and other leaders of the emerging "China Lobby." In October 1944, Chiang demanded Stilwell's recall. The general commanded the US Tenth Army in the Okinawa campaign, but succumbed to stomach cancer at Fort Ord shortly after war's end. After his return from China, Stilwell urged the US to disengage from its involvement there. Historical evaluations of Stilwell vary widely, depending on each writer's appraisal of US policy in East Asia from the Chinese Civil War to the Vietnam War. Joseph Stilwell, Jr., who had served under his father in China, rose to the rank of brigadier general and served as an advisor to the South Vietnamese army. This memo, written from Fort Benning while Stilwell held the rank of colonel, is very characteristic in its impatience with procedures, but shows a more charitable view of the motives of others than is commonly ascribed to "Vinegar Joe." The identity of the recipient is unknown, but Stilwell surely intended the nickname Trotsky as a compliment. (Leon Trotsky, 1879-1940, leader of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, was associated with the militant wing of the international communist movement and had been exiled by Stalin (later murdered) for his outspoken opposition to the dictator's policies. An analogy to someone impatient for change in the US Army would be easy to make.) Two filing holes at top. Staple holes at top left. Paperclip indentation at top left, center and bottom center. Pencil notes (unknown hand) on right edge and bottom. Lightly creased. Otherwise, fine condition. Photographs in overall fine condition.