Louis Arthur Johnson (January 10, 1891April 24, 1966) was an American
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
and
attorney who served as the second
United States Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...
from 1949 to 1950.
He was the
Assistant Secretary of War
The United States Assistant Secretary of War was the second–ranking official within the American Department of War from 1861 to 1867, from 1882 to 1883, and from 1890 to 1940. According to thMilitary Laws of the United States "The act of August ...
from 1937 to 1940 and the 15th national commander of the
American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
from 1932 to 1933.
Early life
Johnson was born on January 10, 1891, in
Roanoke,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
,
to Marcellus and Catherine (née Arthur) Johnson. He earned a law degree from the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
. After graduation, he practiced law in
Clarksburg, West Virginia
Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. The population of the city was 16,039 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg micro ...
; his firm,
Steptoe & Johnson
Steptoe & Johnson LLP is an international law firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, London, Brussels, Beijing, and Hong Kong.
History
Philip Steptoe and Louis A. Johnson, both ...
eventually opened offices in
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...
, and
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
Elected to the
West Virginia House of Delegates
The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates.
Organization
Regular sessions begin with ...
in 1916, he served as majority floor leader and chairman of the Judiciary Committee. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Johnson saw action as an Army
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, where he compiled a long report to the War Department on Army management and materiel requisition practices. After the war, he resumed his law practice, was active in veterans' affairs, and served as National Commander of the
American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
.
Assistant Secretary of War, 1937–40
As
Assistant Secretary of War
The United States Assistant Secretary of War was the second–ranking official within the American Department of War from 1861 to 1867, from 1882 to 1883, and from 1890 to 1940. According to thMilitary Laws of the United States "The act of August ...
from 1937 to 1940, Johnson advocated universal
military education and training
Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...
, rearmament, and expansion of
military aviation
Military aviation comprises military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift ( air cargo) capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a war the ...
. He feuded with the isolationist
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
Harry Hines Woodring
Harry Hines Woodring (May 31, 1887September 9, 1967) was an American politician. A Democrat, he was the 25th Governor of Kansas and the United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1933 to 1936. His most important role was Secretary of War in P ...
over military aid to Britain. In mid-1940, after Woodring had resigned and the
fall of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...
had revealed the precarious state of the nation's defenses,
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
bypassed Johnson for the position of Secretary of War but instead choosing
Henry Stimson
Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and D ...
.
Having aspired to the position of Secretary, which he felt he had earned, Johnson felt betrayed by Roosevelt. During the war, Johnson had no major responsibilities within the government involving military matters, but he agreed to participate in the
Roosevelt administration's war mobilization of US industry. Later, he served as Alien Property custodian for the American operations of the German chemical giant
I. G. Farben. In 1942, Johnson briefly served as the president's personal representative in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, until an intestinal illness caused him to resign his post and return to the United States.
Secretary of Defense
In the
1948 presidential campaign, Johnson was chief fundraiser for President
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
's election campaign; the money raised by Johnson proved crucial to Truman's come-from-behind victory in the November elections. As a regular visitor to the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
, Johnson not only continued to express an interest in defense matters, but actively campaigned for the post of
Secretary of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
.
He was also a staunch supporter of Truman's desire to 'hold the line' on defense spending. After a series of conflicts with Defense Secretary
James V. Forrestal over defense budget cutbacks, Truman asked for Forrestal's resignation, replacing him with Johnson early in 1949.
Defense budget reductions
Secretary Johnson entered office sharing the president's commitment to achieve further military unification and to drastically reduce budget expenditures on defense in favor of other government programs.
[LaFeber 1993.] As one of Truman's staunchest political supporters, Johnson was viewed by Truman as the ideal candidate to push Truman's defense budget economization policy in the face of continued resistance by the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
and the
armed forces
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
.
According to historian
Walter LaFeber
Walter Fredrick LaFeber (August 30, 1933March 9, 2021) was an American academic who served as the Andrew H. and James S. Tisch Distinguished University Professor in the Department of History at Cornell University. Previous to that he served as t ...
, Truman was known to approach defense budgetary requests in the abstract, without regard to defense response requirements in the event of conflicts with potential enemies. Truman would begin by subtracting from total receipts the amount needed for domestic needs and recurrent operating costs, with any surplus going to the defense budget for that year. From the beginning, Johnson and Truman assumed that the United States' monopoly on the
atomic bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
was adequate protection against any and all external threats.
