GENERAL MATTHEW B. RIDGWAY - TYPESCRIPT SIGNED - HFSID 46926

MATTHEW B. RIDGWAY
Signed typescript by Matthew B. Ridgway as Commander of the Eighth Army in Korea, of the letter Ridgway wrote to the head of the South Korean Army.
Souvenir Typescript signed: "M.B. Ridgway", 1p, 8½x11. Headquarters Eighth U.S. Army, 1951 11 Jan 1951. Typescript of his letter to General Chung II Kwon, Chief of Staff, Republic of Korea Army. In full: "Now that I have had sufficient time to see the situation as it now exists, to view the terrain, and personally to talk to the principal Commanders, I deem it opportune to share my personal basic conclusions with you. First, there is here but one ultimate objective-freedom for your people. To attain that objective, there is only one force-our combined Allied Army. Second, there is but one single common destiny for this combined Allied Army. It will fight together and stay together whatever the future holds. I would like you to feel free to convey to all ranks this simple statement which I send to you with complete sincerity and all the emphasis I can command." The World War II General who saw action at Salerno, Normandy (parachuted on D-Day) and the Battle of the Bulge, was Commander of the Eighth Army in Korea. When he took over in December 1950, he moved immediately to revitalize the seriously demoralized Army and succeeded so well that by late January 1951, the Eighth Army took the offensive again. He replaced General MacArthur as Allied Commander of the U.N. forces in the Far East after MacArthur was recalled by President Truman in April 1951. Under his leadership, the Korean armistice talks began in July 1951. He succeeded Eisenhower as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe in 1952 and was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army from 1953-1955. Fine condition.