Douglas MacArthur
This article is about the American soldier; for the municipality in the Philippines, see General MacArthur, Eastern Samar.Douglas MacArthur (
January 26 1880 –
April 5 1964) was an
American general and
Medal of Honor recipient, who was Supreme Commander of
Allied forces in the
Southwest Pacific Area during
World War II. He led the defense of
Australia, and the recapture of
New Guinea, the
Philippines and
Borneo. He was poised to invade Japan in November 1945 but instead accepted their surrender on September 2, 1945. MacArthur oversaw the occupation of
Japan from 1945 to 1951 and is credited for making far-ranging democratic changes in that country. He led
UN forces defending
South Korea against a North Korean invasion in 1950-51. MacArthur was relieved of command by President
Harry S Truman in April 1951 for public disagreements with Truman's policies.
MacArthur fought in three major wars (
World War I,
World War II,
Korean War) and rose to the
rank of
General of the Army. MacArthur remains one of the most controversial figures in American history. While greatly admired by many for his strategic and tactical brilliance, MacArthur was also criticized by many for his actions in command, and especially his challenge to Truman in 1951.
MacArthur was born in
Little Rock, Arkansas to
Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur Jr., a recipient of the
Medal of Honor during the
American Civil War, who was the son of jurist and politician
Arthur MacArthur, Sr., and Mary Pinkney Hardy MacArthur of
Norfolk, Virginia.
In his memoir
Reminiscences, MacArthur wrote that his first memory was the sound of the bugle, and that he had learned to 'ride and shoot even before I could read or write--indeed, almost before I could walk and talk'.
As a child he moved around from fort to fort. As a youth he spent time in Washington with his paternal grandfather, Judge Arthur MacArthur, a member of the high-profile Washington political scene that influenced Douglas.
MacArthur's father was posted to
San Antonio, Texas in 1893. There, Douglas attended West Texas Military Academy (now known as
T.M.I.: The Episcopal School of Texas), where he became an excellent student. MacArthur entered the
United States Military Academy at West Point in 1898. An outstanding cadet, he was graduated first in his 93-man class in 1903, with only two other students in the history of West Point surpassing his achievements (
Robert E. Lee being one). MacArthur became a
Second Lieutenant in the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
He served as an aide to his father,the appointed Governor General when the Philippines was a U.S. possession. From 1904 to 1914 MacArthur was assigned to engineering duties in the
Philippines, Wisconsin, Kansas, Michigan, Texas, and Panama. During that time he attended the Engineer School of Application (1906-1907), receiving a degree in 1908, and worked in the Office of the Chief of Engineers. From 1913-1917, MacArthur served on the general staff of the War Department, with detached-duty assignments on an intelligence mission to Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1914.
He was appointed and served President
Theodore Roosevelt. Under the command of General
Frederick Funston MacArthur engaged in a long-range reconnaissance mission behind Mexican lines. Although cited for bravery and recommended for a Medal of Honor, his actions had clearly violated Funston's orders.
|
Brigadier General MacArthur at a French Chateau, September 1918. |
During
World War I MacArthur served in
France, as chief of staff of the
42nd ("Rainbow") Division. Upon his promotion to
Brigadier General he became the commander of the 84th Infantry Brigade. A few weeks before the war ended he became division commander. During the war, MacArthur received two Distinguished Service Crosses, seven Silver Stars, a Distinguished Service Medal, and two Purple Hearts. Douglas MacArthur made it his policy to 'lead my men from the front'.
As did many of the officers after the War, MacArthur had a difficult time finding a full-time position in the Army. This devastated him. He was not demoted from his war-time rank, as many were. He used all of his father's connections as well as his own to secure any position. One offer included becoming military attache to the
Bureau of Indian Affairs. He kept his star after the war primarily because of the support of General
Peyton March, the new chief of staff. In 1919 MacArthur became
superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, which was out of date in many respects and much in need of reform. MacArthur ordered drastic changes in the tactical, athletic and disciplinary systems; he modernized the curriculum, adding liberal arts courses.
From 1922 to 1930, MacArthur served two tours of duty in the Philippines, the second as commander of the Philippine Department (1928-1930); he also served two tours as commander of corps areas in the states. In 1925 he was promoted to major general, the youngest officer of that rank at the time, and served on the court-martial that convicted Brigadier General
Billy Mitchell. In 1928 he headed the U.S. Olympic Committee for the
Amsterdam games.