Johnson's unwillingness to budget conventional readiness needs for the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
,
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
or
Marine Corps
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
soon caused fierce controversies within the upper ranks of the armed forces.
[Blair 2003.] From fiscal year 1948 onwards, the defense department budget was capped at the amount set in FY 1947 ($14.4 billion), and was progressively reduced in succeeding fiscal years until January 1950, when it was reduced yet again to $13.5 billion.
Johnson was also an advocate of defense unification, which he saw as a means to further reduce defense spending requirements. At a press conference the day after he took office, Johnson promised a drastic cut in the number of National Military Establishment boards, committees, and commissions, and added, "To the limit the present law allows, I promise you there will be unification as rapidly as the efficiency of the service permits it." Later, in one of his frequent speeches on unification, Johnson stated that "this nation can no longer tolerate the autonomous conduct of any single service ... a waste of the resources of America in spendthrift defense is an invitation to disaster for America."
To ensure congressional approval of proposed DOD budget requests, both Truman and Johnson demanded public acquiescence, if not outright support, from the
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
(JCS) and other military department commanders when making public statements or testifying before Congress. In 1948, JCS Chief of Staff General
Omar Bradley
Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893April 8, 1981) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. Bradley ...
stated that "the Army of 1948 could not fight its way out of a paper bag."
[Blair, Clay, The Forgotten War: America in Korea, 1950-1953, Naval Institute Press (2003), p. 290][Hofmann, George F., pp. 7-12] Yet the following year, after becoming
Chairman of the JCS under Johnson, Bradley reversed course and publicly supported Johnson's decisions, telling Congress that he would be doing a "disservice to the nation" if he asked for a larger military force.
General
J. Lawton Collins
General (United States), General Joseph Lawton Collins (May 1, 1896 – September 12, 1987) was a senior United States Army officer. During World War II, he served in both the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, Pacific and European Theater of Operations, U ...
went even further when testifying before a House Appropriations committee, stating that Truman administration reductions in Army force levels made it ''more'' effective.
Johnson promptly began proposing mothballing or scrapping much of the Navy's conventional surface fleet and amphibious forces. Shortly after his appointment, Johnson had a conversation with
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Richard L. Conolly that revealed his attitudes towards the US Navy and US Marine Corps and any need for non-nuclear forces:
Admiral, the Navy is on its way out. There's no reason for having a Navy and a Marine Corps. General Bradley tells me amphibious operations are a thing of the past. We'll never have any more amphibious operations. That does away with the Marine Corps. And the Air Force can do anything the Navy can do, so that does away with the Navy.[Krulak 1999.]
Both Truman and Johnson extended their opposition to the Navy in their treatment of the US Marine Corps. Truman had a well-known dislike of the Marines from to his Army service in World War I and would say in August 1950, "The Marine Corps is the Navy's police force and as long as I am President that is what it will remain. They have a propaganda machine that is almost equal to
Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
's."
[
] Johnson exploited this ill feeling of Truman's to reduce or eliminate many Marine Corps' budget requests.
Johnson attempted to eliminate
Marine Corps aviation by transferring its air assets to other services and proposed to progressively eliminate the Marine Corps altogether in a series of budget cutbacks and decommissioning of forces. Johnson ordered that the highest-ranking Marine officer, the
Commandant of the Marine Corps
The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...
, be deleted from the official roll of chiefs of service branches authorized a driver and limousine, and for whom a special gun salute was prescribed on ceremonial occasions. He further specified that there would be no future official recognition or celebration of the
Marine Corps birthday. More ominously, Johnson barred the Commandant of the Marine Corps from attending JCS meetings in his role of chief of service (including meetings involving Marine readiness or deployments).
Johnson welcomed the passage of the 1949 amendments to the
National Security Act of 1947
The National Security Act of 1947 ( Pub.L.br>80-253 61 Stat.br>495 enacted July 26, 1947) was a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the pro ...
, telling an American Legion convention that he was "happy to report ... that 80 percent of the problems that beset unification immediately disappeared when the President signed the bill increasing the authority and the responsibility of the Secretary of Defense." Believing that the amendments would help him achieve additional budget cuts, Johnson estimated that one year after their passage the Defense Department would be achieving savings at the rate of $1 billion per year (he later claimed that he had attained this goal). One of his slogans was that the taxpayer was going to get "a dollar's worth of defense for every dollar spent" by the Pentagon, an approach that Truman approved.
