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EN General David M. Shoup retired from the Marine Corps in December 1963, having completed a tour of duty as its Commandant, he appeared destined to fade into the proverbial obscurity of old soldiers. Four years after his retirement he was anything but obscure. He had closed ranks with other "brass lambs," senior officers who were actively protesting what they viewed as a hopeless military entanglement in Vietnam. Armed with considerable expertise and a penchant for expressing himself in forceful language, Shoup, for years the very embodiment of the fighting Marines, joined the growing legion of protesters. He did not mince words when he told college students in May 1966: "if we had and would, keep our dirty bloody crooked fingers out of the business they will arrive on a solution of their own." 1 That attack was entirely in character. From the very outset of President Kennedy's commitment, Shoup had expressed misgivings about the decision to intervene in Vietnam. Kennedy's commitment ran counter to the plans, policies, and military role Shoup envisioned for the Corps. More important, it awakened in Shoup long-standing fears about the inappropriate use of military force.
His fear of needless war, and many other anxieties, were deeply rooted in his personality and reflected, in some instances, a lifelong preoccupation. Shoup's obsession with money, for example, undoubtedly stemmed from a childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood lived in rural poverty. His birth on a farm near Battle Ground, Indiana, on 30 December 1904, was the beginning of a life like that of other poor farm
boys, which meant doing strenuous chores while attending school. Apparently, it did not embitter him; rather, those burdens were a source of great pride. Throughout his career, Shoup was fond of reminding people, "I'm just an Indiana plowboy," although that somewhat disingenuous modesty often was the prelude to a barrage of expletives, especially on those occasions when he thought he was being deceived or was listening to a fool.
Later, harsh economic circumstances affected Shoup's college career. After graduation from high school in Covington, Indiana, he enrolled in DePauw University, where he majored in mathematics and found diversion in sports. Shoup was a successful marathon runner and participated in wrestling and football, but cannot be cast in...