He married Henrietta Louise Cromwell Brooks, a wealthy heiress, on
February 14,
1922; she had two children from a previous marriage. They were divorced in 1929. President
Herbert Hoover appointed MacArthur
Army Chief of Staff in November 1930, with the temporary rank of (four-star)
General. He faced severe budget cuts, at the same time there was a surge in enrollments because of unemployment. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt renewed his appointment. In October 1935, the army ranked 16th in size among the world's armies, with 13,000 officers and 126,000 enlisted men. MacArthur's main programs included the development of new mobilization plans, the establishment of a mobile general headquarters air force, and a four-army reorganization which improved administrative efficiency. He supported the
New Deal by enthusiastically operating the
Civilian Conservation Corps. He brought along many talented mid-career officers, including
George C. Marshall, and
Dwight D. Eisenhower. His most controversial actions came in 1932, when Hoover ordered him to disperse the '
Bonus Army' of veterans who were in the capital protesting against the government. MacArthur received negative publicity for using tear gas against the veterans. According to MacArthur, the demonstration had been taken over by Communists and pacifists by the time of his action, with, he claimed, only 'one man in 10 being veterans'. Hundreds of veterans were injured, two were killed, and other casualties, including children, were inflicted among the veterans' families.
When the
Commonwealth of the Philippines achieved semi-independent status in 1935, with its own army, the
President of the Philippines Manuel L. Quezon asked MacArthur to supervise the creation of a
Philippine Army. With Roosevelt's approval MacArthur accepted the assignment. MacArthur had been friends with Quezon when his father was Governor General. MacArthur had two conditions for taking the job, his salary was to be the same as the President's and his housing had to be equal to that of the President. After all, the house that the President was using had been the one Douglas had known as a child,
Malacanang Palace. The Palace has been the home of the Spanish Governor General, the American Governor General and all Philippine Presidents to present day.
It was decided to house MacArthur in a suite at the world famous Manila Hotel. The hotel was owned by the Philippine Government. It was on Manila Bay across the park form the Army & Navy Club, MacArthur's favorite haunt. It was conveniently near the US. Embassy. Government accountants decided that the best way to handle the cost of the suite was to make MacArthur a hotel employee entitled to housing. MacArthur was given the honorary title of "General Manager". MacArthur ignored the honorary status and took control of hotel management while he lived there. The MacArthur Suite still exists in the hotel.
Manila was one of the most devastated cities by Japanese bombs in WWII. Pictures show the city almost leveled except for the Manila Hotel. Out of respect for MacArthur the pilots had been ordered not to bomb the hotel. MacArthurs suite was occupied by the highest ranking military officer in the islands. MacArthur gave the same order to American pilots when the Philippines was retaken. Legend has it that his suite and personal possessions that were left behind were still intact. MacArthur had tremendous respect for the tradition of "honor among warriors."
MacArthur heavily invested in Philippine mining and industry. Before the
Philippine National Bank in New York City closed when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, MacArthur was able to sell all of his holdings and convert all of his pesos to dollars.
Among MacArthur's assistants as Military Adviser to the Commonwealth of the Philippines was
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
On
April 30,
1937, MacArthur married his second wife,
Jean Faircloth; they had one son, and remained together until his death.
When MacArthur retired from the U.S. Army in
1937, he was made a
Field Marshal of the
Philippine Army, by President Quezon. In July, 1941 Roosevelt recalled him to active duty in the U.S. Army and named him commander of
United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), based in Manila.
After the United States entered
World War II, MacArthur became
Allied commander in the Philippines. He "courted controversy" on several occasions, especially when he over-ruled his air commander, General
Lewis H. Brereton, who had requested permission to launch air attacks by the US
Far East Air Force (FEAF) against
Japanese bases on nearby
Taiwan, a plan that MacArthur had labeled suicide. MacArthur instead ordered the planes to be moved, to conserve them from Japanese raids; only half had been when FEAF was all but destroyed on the ground, the prelude to a
Japanese invasion.
His headquarters during the Philippines campaign of 1941-42 was on the island fortress of
Corregidor; his single trip to the front lines in
Bataan led to the disparaging moniker and ditty, "Dugout Doug." Nevertheless, MacArthur's fortress was clearly marked, and was the target of Japanese air attacks, until Manuel Quezon cautioned MacArthur "not to subject himself to danger". In March 1942, as Japanese forces tightened their grip on the Philippines, MacArthur was ordered by US President
Franklin D. Roosevelt to relocate to
Melbourne, Australia, after Quezon and his wife had already left. With his wife and four-year-old son, and a select group of advisers and subordinate military commanders, MacArthur at last fled the Philippines on a
PT 41 commanded by Lieutenant
John D. Bulkeley, and successfully evaded an intense Japanese search for the escaping American general.
