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Douglas MacArthur

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MacArthur landing at Leyte Beach in 1944.
MacArthur landing at Leyte Beach in 1944.

Douglas MacArthur, GCB (January 26, 1880—April 5, 1964) was an American military leader. He served in the U.S. Army his entire life, taking part in three major wars (World War I, World War II, Korean War) and rising to the rank of General of the Army, one of only seven people to hold that rank in U.S. history. MacArthur attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and later served in France during World War I. During the war, MacArthur was appointed Brigadier General, the youngest soldier ever to achieve the rank before or since. In World War II, MacArthur led a series of military victories in the Pacific Theatre, making him a national hero. After Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945, MacArthur became the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, rebuilding Japan during the American occupation. During the Korean War, MacArthur was removed from command for insubordination to U.S. President Harry S. Truman, sparking a national outcry. MacArthur retired from the military and is remembered for his famous farewell speeches before the U.S. Congress and West Point, where he famously said the highest values are "duty, honor, country" and that "old soldiers never die, they just fade away." Late in life MacArthur aroused speculation that he would run for the presidency, but he never did and spent the remainder of his life in retirement.

MacArthur remains one of the most controversial figures in American history. While greatly admired by many for his strategic and tactical brilliance, MacArthur is also criticized by many for his actions in command, such as his role in putting down the Bonus Army, his command in the Philippines and New Guinea, and his challenge to Truman during the Cold War. MacArthur was also criticized for his egotistical attitude.

Contents
1 Early life and education
2 World War I
3 The Bonus Army
4 World War II
5 Post-World War II
6 Post-dismissal
7 Military career

7.1 Dates of rank
7.2 Awards and decorations

7.2.1 United States
7.2.2 Foreign awards

8 Interesting facts
9 Sources and further reading

Early life and education

MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. His parents were Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur, a recipient of the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War, and Mary Pinkney Hardy MacArthur of Norfolk, Virginia. In 1883, when he was three years old, his other brother, Malcolm, died (his older brother Arthur would later attend the U.S. Naval Academy and die in 1923 as a Captain.) MacArthur spent much of his childhood in remote parts of New Mexico such as Fort Selden, where his father commanded an infantry company. In his memoir Reminiscences, MacArthur wrote that his first memory was the sound of a bugle.

When MacArthur was six years old, his father was reassigned to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. Three years later, the MacArthur family moved to Washington, D.C. when Douglas's father took a post at the War Department. There he spent time with his paternal grandfather, Judge Arthur MacArthur, a member of the high-pofile Washington political culture that had enormous influence on Douglas.

MacArthur's father was posted to San Antonio, Texas in 1893. There, Douglas attended the West Texas Military Academy, where he became an excellent student. MacArthur entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1898. An outstanding cadet, he graduated as valedictorian of his 93-man class in 1903, with only two other students in the history of West Point surpassing his achievements. MacArthur became a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he was a leader in combat engineering.

World War I

During World War I MacArthur served in France, with the 42nd Division. Upon his promotion to Brigadier General (the youngest ever in the Army) he became the commander of the 84th Infantry Brigade.

The Bonus Army

He spent most of the inter-war period on different assignments in the Philippines. In 1932, while in Washington, D.C. he commanded the troops used to disperse the Bonus Army of First World War veterans who were in the capital protesting against the government's failure to give them benefits. He was accused of using excessive force against a peaceful protest.

MacArthur left the U.S. Army in 1937 to command the Philippines Army, but returned in July of 1941 as commander of United States Army Forces–Far East (USAFFE).

World War II

During World War II, MacArthur fought in Southeast Asia against Japan. MacArthur lost the Battle for the Philippines, with much of his airforce destroyed on the ground. After the defeat of his forces in the Philippines, and after repeatedly being ordered to evacuate by President Roosevelt, he fled with his family and a small entourage to Australia, vowing "I shall return!"

Emperor Hirohito and General MacArthur.
Emperor Hirohito and General MacArthur.

