he hated Quirino with a passion and admired Magsaysay for his “courage, honesty, and patriotism.”46 To win Spruance’s favor, Lansdale hosted him on inspection trips to the provinces, “which,” Lansdale noted, “he loves since he can get into old khakis and walking shoes.”47 After hearing that Spruance liked melons, Lansdale even took him to a cantaloupe patch in the Candaba Swamp that had just been liberated by Filipino troops.48 This campaign paid off: in December 1952, the ambassador wrote to his superiors in Washington that Lansdale’s presence was “essential in view of his personal contacts
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