Johnson did not limit his budget-cutting campaign to the Navy or Marine Corps. Johnson ordered nearly all of the Army inventories of surplus World War II tanks, communications equipment, personnel carriers and small arms be scrapped or sold off to other countries instead of being shipped to ordnance and storage depots for reconditioning and storage. Johnson even resisted budget requests for reserve stockpiles of small arms and anti-tank ammunition, anti-tank weapons, or amphibious infantry training for the Army's newly acquired ex-Navy landing craft, which promptly began to deteriorate from lack of proper maintenance.
Though the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
(USAF) faced fewer program cancellations and cuts, Johnson refused USAF requests for a doubling of active air groups until the
invasion of Korea
An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...
and favored reduction of tactical air force readiness in favor of the strategic nuclear bomber forces.
[Lane 2003.][McFarland, p. 203][Summers 1996.][Wolk 2000.]
Revolt of the Admirals
Johnson's defense cuts, which began on April 23, 1949, were accelerated after he announced the cancellation of the 65,000-ton flushdeck
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
. The Navy had been planning the ship for several years and construction had already begun. Johnson, supported by a slim majority of the JCS and by Truman, stressed the need to cut costs. At least by implication, Johnson had scuttled the Navy's hope to participate in strategic nuclear air operations through use of the carrier. Neither the Department of the Navy nor Congress had been consulted in the termination of ''United States''. Abruptly resigning,
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
John L. Sullivan
John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing ...
expressed concern about the future of the US Marine Corps and both Marine and Navy aviation and Johnson's determination to eliminate those services through progressive program cuts.
Faced with such large-scale budgetary reductions, competition between the service branches for remaining defense funds grew increasingly acrimonious. The cancelation of the
supercarrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a n ...
precipitated a bitter controversy between the Navy and the USAF, the so-called "
Revolt of the Admirals
The "Revolt of the Admirals" was a policy and funding dispute within the United States government during the Cold War in 1949, involving a number of retired and active-duty United States Navy admirals. These included serving officers Admiral Lo ...
." In congressional hearings and other public arenas, the Navy reacted angrily to Johnson's action by openly questioning the ability of the Air Force's latest strategic bomber, the
Convair B-36
The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" is a strategic bomber that was built by Convair and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 is the largest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft ever built. It had the longest win ...
, to penetrate Soviet airspace. The USAF countered with data supporting the B-36 and minimized the importance of a naval role for surface ships in future major conflicts.
Subsequently, declassified material proved the USAF to be technically correct in its immediate assessment of the capabilities of the B-36 at the time of the Revolt of the Admirals. At the time, it was indeed virtually invulnerable to interception due to the great height at which it flew. However, the B-36 was a pre-World War II design and by the time it was actually operational and fully deployed to Air Force active duty bombardment wings and bombardment squadrons, the B-36 was hopelessly vulnerable to modern
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...
jet interceptors, aircraft that would greatly surprise US officials when they later appeared over North Korea. Once engaged in the conflict in Korea that would evolve into the Korean War, the role of USAF heavy bombers evolved into an extension of their role during World War II, support of in-theater tactical ground forces. The USAF heavy bomber aircraft employed was the
B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...
of the Second World War, and the B-36 would see no combat in Korea.
In the long run, Navy arguments for the supercarrier prevailed, though not for the reasons originally cited. A relative failure as a strategic nuclear deterrent, the large aircraft carrier would prove invaluable as an element of conventional rapid deployment tactical air forces, requiring neither overflight permissions or overseas basing rights with host nations. The successors to the canceled supercarrier, the new s, and later designs, continue in service with the US Navy into the 21st century, forming the core of its offensive striking power.
However, a more ominous (if less publicized) development than the supercarrier debate was Johnson's steady reduction of force in Navy ships, landing craft, and equipment needed for conventional force readiness. Ship after ship was mothballed from the fleet for lack of operating funds. The US Navy and Marine Corps, which had been the world's preeminent amphibious force just a few years earlier, lost most of its amphibious capabilities and landing craft which were scrapped or sold as surplus (the remaining craft were reserved solely for Army use in amphibious operations exercises, which did not utilize them in that role).