MacArthur became Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific and took command of Australian, American, Dutch and other Allied forces defending Australia, fighting mainly in and around New Guinea. MacArthur's forces eventually achieved success, overrunning Japanese resistance in 1943 and 1944.

MacArthur's handling of the Australian forces under his command during this time has been the subject of much criticism, both by contemporaries and subsequent historians. For example, it has been claimed that MacArthur, who had total and tightly exercised control over the media of the day, decreed that all Australian victories would be reported as Allied victories, while American victories would be reported as American. It is also a widely held view that, from mid-1943 onwards, MacArthur confined the Australian Divisions under his command to tough and largely irrelevant mopping up actions, while reserving the more prestigious actions for his own nation's troops. As a result, there is an enduring antipathy towards MacArthur in Australia, led by the WWII generation.

American forces under MacArthur's command took back the Philippines in October 1944, fulfilling MacArthur's vow to return to the Philippines and consolidating their hold on the archipelago after heavy fighting. In September 1945 MacArthur received the formal Japanese surrender which ended World War II. He was awarded and received the Medal of Honor for his leadership in the Pacific Theater.

Post-World War II

After World War II, MacArthur served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP). His first responsibility was overseeing the reconstruction in Japan. Though it was officially an effort of the Allies, the U.S. was firmly in control, and MacArthur was effectively the dictator of Japan during this period. In 1946, MacArthur's staff created the constitution that is in use in Japan to this day. MacArthur handed over power to the newly formed Japanese government in 1949, and remained in Japan until June 1950.

After the surprise attack of the North Korean army in June 1950 started the Korean War, the United Nations General Assembly authorized a United Nations (UN) force to help South Korea. MacArthur led the U.N. coalition counter-offensive, noted for an amphibious landing behind North Korean lines in the Battle of Inchon. As his forces approached the Korea-China border, the Chinese warned they would become involved. During his trip to Wake Island to meet with President Truman, MacArthur was specifically asked by President Truman about Chinese involvement in the war. MacArthur was dismissive. On October 25, 1950, the People's Liberation Army attacked across the Yalu River, forcing the U.N forces to embark on a lengthy retreat. MacArthur sought an extension of the conflict into China, but President Truman stubbornly refused his request (a wise decision: extending the war to China might have required nuclear strikes, which would have brought Chinese ally the USSR into the war and perhaps launched a Third World War). After heated arguments, Truman became fed up with MacArthur's call for a full-scale military attack on China and relieved him of his duty in April 1951. Recently declassified documents indicate that MacArthur wanted to drop many nuclear bombs on China (some sources put this number at 50). Truman did not agree, fearing a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union and needless Chinese deaths. General Matthew B. Ridgway replaced MacArthur and stabilized the situation near the 38th parallel.

Post-dismissal

MacArthur returned to Washington (his first time in the continental US in 11 years), where he made his last public appearance in a farewell address to the Congress, interrupted by thirty ovations. In his closing speech, he mused: "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away."

On his return from Korea, after his relief by Truman, MacArthur encountered massive public adulation, which aroused expectations that he would run for the US presidency as a Republican in 1952. However, a Senate Committee investigation of his removal, chaired by Richard Russell, contributed to a marked cooling of the public mood and, once his presidential hopes had died away, MacArthur spent the remainder of his life quietly in New York.

MacArthur and his wife are buried together in downtown Norfolk, Virginia; their burial site is in a small museum dedicated to his memory, and there is a major shopping mall named for him across the street from the burial site.

MacArthur's nephew, Douglas MacArthur II, served as a diplomat for several years.

