Aug. 16, 1962 - General Douglas MacArthur came to Capitol Hill today to receive the thanks of Congress for his countless exploits. With trembling hands but his posture still ramrod stiff, the 82-year-old soldier stood on the broad Capitol steps and accepted from House Speaker John W. McCormack a resolution adopted unanimously by Senate and House. It expressed grateful recognition for General MacArthur’s “outstanding devotion to the American people and his brilliant leadership during and following World War II.” General MacArthur, in reply, made no direct reference to the great clash of 1951, when President Truman dismissed him from all his Far East commands. But he spoke words that perhaps connoted a feeling of vindication. He was deeply grateful, he said, that Congress had, “after the lapse of sufficient time, swayed neither by sentiment nor emotion, rendered an estimate of my services which I fear does me too much honor.” When asked for his view of the future, General MacArthur replied: “I am completely optimistic. Anyone who believes the United States of America has no future in front of it should have his brain examined. We are at the beginning, not the end.”
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