MacArthur reached the island of
Mindanao on March 13, and boarded a
B-17 bomber three days later; on
17 March, he arrived at
Batchelor Airfield in Australia's
Northern Territory, and took
The Ghan railway through the Australian outback to
Adelaide. His famous speech, in which he said "I came out of
Bataan and I shall return", was made at
Terowie,
South Australia on
March 20. During this period, President
Manuel L. Quezon decorated MacArthur with the
Philippine Distinguished Conduct Star.
MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the
Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA). To remove all ambiguity, the Australian Prime Minister,
John Curtin put MacArthur in direct command of the Australian military, which numerically dominated MacArthur's forces at the time, augmented by a small number of U.S.,
Dutch and other Allied forces. One of MacArthur's first missions was to reassure Australians, who apprehended a Japanese invasion. The fighting at this time was predominantly in and around
New Guinea and the
Dutch East Indies. On
July 20,
1942 SWPA headquarters was moved to
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, taking over the
AMP Insurance Company building (later known as MacArthur Central).
Australian successes at the
Battle of Milne Bay and the
Kokoda Track campaign came in late 1942, the first victories by Allied land forces anywhere against the Japanese. When it was reported that many officers in the
U.S. 32nd Infantry Division, a hastily-mobilized
National Guard unit, had proved incompetent in the
Allied offensive against Buna and Gona, the major Japanese
beachheads in north-east New Guinea, MacArthur told the
U.S. I Corps commander,
Robert L. Eichelberger to assume direct control of Allied operations:
Bob, I'm putting you in command at Buna. Relieve Harding ... I want you to remove all officers who won't fight. Relieve regimental and battalion commanders; if necessary, put sergeants in charge of battalions and corporals in charge of companies ... Bob, I want you to take Buna, or not come back alive
... And that goes for your chief of staff, too.[
1] [Emphasis added.]
In March
1943, the
Joint Chiefs of Staff approved MacArthur's grand strategy, known as
Operation Cartwheel, which aimed to capture the major Japanese base at
Rabaul by taking strategic points to use as forward bases. During
1944 this was modified to bypass Rabaul and let the forces there "wither on the vine", Initially, the majority of his land forces were Australian but increasing numbers of US Army forces arrived in the theater, including the
Sixth Army (a.k.a. Alamo Force), and later the
Eighth Army.
 |
MacArthur coming ashore at Tolosa, Leyte in the Philippines in 1944. |
Allied forces under MacArthur's command
landed at Leyte Island , on
October 20, 1944, fulfilling MacArthur's vow to return to the Philippines. They consolidated their hold on the archipelago in the
Battle of Luzon after heavy fighting, and despite a massive Japanese naval counterattack in the
Battle of Leyte Gulf. With the reconquest of the islands, MacArthur moved his headquarters to Manila, to
plan the invasion of Japan in late 1945. The invasion was pre-empted by the
bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and in September, 1945 MacArthur received the
formal Japanese surrender which ended World War II.
MacArthur was awarded and received the
Medal of Honor for his leadership in the Southwest Pacific Theater. Philippine President
Sergio Osmeña also decorated him with the Philippines' highest military award, the
Medal of Valor.
After World War II, MacArthur served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (
SCAP). His first responsibility was overseeing the reconstruction, re-organization and re-supply of the people (most of them were nearly starving) in
Occupied Japan. Though it was officially an effort of the Allies, the US was firmly in control, and MacArthur was effectively the leader of Japan during this period. In 1946, MacArthur's staff drafted a new
constitution that renounced war and reduced the
emperor to a mere figurehead; this Constitution 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 relieved by President Truman on April 11, 1951. Truman replaced SCAP leader MacArthur with General
Matthew Ridgway of the U.S. Army.
In late 1945, Allied military commissions tried 4,000 Japanese officers for war crimes. About 3,000 were given prison terms and 920 were executed; the charges included the
Rape of Nanking, the
Bataan Death March, and
the sack of Manila. Some critics say that the main Japanese commander in the Philippines General
Yamashita Tomoyuki had lost control of his soldiers and should not have been executed. However he did not resign his post and therefore retained command responsibility; this case has become a precedent and is known as the
Yamashita Standard.
PBS has called the trials "hasty"
[ Philip R. Piccigallo, The Japanese on Trial: Allied War Crimes Operations in the East, 1945-1951 U Texas Pess; The Tokyo War Crimes Trials (1946-1948), PBS (accessed April 21, 2006)]After the surprise attack on MacArthur's 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 UN coalition counter-offensive, noted for a daring and overwhelmingly successful
amphibious landing behind North Korean lines in the
Battle of Inchon. The maneuver successfully out-flanked the North Korean army, which had been trying to annihilate the surrounded and cut-off American forces remaining in Korea. The North Korean forces, containing Chinese soldiers and Russian and Chinese pilots flying Russian-made jets, fled and retreated north, pursued by the Americans and their military allies.
