He was the flamboyant, controversial symbol
of America’s dogged resolve during World War Two. With his trademark corn cobb pipe and his
love of self-publicity, he is among the most well-known of war heroes. Though he often disregarded authority he was
praised for his bold, imaginative military strategy. In today’s Biographics, we look into the
colorful life of General Douglas MacArthur. Early Years
Douglas MacArthur was born on January 26th, 1880 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was the last of three sons born to Arthur
and Mary MacArthur. His father was a civil war veteran who had
fought with distinction in such battles as Chickamauga and Murfreesboro along with Sherman’s
final push on Atlanta. He won the medal of honor for his bravery,
setting a very high bar for his boys. Despite his father having been the state governor
of Wisconsin, Arthur fell for a southern belle. Tensions were so high between the states that
Mary’s brothers refused to attend the wedding. Young Douglas was heavily influenced by his
father’s military career. He once commented that his first memory was
the sound of bugles and he loved the pomp and ceremony of the army. By the time that Douglas came along, Arthur
had been stationed to a series of remote western military posts. When their youngest son was nine years old,
the family relocated to Washington D.C. For the next four years, the Douglas attended
the Force Public School. In 1893, Arthur was posted to San Antonio,
Texas. There Douglas was enrolled at the West Texas
Military academy. He excelled both academically and on the sports
field, being named class valedictorian during his final year. His sights were now set on West Point Military
Academy. His father tried to use his influence to secure
a Presidential appointment for his son to the academy, but this was rejected by two
Presidents, Cleveland and McKinley. This meant that he would have to gain entry
the old-fashioned way – by passing the entrance exam. Arthur hired a tutor to help Douglas prepare
for the exam. His diligence paid off and he attained a score
of 93.3 out of a hundred. MacArthur later commented on his preparation
for the exam . . . It was a lesson I never forgot. Preparedness is the key to success and victory. Douglas’s mother instilled in him a firm
belief that he was destined for greatness. By the time that he entered West Point, Douglas
had developed enough qualities to reinforce her belief. He was strong, both mentally and physically. From his earliest days in military outposts
in the west he had become adept at horse riding and rifle shooting. In remembering that time in his life he said
. . . I learned to read and shoot even before I
could read or write – indeed, almost before I could walk and talk. The teenage MacArthur was tall and handsome
and he projected an air of self confidence that turned heads when he walked into a room. West Point
Douglas’ first year at West Point was a challenging time for him. As the son of a senior officer and with a
mother who stayed close by in a hotel to keep an eye on her beloved boy, he was to subjected
more than the usual hazing that all first year’s have to endure. Still, he endured it with a stoic resolve
that impressed senior students. While other first year students were broken
by the less intense hazing that they experienced, Douglas was able to maintain an air of composure,
even cheerfulness, throughout the ordeal. Douglas proved to be an outstanding student
in all respects. He graduated in 1903, first in his class,
with an overall score of 98 percent. It seemed as if his mother’s projections
of greatness were right on track. As a top graduate from West Point, Douglas
was now given the opportunity to choose which branch of the armed services he entered. He decided on the Engineering Corps, entering
the service with the rank of Second Lieutenant. His first posting was to the Philippines,
which had been an American colony for five years. His father, Arthur had served there three
years earlier and he had warned his son, and whoever else would listen, that an insurrection
was on the horizon on the island. Douglas was placed in charge of strengthening
the military infrastructure on the island. Yet he had barely been there a month when
he was attacked by a pair of bandits while travelling alone in the countryside. He beat off both attackers and then shot them
dead. It was an early example of the fierce courage
which would be his trademark. This first assignment was cut short after
less than a year when Douglas contracted malaria. Once he had recovered, his father pulled some
strings to have Douglas accompany him as a military aide on a tour of Asia. The two years that he spent in such places
as China, Japan and India developed within MacArthur ideas about Asia that went against
the grain of mainstream political thought. He considered Asian people to be equal to
Americans. This, in itself, undercut the subtle racism
which underpinned US policy toward the region. Furthermore, he was of the firm opinion that
America’s future lay with the Far East and not, as the majority contended, with Europe. This set him at odds with the European centric
views of his superiors, something which would persist throughout his lifetime. After his return from Asia, Douglas spent
a number of years building up his experience and qualifications in the engineering corps. He attended engineering school in Washington,
after which he was posted to Milwaukee and then Kansas. By then he had been promoted to captain. In January, 1912, McArthur was posted to Panama. It would be a short excursion. He returned the following month to attend
the funeral of his father. He was concerned about the mental health of
his mother and requested a reposting to Washington, D.C. in order to be close
to her. Veracruz
In 1914, MacArthur was assigned to the War Department to serve on the Veracruz Expedition
in Mexico. Relations between the US and Mexico had been
deteriorating for some time. An incident that became known as the Tampico
Affair brought matters to a head. Nine American sailors were taken into custody
by the Mexican government for entering off-limits areas of the city of Tampico, in the state
of Tamaulipas. The sailors were released but the Mexicans
refused to provide the 21-gun salute demanded by the American government. An outraged President Woodrow Wilson ordered
the invasion of the port of Veracruz by the US Navy. MacArthur was sent to Veracruz as a military
advisor. However, he soon went beyond his job description
when he recruited some local railroad engineers and headed out to commandeer a number of trains
that were believed to be sitting several miles down the line. To get there he and his small group used a
handcar. The group were able to commander a total of
five engines. On the way back to headquarters, they came
under attack from rebels on horseback. MacArthur shot at least three of the attackers. When he returned, he noticed that there were
three bullet holes in his clothing, yet he remained unscathed. MacArthur’s commanding officer was greatly
impressed by his daring ingenuity. He recommended MacArthur for a Medal of Honor. However the honors board questioned the . . .
