17. MacArthur met with his public relations staff almost daily in 1943-44
In March 1943, MacArthur sent Richard Sutherland, his Chief of Staff and a Major General, to Washington DC to meet with Arthur Vandenburg. Vanderburg was a senior Senator and member of the Republican Party. They met informally at the home of Clare Booth Luce, a strongly anti-Roosevelt Republican. Luce was the wife of Henry Luce, the man behind the powerful Time-Life media conglomerate. The purpose of the meeting was to discern how much conservative support MacArthur could expect if he ran for President in 1944. Vandenburg evidently offered his support, because less than a month later MacArthur sent another aide from Australia to Washington. He was bearing a note to the Senator which read in part, “I am most grateful to you for your complete attitude of friendship. I can only hope that I can someday reciprocate”.
As a behind the scenes campaign to draft MacArthur for the Republican nomination was led by Vandenburg and political allies, MacArthur met with his public relations staff at his headquarters in Australia. At least one member of his staff, Colonel Lloyd Lehrbas, was appalled at the open discussions of MacArthur winning the Presidency and running the war from Washington. Lehrbas was a former newspaper editor who reviewed many of the press releases issued by the staff in the General’s name. He frequently clashed with MacArthur over the brazenly political nature of the releases. MacArthur kept him on the staff because of his many connections in the media.