As MacArthur's forces approached the Korea-China border, the Chinese warned that they would become involved, rather than watch the North Koreans be defeated. During his trip to Wake Island to meet with President of the United States President Harry S. Truman, MacArthur was specifically asked by
President Truman about Chinese involvement in the war. MacArthur did not care for the danger, advising absolute defeat for the North Korean forces, and famously-advising, "There is no substitute for victory." On November 19, 1950, Chinese military forces crossed the
Yalu River, forcing the U.N forces to enter on a long retreat. MacArthur repeatedly requested authorization to strike
Manchuria and major Chinese cities with thirty to fifty nuclear weapons, an action which Truman and the State Department feared would draw China's ally, the Soviet Union, into the conflict. Angered by Truman's desire to maintain a "limited war," MacArthur began issuing important statements to the press, warning them of a crushing defeat. In March of 1951, after a painful U.N. counterattack commanded by
Matthew B. Ridgway turned the tide of the war in the U.N.'s favor, Truman alerted MacArthur of his intention to initiate 'cease-fire' talks. Such news ended any hopes the general had retained of leading a full-scale war against China, and MacArthur quickly issued his own ultimatum to Red China. Mocking the Chinese lack of military power and industrial strength, MacArthur's declaration threatened the expansion of the war, and was by his own aide's later admission 'designed to undercut' Truman's negotiating position. Such an act unquestionably qualified as rank insubordination, and was so contrary to MacArthur's long and distinguished military service that General Omar Bradley later speculated that MacArthur's disappointment over his inability to wage war on China had "snapped his brilliant but brittle mind." On April 11, 1951 President Truman relieved General MacArthur of his military command. General Matthew B. Ridgway replaced MacArthur and stabilized the situation near the north
38th parallel.
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
U.S. Congress, interrupted by thirty ovations. (
Text and audio.) In his closing speech, he recalled: "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." 'And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away - an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Good-bye.'
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 the
1952 election. However, a
U.S. Senate Committee investigation of his removal, chaired by
Richard Russell, contributed to a marked cooling of the public mood and MacArthur's presidential hopes died away. (MacArthur, in his
Reminiscences repeatedly stated that he had no political aspirations.)
In the 1952 Republican presidential nomination contest, rumors were rife that Sen.
Robert Taft of Ohio offered the vice presidential nomination to MacArthur. Had a Taft-MacArthur ticket defeated Democrat
Adlai Stevenson in November, the general would have become President upon Taft's sudden death eight months later in July 1953. Taft, who was initially favored to win the GOP nomination, lost the nomination to
Dwight Eisenhower. MacArthur later became head of the
Remington Rand Coporation.
MacArthur spent the remainder of his life quietly in
New York, except for a spectacular "sentimental journey" to the Philippines in
1961, when he was decorated by President
Carlos P. Garcia with the
Philippine Legion of Honor, rank of Chief Commander. During one of his visits, a section of the
Pan-Philippine Highway was renamed to MacArthur Highway in his honor.
President
John F. Kennedy solicited MacArthur's counsel in 1961. The first of two meetings was shortly after the
Bay of Pigs fiasco. According to White House staffer Kenneth P. O'Donnell, MacArthur was extremely critical of the Pentagon and its military advice to Kennedy. MacArthur also cautioned the young President to avoid a U.S. military build-up in Vietnam, pointing out that domestic problems should be given a much greater priority. Kennedy was said to have come out of the more than three-hour meeting 'stunned' and 'enormously impressed'.
Death and legacy
MacArthur and his second wife,
Jean Faircloth, spent the last years of their life together in the Penthouse of the
Waldorff-Astoria. After his death Jean continued to live in the Penthouse until her death. The couple are entombed together in downtown
Norfolk, Virginia; their burial site is in the rotunda of a memorial building/museum (formerly the Norfolk city hall) dedicated to his memory, and there is a major shopping mall (MacArthur Center) named for him across the street from the memorial. According to the museum, General MacArthur chose to be buried in Norfolk because of his mother's ancestral ties to the city.
The couple's son changed his surname and now lives anonymously as a
saxophonist in the New York area.
MacArthur's nephew,
Douglas MacArthur II (a son of his brother Arthur), served as a diplomat for several years, including the post of Ambassador to Japan and several other countries.
MacArthur Boulevard in
Maryland and
Washington, D.C. is named in his honor. It runs from Great Falls Park in
Potomac, Maryland into the Georgetown neighborhood of DC.