Advisability of this enterprise having been undertaken without the knowledge of the commanding
general on the ground. By 1915, MacArthur was back in Washington
D.C., where he immersed himself in his work at the War Department. In 1915 he was promoted to major. A short time later he was made the army’s
first chief of the Bureau of Information, which was essentially a military press office. His experience taught him valuable lessons
about the power of the press and the need to cultivate a strong public persona. The Great War
The United States entry into World War One occurred in April, 1917. MacArthur wanted the National Guard to be
sent to Europe to play their part in the war effort. He came up with the idea of a ‘rainbow’
national guard force that was made up of guardsmen from every state. This avoided any inter-state rivalry. As a result, he became the Chief of Staff
of the 42nd Rainbow Division. It left for France in October, 1917. The 42nd Rainbow division was posted behind
the front lines in order to complete their training. MacArthur’s duties were largely administrative,
something which was a source of frustration for him. He longed to get in on the action, going so
far as to volunteer for trench raids with a neighboring French division. On one such raid, MacArthur found himself
under gas attack, yet he still managed to make it to safety. The French were extremely impressed with his
actions, awarding him the Croix de Guerre. As well as volunteering to help on French
raids, he eventually led some American ones. Every time he was the first man over the top. His bravery didn’t go unnoticed. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
and, in June, 1917, promoted to Brigadier General. He won two more Distinguished Service Crosses
leading his men in a defensive mission during the Kaiser’s Offensive in the Summer of
1918. The horrors that he witnessed during that
offensive prompted him to make the quip . . . Whoever said the pen is mightier than the
sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons. Yet, MacArthur excelled in the thick of battle. By the end of July, 1918, he had earned himself
4 Silver Stars, two Croix de Guerre and the French Legion of Honor. Still, he wasn’t done. During the great American offensive of October,
1918, he won two more silver stars and despite being gassed refused to stay out of the thick
of the action. He came into contact with Future General George
Patton, who called MacArthur ‘the bravest man I have ever met’. The climax of MacArthur’s World War One
experience was the taking of the French city of Chatillon. After spotting a weakness in the German defenses,
he led an attack that overran the town. The capture of Chatillon was a key victory
in the final weeks of the war. It won him yet another Distinguished Service
Medal. Between the Wars
Returning to the United States as a celebrated war hero, MacArthur was assigned to Camp Meade,
Maryland for a time before being returned to Washington D.C. He was involved in preparing a manual on the
best use of the new weapon of warfare, the tank. After studying the subject, he became convinced
that tanks should be used for more than just infantry support; they should constitute a
separate fighting force of their own. In 1922, MacArthur married Louise Brooks Cromwell,
described by the New York Times as ‘one of Washington’s most beautiful and attractive
young women.’ She was also one of the richest, coming from
a wealthy dynasty. Louise, who brought two young children to
the marriage, had previously courted MacArthur’s superior, General Pershing. The older man was not happy with the situation,
threatening to send MacArthur to the Philippines if he went ahead with the marriage. In less than a year, MacArthur was, indeed,
sent to the Philippines, as a commander of a brigade in the Philippine Division. It was during this posting that he established
close ties to the Philippine ruling powers. He also witnessed first hand the poor treatment
of the indigenous people, becoming a champion of their rights. In 1925, MacArthur was promoted to Major General
and brought back to the United States as commander of the IV Corps in Georgia. Lingering Civil War tensions made his command
untenable and he was transferred to the III Corps in Maryland. By 1927, MacArthur’s marriage was in trouble. He and Louise were just too different and,
though he was devoted to her two children, they separated at the end of that year and
were officially divorced two years later, in 1929. MacArthur then threw himself into a new role. He was given the role of president of America’s
Olympic Committee for the 1928 Games in Amsterdam. In one famous incident during the Games when
the US boxing coach threatened to withdraw the team due to perceived bias on the judging
panel, MacArthur pulled him aside and told him . . .
American’s don’t quit. Following the Olympics, McArthur was sent
back to the Philippines. Then, in 1930, he was appointed US Army chief
of staff, the youngest man at the time to hold the position. He made important administrative changes during
the difficult Depression years. Yet the most noteworthy episode during his
tenure as chief of staff came in 1932 when he oversaw the army’s response to a protest
by war veterans in Washington. During the confrontation, soldiers fired on
the veterans with several of them being killed. The backlash fell squarely on MacArthur’s
shoulders and his reputation suffered a setback. With the election of Franklin Roosevelt to
the presidency, tensions between the Commander in Chief and his chief of staff reached an
all-time high. When Roosevelt refused to increase the military
budget, MacArthur made the following caustic comment . . .
