"OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE"

MACARTHUR, Douglas. Douglas MacArthur's Address to the Congress of the Unites States April 19, 1951. (Houston: Wetmore), circa 1951. Slim octavo, staple-bound as issued, original orange paper wrappers; pp.14. $2000.

Early separate printing of MacArthur's famous "Old Soldiers Never Die" farewell address before Congress delivered on April 19, 1951, inscribed on the front wrapper to North Dakota congressman Usher Burdick: "To Usher Burdick—With cordial regard—Douglas MacArthur."

On April 19, 1951, before a joint session of Congress, Douglas MacArthur announced his resignation as General of the Army in this moving speech. His closing words, "old soldiers never die; they just fade away," headlined nearly ever newspaper in the days that followed. "General Douglas MacArthur's career was one of the longest and most controversial of any American military figure, including active service as a general from 1918 to 1951. His genius as a leader was demonstrated most lucidly in his pioneering reforms as West Point superintendent; his bold and imaginative campaigns, with minimum logistical support, during the war against Japan; and, perhaps most important, his enlightened administration of the Japanese occupation" (ANB). The official first edition of MacArthur's speech was published by the Appeal Printing Company in New York in 1951; this booklet is an early offprint of the same speech. Usher Burdick, to whom this copy was inscribed, was a North Dakota politician for much of his life, serving in various state-level offices and in the U.S. Congress from 1935-45 and from 1949-59.

A bit of faint offsetting to title page. A very nearly fine copy. Quite scarce, especially inscribed.