House investigation
In June 1949, the
House Committee on Armed Services
The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of De ...
launched an investigation into charges, emanating unofficially from Navy sources, of malfeasance in office against Johnson and
Secretary of the Air Force
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
W. Stuart Symington
William Stuart Symington III (; June 26, 1901 – December 14, 1988) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from Missouri. He served as the first Secretary of the Air Force from 1947 to 1950 and was a United States Senator from M ...
. The hearings also looked into the capability of the B-36, the cancellation of the supercarrier ''United States'' and JCS procedures on weapons development, and ultimately examined the whole course of unification. In addition to disparaging the B-36, Navy representatives questioned the current US military plan for immediate use of
atomic weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s against large urban areas when a war started. The Navy argued that such an approach would not harm military targets, and that tactical air power, ground troops and sea power were the elements necessary to defend the United States and Europe against attack. The USAF countered that atomic weapons and long-range strategic bombers would deter war, but that if war nevertheless broke out, an immediate atomic offensive against the enemy would contribute to the success of surface actions and reduce US casualties. Strategic bombing, the USAF contended, provided the major counterbalance to the Soviet Union's vastly superior ground forces.
In its final report, the House Armed Services Committee found no substance to the charges relating to Johnson's and Symington's roles in aircraft procurement. It held that evaluation of the B-36's worth was the responsibility of the
Weapons Systems Evaluation Group The Weapons Systems Evaluation Group (abbreviated WSEG) was formed in 1949 to carry out Operational Research work for the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Army and the United States Secretary of Defense. The group oversaw the appraisal of ...
and that the services jointly should not pass judgment on weapons proposed by one service. On the cancelation of the supercarrier, the committee questioned the qualifications of the Army and Air Force chiefs of staff, who had testified in support of Johnson's decision, to determine vessels appropriate for the Navy. The committee, disapproving of Johnson's "summary manner" of terminating the carrier and failure to consult congressional committees before acting, stated that "national defense is not strictly an executive department undertaking; it involves not only the Congress but the American people as a whole speaking through their Congress. The committee can in no way condone this manner of deciding public questions."
The committee expressed solid support for effective unification, but stated that "there is such a thing as seeking too much unification too fast" and observed that "there has been a Navy reluctance in the interservice marriage, an over-ardent Army, a somewhat exuberant Air Force.... It may well be stated that the committee finds no unification
Puritans
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...
in the Pentagon."
Finally, the committee condemned the dismissal of Admiral
Louis E. Denfeld, the
Chief of Naval Operations
The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...
, who accepted cancellation of the supercarrier but testified critically on defense planning and administration of unification.
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
Francis P. Matthews
Francis Patrick Matthews (March 15, 1887 – October 18, 1952) was an American who served as the 8th Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus from 1939 to 1945, the 50th United States Secretary of the Navy from 1949 to 1951, and United S ...
fired Denfeld on October 27, 1949, explaining that he and Denfeld disagreed widely on strategic policy and unification. The House Armed Services Committee concluded that Denfeld's removal by Matthews was a
reprisal
A reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of international law to punish another sovereign state that has already broken them. Since the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (AP 1), reprisals in the laws of war are extremel ...
because of Denfield's testimony and a challenge to effective representative government. Matthews's perceived vindictiveness towards much of the Navy's uniformed senior leadership during his tenure led to a perception by both the public and the Congress of the Navy's civilian leadership woes, a perception that also did not go totally unnoticed by the news media of the period. As ''
The Washington Daily News
''The Washington Daily News'' was an afternoon tabloid-size newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
History
''The Washington Daily News'' was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The newspaper was born on November 8, 1921, an ...
'' reported at the time, "Secretary of the Navy Matthews does not have the confidence of the Navy and can not win it.... Moreover, Mr. Matthews has forfeited the confidence of Congress by firing Admiral Denfeld." Matthews resigned as Secretary of the Navy in July 1951 to become Ambassador to Ireland.