West Point
*
June 13,
1899 â€" appointed as a
Cadet at the
United States Military Academy,
West Point, New York*
1900: Is the victim of
hazing and becomes involved in a serious scandal where one Cadet is left dead by upperclassman abuse. Maintains his honor, and does not appear as a snitch, by only naming cadets who hazed him who were already expelled from West Point or had previously confessed
* June 1903 â€" Graduates first in his class, commissioned as a
Second Lieutenant in the
Corps of EngineersEarly career
* June 1903: Serves with the 3rd Battalion of Engineers in the Philippine Islands.
* 1904: Assigned to the
California Debris Commission.
* April 1904: Promoted to
First Lieutenant, becomes acting Chief Engineering Officer for the Army Pacific Division based in
San Francisco, California* October 1904: Reports to Tokyo, Japan to serve as an aide to his father (Major General
Arthur MacArthur, Jr.) in the
Far East* December 1906: Serves as
aide-de-camp to
President Theodore Roosevelt* August 1907: Attends the "Engineering School of Application" in
Washington, DC* February 1908: Assigned as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Improvements Commission,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin* April 1908: Appointed as Commanding Officer, Company K, 3rd Battalion of Engineers. Later that year becomes an instructor at the Mounted Service School,
Fort Riley,
Kansas* April 1909: Becomes Quartermaster for the 3rd Battalion of Engineers
* February 1911: Promoted to Captain and serves as the Officer-in-Charge of the Engineering Depot at
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
* November 1912: Assigned to the General Staff Corps, for duty as a Member and Recorder of the Board of Engineering Troops
* April 1913: Appointed as Superintendent of State, War, and Navy Buildings as a member of the General Staff
* April 1914: Becomes the Assistant Engineering Officer of the
military expedition to
Veracruz, Mexico* December 1915: Promoted to Major, serves as an Engineering Officer on the Army General Staff
* August
1917: Advanced to the temporary rank of
Colonel in the
National Army. Reports to Camp Mill,
Long Island,
New York to begin forming the 42nd Infantry Division.
* 1917 -
1918: Becomes Chief of Staff of the
42nd Infantry Division and is credited with naming it the "Rainbow Division". Joins the
American Expeditionary Force bound for
France* June 1918: Appointed a
Brigadier General in the National Army and serves as Divisional Chief of Staff,
84th Infantry Brigade, and is later appointed as the Divisional Commander
* 1918 -
1919: Cited for extreme battlefield bravery and also is wounded in combat and gassed by the enemy. Was known for personally leading troops into battle, often without a weapon of his own. Begins to develop a negative relationship with
General of the Armies John Pershing, after feeling that Pershing is wasting the lives of his troops with bad military tactics.
* May 1919: Returns to the United States a hero, but is distraught over the lack of recognition his Rainbow Division receives for actions in France.
Inter-war years
* June 1919: Becomes the Superintendent of the US Military Academy,
West Point* February 1920: Reverts to peacetime rank, but is one of the few officers who does not lose his World War I position. Becomes a brigadier general in the
Regular Army. Receives a negative evaluation report from Pershing, now Chief of Staff, who ranks Macarthur 38 out of 45 generals and states that MacArthur has an "exalted view of himself and should remain in his present grade for several years".
* October
1922: Becomes Commanding General, District of Manila, in the
Philippines* July
1923: While still serving as District of Manila Commander, also becomes Commander of the 23rd Infantry Brigade
* January
1925: Promoted to
Major General, becoming the youngest two-star general in the U.S. Army. Returns to the United States to become a Corps Commander
* May 1925: Assigned as IVth Area Corps Commander, U.S. Army, encompassing areas of
Atlanta and
Georgia* 1926 - 1927: Serves as 3rd Corps Commander, based in
Baltimore, Maryland*
1928: Leads the US
Olympic Team to
Amsterdam and is then assigned as the Commanding General,
Philippine Department, based in Manila.
