1953–54 Volume 78 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

Hull Is Chief of U.S. Far East Forces
PHI GENERAL PLANNED IKE'S INVASION;
NOW HE'LL HANDLE STRATEGY IN TOKYO
From a story by Don Whitehead,
Associated Press writer
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER is placing
his trust in a Phi—a onetime Ohio farm
boy—to outmaneuver the Red general in
skill and cunning if war should break out
again in Korea. The president's choice is
Gen. John Edwin Hull, Miami 17, who
has succeeded Gen. Mark Clark as commander
of the United Nations forces in the
far. east. General Hull left in September for
Tokyo and took over the command October
30.
If there is to be more fighting in Korea,
then Hull will have to match wits and firepower
with the Reds. And while the bald
six foot soldier sometimes calls himself
"the general nobody knows," he is accustomed
to thinking of military strategy
on a grand scale. Hull was a major architect
of the Eisenhower invasion of France
in World War II. And he directed the first
planning of the north African invasion. Hull
is well aware of the responsibilities ahead.
"My greatest job," he said in an interview,
"will be to keep the army, navy and
air force in the far east ready for combat
at any time. We don't intend to be caught
with our guard down by any surprise enemy
offensive. The foxholes and defensive positions
are manned—and will be manned in
the future."
Now 58 and a four star general. Brother
Hull fought as a lieutenant in World War
I and won a silver star for heroism in action.
But during World War II and since, he has
been a "desk general" except for a period
when he commanded a task force conducting
supersecret atomic tests at the Eniwetok
proving ground in the Pacific.
Why did President Eisenhower give the
far east command to a desk general rather
than one with a background of combat
command
The answer may lie partly in the fact
that back in 1942 Hull and his staff at the
Pentagon conceived the master plan which
[77]
led to the defeat of Hitler's armies in
Europe three years later.
Hull first took his plan to Eisenhowerthen
the army's chief of operations—and to
Gen. Thomas Handy, later to command an
invasion army in France. They were impressed
and went with Hull to put the plan
before Gen. George C. Marshall, then army
chief of staff.
"Marshall liked the plan and took it to
President Roosevelt," Hull recalled. "A few
refinements were made, but the basic concept
was followed all the way."
Hull believes Germany could have been
whipped earlier and the western Allies
might have been in a stronger position today
if Europe had been invaded in 1943
instead of 1944. He never cared for the
north African invasion strategy even though
his staff drew up the plans.
"Success breeds success," Hull said. "Once
we went into north Africa, then came the
invasions of Sicily and Italy, which kept
(Continued on page 97)
GEN. JOHN E. HULL, Miami '17
"The General nobody knows,"