Although Johnson emerged from the Revolt of the Admirals with his reputation intact, the controversy weakened his position with the services and probably with the President. Notwithstanding Johnson's emphasis on unification, it was debatable how far it had really progressed, given the bitter recriminations exchanged by the Air Force and the Navy during the controversy, which went far beyond the initial question of the supercarrier to more fundamental issues of strategic doctrine, service roles and missions, and the authority of the secretary of defense. Moreover, Johnson's ill-conceived budget cutbacks on force readiness would soon bear bitter fruit with the coming of the Korean War. Most historians attribute Johnson's efforts to significantly reduce, if not eliminate, US naval aviation in both the Navy and Marine Corps as one of the important factors in bringing about the invasion of South Korea, supported by both China and the Soviet Union. After the initial onslaught on to the Korean peninsula by North Korean forces, no air bases on the Korean peninsula were available for the USAF to fight back from. As a result, all air support during those disastrous months came from , the only aircraft carrier left in the Western Pacific when South Korea was invaded. ''Valley Forge'' was soon joined by the other two aircraft carriers remaining in the Pacific.
Cold War
Momentous international events that demanded difficult national security decisions also marked Johnson's term. The
Berlin Crisis ended in May 1949, when the Soviets lifted the blockade. Johnson pointed to the
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road ...
as a technological triumph important to the future of
air cargo
Air cargo is any property carried or to be carried in an aircraft. Air cargo comprises air freight, air express and airmail.
Aircraft types
Different cargo can be transported by passenger, cargo or combi aircraft:
* Passenger aircraft use the ...
transportation and as an example of the fruits of unification. A week after Johnson took office, the United States and 11 other nations signed the
North Atlantic Treaty
The North Atlantic Treaty, also referred to as the Washington Treaty, is the treaty that forms the legal basis of, and is implemented by, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949 ...
, creating a regional organization that became the heart of a comprehensive collective security system. After initial reservations, Johnson supported the new alliance and the program of military assistance for
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and other US allies, which was instituted by the
Mutual Defense Assistance Act
The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Eur ...
(1949).
NSC 68
In August 1949, earlier than US intelligence analysts had expected, the Soviet Union tested its first atomic device. That event and the almost-concurrent retreat of the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
regime from
Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
hastened debate within the administration as to whether the United States should develop a
hydrogen bomb
A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...
. Initially, Johnson suspected, despite confirming air sample, that the Soviets had not really tested an atomic device at all. He theorized that perhaps an accidental laboratory explosion had occurred and that no reassessments of US defense capabilities were needed.
Concluding that the hydrogen bomb was now required as deterrent as well as an offensive weapon, on January 31, 1950, Truman decided to proceed with development, which was supported by Johnson. Meanwhile, Truman directed the Secretaries of State and Defense to review and to reassess US
national security
National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
policy in the light of the Soviet atomic explosion, the
Chinese Communist
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
victory in the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
, and the acquisition of the hydrogen bomb and to produce a paper based on their new analysis. Johnson went about that task reluctantly, as he had promised Truman that he would hold the line on increased defense spending. Johnson was also upset that the State Department had first taken the lead on the policy assessment and had heavily influenced the contents of the resultant report
NSC 68 United States Objectives and Programs for National Security, better known as NSC68, was a 66-page top secret National Security Council (NSC) policy paper drafted by the Department of State and Department of Defense and presented to President Harry ...
.
Truman was less than enthusiastic about the large defense cost projections for NSC 68 and its implications for existing domestic budgetary spending priorities, and initially sent it back without comment to its authors for further analysis. Although Truman took no immediate formal action on NSC 68, the paper gained considerable support when North Korea invaded South Korea. Johnson's obstinate attitude toward the State Department's role in the preparation of the paper adversely affected his relations with both Secretary of State
Dean Acheson
Dean Gooderham Acheson (pronounced ; April 11, 1893October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. As the 51st U.S. Secretary of State, he set the foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration from 1949 to 1953. He was also Truman ...
and Truman. Johnson publicly professed belief that "the advance guard in the campaign for peace that America wages today must be the State Department," but his disagreements with Acheson and his restrictions on Defense Department contacts with the State Department persisted until the realities of the Korean War caused his fall from favor with the White House.
Failure in Korea
By 1950, Johnson had established a policy of faithfully following Truman's defense economization policy and had aggressively attempted to implement it even in the face of steadily increasing external threats posed by the Soviet Union and its allied Communist regimes. He consequently received much of the blame for the initial setbacks in Korea and the widespread reports of ill-equipped and inadequately trained US military forces. Johnson's failure to plan adequately for US conventional force commitments, to train and equip current forces adequately, or even to budget funds for storage of surplus Army and Navy war materiel for future use in the event of conflict would prove fateful after the Korean War had started.
