GENERAL MACARTHUR’S VISIT REVISITED (COMMENT).

October 5, 2007 at 6:37 PM · History, Journalism

GENERAL MACARTHUR’S VISIT REVISITED (COMMENT). I was surprised to see that Dick Weisfelder, who grew up in the Bronx, also experienced the return of MacArthur to the United States as of great importance. I had thought that much of my belief was the result of the Chicago Tribune’s insistence that the return was of great importance. I also grew up in Du Page County, Illinois, which — unlike the Bronx — was the most Republican county in the country (it gave 83% of its vote to Eisenhower over Stevenson, the highest percentage that year). At the time, Lucky Strike cigarettes had a slogan “LSMFT”, which stood for “Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco.” My friend Dick Hazelton told me the joke on the playground that “LSMFT” stood for “Lord Save MacArthur from Truman.” (I should note that MacArthur was a great World War II hero who would have gotten a hero’s welcome in any event).