When we lose the next war and an American boy lying in the mud with an enemy bayonet
through his belly and an enemy foot on his dying throat, spits out his last curse, I
wanted the name not be MacArthur but Roosevelt. Despite their differences, Roosevelt and MacArthur
had mutual respect for one another. The four-year chief of staff post was extended
by a year by the president. In 1935, MacArthur once more went to the Philippines. This time he came at the personal invitation
of President Manuel Quezon to act as military adviser to create a defense force on the island. To take up the role, he retired from active
service in the U.S. Army. World War Two
In July, 1941, Roosevelt brought MacArthur back. He appointed him commander of the US forces
in the Far East. The immediate focus, naturally, was to build
up US forces in the Philippines. Five months later the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor brought the United States into the war. It seemed clear to MacArthur that the Philippines
was to be the next Japanese target. That attack came within two weeks. MacArthur had neither the manpower nor the
time to prepare a proper defense and half of his air force was wiped out. On December 22nd, the Japanese advanced on
Manilla. Acting on his own initiative, MacArthur pulled
his forces back to the Bataan peninsula. He set up his headquarters on the island fortress
of Corregidor. With him were her personal press corps, which
allowed him to publicize his valiant defense against the Japanese. However, his forces and supplies were too
few, and his situation was hopeless. President Roosevelt gave the command for him
to evacuate Bataan. At first, he refused, only complying when
Roosevelt promised to give him his own theatre of operations in the Pacific. MacArthur then escaped from Bataan, making
a daring getaway by sea. However, his forces stayed on the island. They were overtaken by the Japanese in April,
1942 with many dying on the ensuing Bataan death march. MacArthur now set up his base of operations
in Australia. It was from there that he made his famous
promise . . . I said to the people of the Philippines whence
I came, I shall return. For two years he worked indefatigably to make
that promise a reality. Roosevelt appointed him as the Supreme Commander
of the Southwest Pacific Area. He worked closely with the commander-in-chief
of the US Navy, Admiral Charles Nimitz. Together they devised a plan that would attack
the Japanese through the central Pacific Islands which was Nimitz’s focus, and oust them
from the Philippines, which MacArthur was committed to. They called it Operation Cartwheel. Nimitz advanced his naval forces through the
Solomon Islands while MacArthur advanced along the north-east coast of New Guinea. He used a strategy that he called island hopping
in which he bypassed the main areas of Japanese strength. During this time, MacArthur’s reputation
among the American public had achieved hero status. By the end of 1944, he was poised to invade
the Philippines. However, the authority for the invasion was
denied by both Admiral Nimitz and the President. With the aid of his well-tuned publicity machine,
he managed to pressure a change of mind and the go ahead was given for the invasion. On October 19th, 1944, MacArthur landed at
Leyte Gulf. Over the next few months he pushed on to fully
liberate the Philippines. His men finally crossed the Central Plain
to take control of the capital at Manila in March, 1945. The Post War Years
MacArthur received the Japanese surrender at Tokyo Bay on September 2nd, 1945. Following the war, he was placed in command
of the occupation of the Allied occupation of Japan. He was charged with rebuilding the Japanese
economy and demobilizing their military. In 1950, MacArthur served as commander of
the United Nations forces in the Korean War. His tenure came to an unceremonious end the
following year when ongoing tensions with President Truman on the approach toward the
Chinese led to his dismissal as UN Commander in Chief. Truman was attempting to pursue a peaceful
negotiation with the Chinese while Truman was a vocal advocate for military intervention. The situation became untenable when he wrote
a letter to a Republican senator calling for a military invasion of China. The letter was read aloud in Congress. This gave Truman the excuse he needed to get
rid of the trouble-making general. MacArthur learned about his firing through
a radio report. MacArthur was still very popular with the
public and his firing by Truman created a backlash that led many to call for the president’s
impeachment. With his typical caustic style, Truman addressed
the situation with the following . . . I fired him because he wouldn’t respect
the authority of the president. That’s the answer to that. I didn’t fire him because he was a dumb
son of a bitch, although he was, but that’s not against the law for generals. If it was half to three-quarters of them would
be in jail. Fading Away
His firing by Truman had made MacArthur even more popular than ever. Upon his return to the US he was given a ticker
tape parade through the streets of New York, the largest the city had even seen. He was invited to give a farewell address
to Congress, in which he delivered the famous line . . .
Old soldiers never die, they just fade away. He moved into the Waldorf Astoria hotel in
New York where he remained for the rest of his days. His retirement years were spent in quiet seclusion. However, in 1961 he was contacted by President
Kennedy and asked for advice on the Asian situation. MacArthur told him to stay out of Vietnam. In 1961, MacArthur made his final trip to
the Philippines, were he met with old friends. On his return to the States he began working
on his autobiography. The end came on April 5th, 1964 as a result
of liver disease. He was honored with a full state funeral. More than 150,000 people paid their respects
to one of America’s great titans of war.