* October
1930: Becomes the commander of the Ninth Corps Area based in
San Francisco,
California*
November 21, 1930: Appointed as a full
General and becomes
Chief of Staff of the United States Army* June 1932: Presides over the destruction of the "
Bonus Army", deemed a low point of his tenure as Army Chief of Staff
* October 1935: Completes his tour as Chief of Staff and declines retirement from the Army. Per Army regulations, reverts to his permanent rank of
Major General and becomes the
Chief Military Advisor to the
Commonwealth Government of the Philippines*
December 31,
1937: Decides to retire from the United States Army. Is advanced back to the rank of General for listing on the U.S. Army retired rolls
* 1937 - 1941: Civilian advisor to the Philippine Government on military matters. Is appointed a
Field Marshal in the Philippine Army, the only American officer in history accorded with that rank. Begins wearing the cap which is so often associated with him, that being a Field Marshal cover with U.S. Army crest
* April 1937 - marries
Jean Faircloth* February 21,
1938 - Arthur MacArthur IV is born
*
July 26,
1941: Recalled to active service in the United States Army as a Major General
*
July 27,
1941: Appointed Lieutenant General in the
Army of the United States and becomes Commanding General of
USAFFE (United States Army Forces in the Far East)
* December 1941: Japanese attack and defeat US Air Force in Philippines
* December 1941: promoted to General in the Army of the United States
* December 1941-May 1942; retreat to Bataan and Corregidor in face of Japanese invasion
* February 1942: Roosevelt orders MacArthur out of the Philippines; MacArthur promises, "I shall return."
* 1942 - 1943: rebuilds Australian morale; begins the reconquest of the island of
New Guinea * 1943 - 1944: argues with the
Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding reconquest of the Philippine Islands. Chiefs propose bypass; MacArthur appeals to President Roosevelt.
* October 1944: lands at Leyte and begins reconquest of Philippines
* December 1944: Becomes a
General of the Army and is ranked the second highest ranking officer of the U.S. Army, second only to
George Marshall* 1944 - 1945: Due to logistics issues the Joint Chiefs decided to invade the Philippine Islands. MacArthur again must fight to convince his superiors to invade the entire Philippine Islands, whereas initial plans call for only an invasion of the south. The Joint Chiefs at last agreed that MacArthur is to invade the Philippine Islands at
Leyte Gulf and strike towards Manila.
*
February 5,
1945: MacArthur fulfills his promise to return and liberates
Manila* Summer 1945: in Manila to plan invasions of Japan in October, 1945. Is stunned when the
atomic bomb ends the war abruptly, quoted that "this apparatus will make men like me obsolete".
* September,
1945: Presides over the surrender of Japan and becomes military governor of Japanese home islands. Threatens the Soviet Union with armed conflict should
Red Army soldiers attempt to occupy any part of Japan.
Occupation of Japan
*
December 15,
1945 - Orders the end of
Shinto as the state religion of Japan
* 1945 - 1948: Begins sweeping reforms, drafts a new constitution for Japan, and puts an end to centuries of Emperor god-worship
*
July 8,
1950: Following the invasion of
North Korea into
South Korea, MacArthur is named Commander of all
United Nations forces in
Korea.
*
July 31,
1950: Travels to
Taiwan and conducts diplomacy with
Chiang Kai-Shek*
September 15 1950: Leads UN forces at the
Battle of Inchon, seen as one of the greatest military maneuvers in history
*
October 15 1950: Meets with President Truman on
Wake Island after heavy disagreements develop regarding the conduct of the
Korean War. When meeting Truman, it is very noticeable that MacArthur does not salute his Commander-in-Chief but rather offers a handshake
* November - December 1950: With China committed to all-out war against the US on the Korean peninsula, MacArthur advocates for the same in return against China but is prohibited. He is outraged when military leaders in Washington restrict the war to only the Korean theater, meaning that he cannot bomb even the bridges of the Yalu river over which Chinese troops, supplies, and material are streaming across. He is further restricted from bombing their bases in Manchuria. MacArthur expressed his outrage later, saying that "The order not to bomb the Yalu bridges was the most indefensible and ill-conceived decision ever forced on a field commander in our nation's history."
*
April 11,
1951: After several public criticisms of White House policy in Korea, which were seen as undercutting the Commander-in-Chief's position,
Harry Truman removes MacArthur from command and orders him to return to the United States. Truman put up with MacArthur's high profile for some time, however, and he may have in fact exchanged MacArthur for a sound nuclear policy in Korea since he did not trust the "Brass Hat MacArthur" with nuclear weapons.
*
April 19,
1951: At a farewell address before
Congress, MacArthur gives the famous "Old Soldiers Never Die" speech
* May 1951: Retires a second time from the U.S. Army, but is listed as permanently active duty due to the regulations regarding those who hold Five Star General rank. For administrative reasons, is assigned
in absentee to the Office of the Army Chief of Staff
Later life
* 1952: Allows name to be placed on primary ballots for Republican nomination, but does not campaign or announce as a candidate. Senator Robert Taft promises supporters to name MacArthur as candidate for Vice President, but Taft loses nomination to Eisenhower.
*
May 12 1962 - Gives famous
Duty, Honor, Country valedictory speech at
West Point* Active in U.S. Olympic affairs
*
April 5 1964: Douglas MacArthur dies at
Walter Reed Army Medical Center in
Washington, DC.
