About: Matt Harrison   Sponge Permalink

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Matt Harrison (born c. 1895) was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force. He commanded a base near Pusan, South Korea before and after the Korean War became part of World War III. In January 1951, he informed the base that President Harry Truman had authorized the use of atomic bombs against China, and that all of the atomic bombs at the base now had pits in them. He gave the pilots under his command a chance to withdraw if they had qualms of conscience, and promised that their would be no black marks on their record (which was almost certainly an empty promise). He scowled when several flyers left.

AttributesValues
rdfs:label
  • Matt Harrison
rdfs:comment
  • Matt Harrison (born c. 1895) was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force. He commanded a base near Pusan, South Korea before and after the Korean War became part of World War III. In January 1951, he informed the base that President Harry Truman had authorized the use of atomic bombs against China, and that all of the atomic bombs at the base now had pits in them. He gave the pilots under his command a chance to withdraw if they had qualms of conscience, and promised that their would be no black marks on their record (which was almost certainly an empty promise). He scowled when several flyers left.
dcterms:subject
type of appearance
  • Direct
dbkwik:turtledove/...iPageUsesTemplate
Appearance
  • Bombs Away
Name
  • Matt Harrison
Occupation
  • Soldier
Birth
  • c. 1895
Nationality
abstract
  • Matt Harrison (born c. 1895) was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force. He commanded a base near Pusan, South Korea before and after the Korean War became part of World War III. In January 1951, he informed the base that President Harry Truman had authorized the use of atomic bombs against China, and that all of the atomic bombs at the base now had pits in them. He gave the pilots under his command a chance to withdraw if they had qualms of conscience, and promised that their would be no black marks on their record (which was almost certainly an empty promise). He scowled when several flyers left. A few weeks later, Harrison informed the base that Truman had transferred the final decision making to MacArthur, authorizing the general to use them if, in MacArthur's view, their use was the only way to improve the situation. The situation had certainly worsened, as the Chinese had relentlessly marched south throughout December and into January, recapturing Seoul, the South Korean capital. Harrison also informed the base that aerial reconnaissance showed that the Soviets were moving fighters and bombers onto airstrips in southeastern Siberia. One pilot, Bill Staley, asked about the possibility that the Soviets might paint their Tu-4's to look like B-29s, the model the Soviet bombers were copies of. Harrison hoped that U.S. forces would be alert, but admitted they may not always be. After the U.S. and the Soviet Union traded a series of atomic attacks that led to World War III, Harrison oversaw several other attacks early in 1951, including attacks on several Soviet port cities. In mid-April, Harrison ordered a massive bombing raid against Pyongyang, in an effort to kill Kim Il-sung. The attack used conventional explosives, rather than atomic weapons. However, after the planes left, Harrison's base was attacked and destroyed by enemy planes.
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