GENERAL MATTHEW B. RIDGWAY - TYPED LETTER TWICE SIGNED 09/20/1985 - HFSID 155779

MATTHEW RIDGWAY
He signs and also initials a typed 1985 letter, his detailed answer to a query about Soviet hopes for world domination.
Typed Letter signed: "M. B. Ridgway", 1 page, 8½x11, with initialed postscript "M.B. R.". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1985 September 20. Typed on verso of a handwritten letter from Dennis Cooper, Longview, Washington, concerning Soviet ambitions in the light of world history. Ridgway's answer, in full: "I fully agree with your basic conclusion. It is not the preachers of communism, I think, who believe in world domination by communistic governments. It is that power thirsty individuals, grown to adulthood under authoritarian rule which has long oppressed the masses among which they grew up, and that these individuals propose 'democracy'. Once they are in power, having long been denied the freedoms and privileges which these masses know are enjoyed elsewhere, they accept such promises, feeling they have little to lose. As soon as such individuals gain control the masses who initially supported them learn the bitter truth - as in Nicaragua - that they have simply exchanged one form of oppression for another equally arbitrary. Whether or not the present leaders of the USSR really believe that they can dominate the world, we do not know. But their overriding objective is to maintain their power basis intact with all its privileges, and they can be utterly ruthless. The sad truth is, as you state, that no one group of governmental leaders, or combination of such groups, has long held hegemony over the world. Greece, and later, Rome did so for the then known world, the former briefly, the latter for a prolonged period, but ultimately, both were defeated. The frightening fact is, that with the awesome capability existing today of using nuclear weapons and chemical warfare, some governmental leaders might attempt to seize world domination. While it would eventually fail, the tragedy to all of mankind is beyond calculation. It should be the objective of every government to prevent such a catastrophe. Sincerely". Postscript: "In 1938, while on a fishing trip, I camped not far from where I imagine you now live." Matthew Bunker Ridgway (1895-1993) planned and executed the Army's first major airborne assault in Sicily during WWII. In April 1951, he succeeded General of the Army Douglas MacArthur as Commander of United Nations forces in Korea and of allied occupying forces in Japan. In June 1952, Ridgway replaced General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe. He served as Army Chief of Staff from 1953-1955. Fold crease through signature. Fine condition.