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* Reverted to permanent rank of Major General, Regular Army:
October 1 1935* Retired in grade as a General on Regular Army rolls:
December 31 1937* Recalled to active service as a
Major General in the Regular Army:
July 26 1941*
Lieutenant General 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 1946In
1955, a bill passed by the
United States Congress authorized the
President of the United States to promote Douglas MacArthur to the rank of
General of the Armies (a similar measure had also been proposed unsuccessfully in
1945). However, due to regulations involving retirement pay and benefits, as well as MacArthur being junior to
George C. Marshall (who had not been recommended for the same promotion), MacArthur declined promotion to what many view would have been seen as a Six Star General.
Awards and decorations
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.
Decorations
 |
Recreation of Douglas MacArthur's awards as they would today appear
(does not include all foreign decorations) |
*
Medal of Honor*
Distinguished Service Cross with two
oak leaf clusters
*
Army Distinguished Service Medal with four
oak leaf clusters
*
Navy Distinguished Service Medal*
Distinguished Flying Cross*
Silver Star six(6) silver oak leaves
*
Bronze Star Medal with
Valor device*
Purple Heart with one oak leaf cluster
*
Presidential Unit Citation with 1 silver and 1 bronze oak leaf cluster
*
Air Medal*
Philippine Campaign Medal*
Mexican Service Medal*
World War I Victory Medal with five
battle clasps (Aisne-Marne, Champagne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne and Defensive Sector)
*
Army of Occupation of Germany Medal*
American Defense Service Medal with "Foreign Service" clasp
*
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two silver
service stars and
arrowhead device *
World War II Victory Medal*
Army of Occupation Medal with "Japan" clasp
*
National Defense Service Medal*
Korean Service Medal with three bronze service stars and arrowhead device
*
United Nations Service Medal*
Command Aviator Badge*
Army General Staff Identification Badge* Fourteen
Overseas Service Bars*
Expert Badge with Rifle and Pistol bars
Foreign awards
*
Knight Grand Cross of the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath*
French Légion d'honneur*
French Croix de Guerre*
French Medaille Militaire*
Australian Pacific Star*
Philippine Medal of Valor*
Philippine Distinguished Service Star*
Philippine Legion of Honor, Degree of Chief Commander
*
Philippine Defense Medal with one
service star*
Philippine Liberation Medal with four service stars
*
Republic of the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation*
Philippine Independence Medal*
Order of the Belgium Crown*
Belgian Croix de Guerre*
Belgian Order of the Cross*
Czechoslovakian Order of the White Lion*
Polish Virtuti Militari*
Polish Grand Cross of Polonia Restituta*
Grand Cross Netherlands Order of Orange-Nassau*
Yugoslavian Order of the White Eagle*
Japanese Order of the Rising Sun*
Republic of Korean Presidential Unit Citation*
Korean Grand Cross of the Order of Military Valour and Merit*
Italian Grand Cross of the Military Order*
Italian War Cross*
Cuban Grand Cross of Military Merit*
Ecuadorian Grand Cross Order of Abdon Calderon*
Chinese Cordon of Pau Ting*
Greek Medal of Honor*
Guatemalan Cross of Military Merit*
Hungarian Grand Cross of Military Merit*
Order of Mexican Military Merit*
Grand Cross Order of Romanian Military Merit''
* 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 chosen 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.
*While MacArthur was famous for smoking a
corncob pipe, he also smoked cigars and cigarettes.
*MacArthur was considered a very good
bridge player, and played often during his years in Australia.
*There are two bridges and one road named after MacArthur in
Taiwan, becoming one of the only three foreigners (to Taiwan) who have had a landmark named after them, the other two being
Franklin Roosevelt and
George Leslie Mackay. The road is located in
Taipei, although it is renamed now. The other two bridges remain fully functional to this day.
*In 1945, MacArthur gave his treasured
Gold Castles insignia, a personal possession, to his chief engineer, Major General
Leif J. Sverdrup. They are currently worn by the Chief of Engineers as a tradition, and formed the basis for the "castle" logo of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
*The large
MacArthur Central plaza in downtown
Brisbane,
Queensland,
Australia, is named after Douglas MacArthur and has as its logo the five stars of his rank. His HQ was located on the site during WWII. The MacArthur Museum, which was opened to the public in 2004, is located within the MacArthur Central building [
2].
*Douglas MacArthur was dismissed in 1951 by
President Truman in dispute over U.S. policy toward
China during the
Korean War. Arthur MacArthur, Jr., who fought
Geronimo, was relieved of his command, by
President Taft, for insubordination.
