Boroda: Do you expect me to feel sorry for a defence secretary of an enemy country who signed plans of nuclear attacks against my nation?!
Not at all. Hate and fear him all you wish. I am not sure if he really hated Russia and russians rather than it's communist oppressors but it's probably all teh same to you. But you expressed surprise that the ship in US was named for him - because of his mentall ilness, not his being an enemy of Siviet Union like most of the rest of his country.
this anecdote reflects the state of anti-communist paranoia in the US in late-40s and early-50s.
Oh, yes - that was all paranoia. The poles in 39 and balts and finns and romanians in 40 and hungarians in 58 and czechs in 68 and afghans in 78 - they were all paranoid too and imagined things. Maybe he was so paranoid that he though soviets would get to placing missles in Cuba and suitcase nukes in New York? Oh, wait...
And do not start a discussions on "you are bad too"... I can name plenty of examples where US invaded and subjugated independent countries in modern history. America leaves much to be desired when it comes to respect for liberty. That's not the issue.
The issue is denigrading anyone for his medical condition.
The guy was a secretary of defence before he got sick. Different people liked kim or disliked him. He was allegedely not good enough even for his own president - though many sources claim he retired for health reasons, who knows - but certainly good enough for the Navy and the next president who approved the name of the ship - Eisenchower, no less.
A bronze bust of Forrestal at the mall entrance to the pentagon is inscribed as follows:
"This memorial to James Forrestal, as a spontaneous tribute to his lasting accomplishments in providing for national security and his selfless devotion to duty, was erected by thousands of his friends and co-workers of all rank and stations."
On October 1, 1955 Secretary of the Navy, C. S. Thomas, at USS FORRESTAL's commissioning ceremony, perhaps best summarized Secretary Forrestal's myriad achievements:
"I welcome the opportunity of paying a personal tribute to my friend, and former superior, the late and genuinely lamented James Forrestal. This nation has never had a more devoted servant, nor one with greater vision than James Forrestal. But for his untiring efforts, brilliance and devotion, our nation would not be enjoying the tenuous peace we have today. It is therefore most fitting and proper that this first new super carrier, representing all the best efforts of industry, science, and the Navy, should carry his name."
Heinlein's "Starship Troopers", IIRC there were battleships Zhukov, Ghengis-Khan and Patton
Which in no way indicates his sympathy for Soviet Union - he was one of the most prominent anti-communists among US literary circles.
miko