Military career

Dates of rank

  • Second Lieutenant, United States Army: June 11, 1903
  • First Lieutenant, United States Army: April 23, 1904
  • Captain, United States Army: February 27, 1911
  • Major, United States Army: December 11, 1915
  • Colonel, National Army: August 5, 1917
  • Brigadier General, National Army: June 26, 1918
  • Brigadier General rank made permanent in the Regular Army: January 20, 1920
  • Major General, Regular Army: January 17, 1925
  • General for temporary service as Army Chief of Staff: November 21, 1930
  • Major General rank listed on Regular Army retired rolls: October 1, 1935
  • Lieutenant General for temporary service in the Army of the United States: July 27, 1941
  • General, Army of the United States: December 18, 1941
  • General of the Army, Army of the United States: December 18, 1944
  • General of the Army rank made permanent in the Regular Army: March 23, 1946

Notes about components:

  • United States Army: Regular U.S. Armed Forces prior to World War I
  • National Army: Combined conscript and regular United States forces during World War I
  • Regular Army: Regular volunteer forces after 1930. Considered "career" professionals
  • Army of the United States: Combined draft and regular forces of World War II.

Awards and decorations

Statue of general MacArthur at the MacArthur Memorial in downtown Norfolk, Virginia.
Statue of general MacArthur at the MacArthur Memorial in downtown Norfolk, Virginia.

During his military career, General MacArthur was awarded the following decorations from both the United States and other allied nations. The awards listed below are those which would have been worn on a military uniform and do not include commemorative medals, unofficial decorations, and non-portable awards.

United States

Foreign awards

Interesting facts

  • MacArthur had no middle name, though some Internet sources variously ascribe him a middle initial of "A", "B", "C", "D", "M", or "S". An archivist at the MacArthur Memorial asserts that MacArthur did wear a monogrammed handkerchief with a middle initial of "A", possibly choosen to indicate his father, but the general had no official middle name.
  • Arthur and Douglas MacArthur were the first father and son to each be awarded a Medal of Honor. They remained the only pair until 2001 when Theodore Roosevelt was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service during the Spanish American War. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. had won one for his service during World War II.

Sources and further reading

  • Breuer, William B. MacArthur's Undercover War: Spies, Saboteurs, Guerrillas, and Secret Missions. Wiley: 1995. ISBN 0471114588.
  • Connaughton, Richard. MacArthur and Defeat in the Philippines. Overlook Press: 2001. ISBN 1585671185.
  • Dower, Jown W., et al. Dear General MacArthur: Letters from the Japanese During the American Occupation. Rowman & Littlefield: 2001. ISBN 0742511154.
  • Green, Michael. Macarthur in the Pacific: From the Philippines to the Fall of Japan. Motorbooks International: 1996. ISBN 0760302022.
  • Gunther, John. The Riddle of MacArthur. Greenwood Press: 1975. ISBN 0837177014.
  • Leary, William M. MacArthur and the American Century: A Reader. University of Nebraska Press: 2001. ISBN 0803229305.
  • MacArthur, Douglas. Reminiscences. United States Naval Institute: 2001. ISBN 1557504830.
  • Manchester, William. American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964. Laurel: 1983. ISBN 0440304245.
  • Perret, Geoffrey. Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life and Legend of Douglas MacArthur. Random House: 1996. ISBN 0679428828.
  • Rovere, Richard H., and Arthur Schlesinger. General MacArthur and President Truman: The Struggle for Control of American Foreign Policy. Transaction Publishers: 1992. ISBN 1560006099.
  • Schaller, Michael. Douglas MacArthur: The Far Eastern General. Replica Books: 2001. ISBN 0735103542.
  • Stephenson, Neal. Cryptonomicon. A novel in which MacArthur appears as a prominent character.
  • Taaffe, Stephen. Macarthur's Jungle War: The 1944 New Guinea Campaign. University Press of Kansas: 1998. ISBN 0700608702.
  • Valley, David J. Gaijin Shogun: General Douglas MacArthur, Stepfather of Postwar Japan. Sektor Company: 2000. ISBN 0967817528.
  • Weintraub, Stanley. MacArthur's War: Korea and the Undoing of an American Hero. Free Press: 2000. ISBN 0684834197.
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about Douglas MacArthur.


Wikisource has original works written by or about Douglas MacArthur.</div>


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