*An episode of the television series
M*A*S*H entitled "Big Mac" hung its storyline on a visit to the hospital by MacArthur. (Spoiler alert) The much anticipated visit turns out to be a brief glimpse of MacArthur waving from his jeep as his convoy passes through the camp compound, perhaps referring to widepsread criticism of MacArthur's leadership style in his later, "proconsular" years.
*MacArthur's height was 5'10".
*MacArthur had a particular attachment to the Philippines. This began with his father's tenure as the military governor of the nation and later his own. His "I shall return" declaration as Allied troops left it to the conquering Japanese is famous. MacArthur appeared to have a genuine affection for the nation, having spent a good deal of his life there; his mother had died there. It was the only country he visited after his dismissal. Two towns were named after him namely
MacArthur, Leyte and
General MacArthur, Eastern Samar.
*
MacArthur Park located in western
Los Angeles,
California is named after General MacArthur. The park was also the basis of the
song of the same name written by
Jimmy Webb.
*A street, MacArthur Drive, is named after him in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
*A boulevard, MacArthur Boulevard, is named after him in Springfield, Illinois.
*A street, MacArthur Boulevard, and a section of
Interstate 580 in
Oakland, California, is named after him. A local
BART rapid transit station in Oakland is named after its location atop the street and in the freeway median.
*Numerous schools in the United States are or were named after him; the first high school in
Saginaw Township, Michigan was so named. (The township's second high school was named after his former aide and fellow General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower, and the schools were merged into the township's Heritage High School in the late 1980s.)
*MacArthur was featured in the novel
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, as a supporting character.
*A statue of MacArthur built at
Inchon Harbour in Korea in 1957 has become a site of contention between younger
leftist generations who consider him a war criminal whose statue should be removed and older veterans groups who consider him a hero and symbol of all Korean and UN forces who died. Skirmishes between the two groups have forced the Korean government to protect the statue with troops of late.
*MacArthur was distantly related to both
Winston Churchill and
Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Notes
;Bibliography
* United States Army service record of Douglas MacArthur, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri
*McCullough, David. Truman. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992. ISBN 0671869205
* James, D. Clayton. The Years of MacArthur Volume I, 1880-1941 (1970) (ISBN 0395109485); The Years of MacArthur: vol. 2 1941-45 (1975); (ISBN 0395204461); The Years of Macarthur: Volume 3: Triumph and Disaster 1945-1964 (1985)(ISBN 0395360048); Houghton, Mifflin. the stanadard biography
* Leary, William M. MacArthur and the American Century: A Reader. University of Nebraska Press: 2001. ISBN 0803229305. essays by historians
* Leary, William M. We Shall Return!: Macarthur's Commanders and the Defeat of Japan, 1942-1945 (1988)
*Long, Gavin Merrick; MacArthur as Military Commander (1969)
* Richard Lowitt; The Truman-MacArthur Controversy (1967)
* David W. Lutz; "The Exercise Of Military Judgment: A Philosophical Investigation Of The Virtues And Vices Of General Douglas Macarthur." Journal Of Power And Ethics Vol 1, Issue: 1. 2000. pp 68+
*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.
* Nathan Prefer; Macarthur's New Guinea Campaign (1995)
* Eugene L. Rasor; General Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964: Historiography and Annotated Bibliography Greenwood Press, 1994
*Schaller, Michael. Douglas MacArthur: The Far Eastern General. Replica Books: 2001. ISBN 0735103542.
* Howard B. Schonberger; Aftermath of War: Americans and the Remaking of Japan, 1945-1952 Kent State University Press. 1989.
*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.
* Dennis D. Wainstock; Truman, MacArthur, and the Korean War Greenwood Press, 1999
*Weintraub, Stanley. MacArthur's War: Korea and the Undoing of an American Hero. Free Press: 2000. ISBN 0684834197.
* Robert Wolfe; Americans as Proconsuls: United States Military Government in Germany and Japan, 1944-1952 Southern Illinois University Press, (1984)*MacArthur, Douglas.
Reminiscences. United States Naval Institute: 2001. ISBN 1557504830.
*
General MacArthur: Letters from the Japanese During the American Occupation. Rowman & Littlefield: 2001. ISBN 0742511154.
* Paul P. Rogers;
The Good Years: MacArthur and Sutherland Greenwood Press. 1990, vol 1; vol 2:
The Bitter Years: MacArthur and Sutherland (1991). Sutherland was MacArthur's chief of staff, and Rogers was a junior staffer
*
The MacArthur Memorial - The MacArthur Memorial at
Norfolk, Virginia*
MacArthur Museum Brisbane - The MacArthur Museum at
Brisbane,
Queensland,
Australia*
MacArthur - a site about MacArthur from
PBS.