Ironically, only the US Marine Corps, whose commanders had stored and maintained their World War II surplus inventories of equipment and weapons, proved ready for deployment though they still were woefully under-strength and in need of suitable landing craft to practice amphibious operations (Johnson had transferred most of the remaining craft from the Navy and reserved them for use in training Army units).
As US and South Korean forces lacked sufficient armor and artillery to repel the North Korean forces, Army and Marine Corps ground troops were instead committed to a series of costly
rearguard
A rearguard is a part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal. The term can also be used to describe forces protecting lines, such as communication lines, behind an army. Even more ...
actions as the enemy steadily progressed down the Korean Peninsula and eventually encircled
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
.
The impact of the Korean War on Johnson's defense planning was glaringly evident in the Defense Department's original and supplemental budgetary requests for
fiscal year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
1951 in which Johnson had at first supported Truman's recommendation of a $13.3 billion defense budget. However, a month after the Korean War had started, the secretary hastily proposed a supplemental appropriation request of $10.5 billion (an increase of 79%), which brought the total requested to $23.8 billion. In making the additional request, Johnson informed a House appropriations subcommittee that "in light of the actual fighting that is now in progress, we have reached the point where the military considerations clearly outweigh the fiscal considerations."
The US reverses in Korea and the continued priority accorded to European security resulted in rapid, substantive changes in US defense policies, including a long-term expansion of the armed forces and increased emphasis on military assistance to US allies. In addition, Truman recoiled from Johnson's "inordinate egotistical desire to run the whole government." Truman later noted how Johnson had "offended every member of the cabinet... He never missed an opportunity to say mean things about my personal staff." Finally, concerned about public criticism of his handling of the Korean War, Truman decided to ask for Johnson's resignation. On September 19, 1950, Johnson resigned as Secretary of Defense, and Truman quickly replaced him with
General of the Army George C. Marshall
George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...
.
Later years
His political career at an end, Johnson returned to his law practice, which he pursued until his death from a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
in 1966 in Washington, DC, at the age of 75. He is buried at the Elkview Masonic Cemetery in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He was survived by his wife, Ruth Frances Maxwell Johnson and daughters Lillian and Katherine.
In his last speech as Secretary of Defense, the day before he left office, Johnson made a reference to
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'': "When the hurly burly's done and the battle is won, I trust the historian will find my record of performance creditable, my services honest and faithful commensurate with the trust that was placed in me and in the best interests of peace and our national defense."
On December 7, 1950, The Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center was dedicated in honor of Johnson. The medical center rests on a 16-acre site adjacent to the Veterans Memorial Park and the West Virginia State Nursing Home in the city of Clarksburg, West Virginia. This medical center has been an active teaching facility since 1960 by participating in residency and academic affiliations with West Virginia University, Fairmont State University, Alderson-Broaddus College, and other nearby institutions of higher education.
See also
*
List of members of the American Legion
This table provides a list of notable members of The American Legion.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:American Legion, List O ...
*
List of Secretaries of Defense
Further reading
*Blair, Clay, ''The Forgotten War: America in Korea, 1950-1953'', Naval Institute Press (2003)
*Davis, Vincent, ''The Post-imperial Presidency'', New Brunswick: Transaction Press (1980)
*Krulak, Victor H. (Lt. Gen.), ''First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps'', Naval Institute Press (1999)
*LaFeber, Walter, ''America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1945-1980'', 7th edition New York: McGraw-Hill (1993)
*Lane, Peter J., ''Steel for Bodies: Ammunition Readiness During the Korean War'', Master's Thesis: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (2003)
*McFarland, Keith D. and Roll, David L., ''Louis Johnson and the Arming of America: The Roosevelt And Truman Years'' (2005
full text online*McFarland, Keith. "The 1949 Revolt of the Admirals" ''Parameters: Journal of the US Army War College Quarterly'' (1980) 11#2 : 53–63
online*Summers, Harry G. (Lt. Col.), "The Korean War: A Fresh Perspective" (1996)
Military History. Volume 17, Number 2, June 2000*Wolk, Herman S., "The Blueprint for Cold War Defense", Air Force Magazine (March 2000)
References
External links
*
at ''
The Political Graveyard
The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...
''
Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Louis A.
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