Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) was a celebrated American general, who fought against elements of the Central Powers in the First World War before commanding Allied forces in the Pacific Theater against Japan in the Second World War. He supervised the US military postwar occupation in Japan and he led United Nations forces in the Korean War.
MacArthur’s Early Years
On 26 January 1880, MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was General Arthur MacArthur’s son, an American Civil War hero, who later became the Philippines’ military governor. In 1903, MacArthur graduated with high honors from the U.S. Military Academy before becoming an engineer officer. During the next few years, his military career included various routine assignments while he toured the Orient as his father's aide. Additionally, he served as aide to President Theodore Roosevelt, and was the army's first public relations officer.
MacArthur’s First World War Achievements
During the First World War, MacArthur became a military general while he won many leadership and heroism honors for his courageous actions in the 42nd Division. From 1919 to 1922, as a West Point superintendent, he revolutionized the military academy. In 1930, subsequent to his other assignments, including the Philippine Department command, he was made army Chief of staff for five years, which was longer than any predecessor.
During the Great Depression, although he fought hard for army personnel, he was negatively criticized when he used force to drive away discontented veterans from Washington, D.C. In 1935, MacArthur departed from his Army Chief of Staff position to serve as chief military adviser to the Philippine government.
MacArthur’s Second War World Campaigns
During the Second World War, when he was recalled to active duty to command American troops in the Philippines, MacArthur abandoned a military plan that required U.S. forces to withdraw to Bataan in anticipation of a Japanese attack where U.S. forces would to go on the defensive until help arrived. He naively hoped to stop the aggressive and disciplined Japanese forces on the beach. However, when war arrived to the Philippines, he soon reverted to the original combat plan. During the heavy fighting, because of orders from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, MacArthur reluctantly departed from his fighting forces in the Philippines for Australia before the U.S. defenders were surrendered and defeated by the invading Japanese forces.
MacArthur was frustrated and embittered because the Allied strategy gave priority to the Europe Theater and forced him to share the Pacific Theater with Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. As the Southwest Pacific’s supreme commander, MacArthur brilliantly led a combined Australian and American force against the Japanese army and he gradually retook the islands seized by Japan at the war’s beginning. From October 1944 to July 1945, the campaign culminated with the re-conquering of the Philippines. While he was making war plans for the U.S. invasion of Japan, the Japanese surrendered to the U.S. government after experiencing the apocalyptic power of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. .
MacArthur’s Japan and Korean Leadership
On 2 September 1945, MacArthur accepted the Japanese surrender after he was appointed supreme commander for the Allied powers. During the Allied occupation in Japan, he demilitarized Japan’s power and implemented comprehensive social, economic, and political policy reforms to liberalize the whole nation. In 1948, he won praise from some American liberals, but his serious bid for the Republican presidential nomination made little progress partly because of his political ultra-conservatism.
In June 1950, when Communist North Korea invaded South Korea, the United States entered the war with the support of the United Nations. MacArthur was named the UN commander and he hastily dispatched U.S. occupation forces from Japan into Korea. By September, he had sufficient reinforcements to begin an offensive campaign. After a brilliant and daring amphibious operation at Inchon, his forces drove the North Korean invaders out of South Korea and they pursued them to the Chinese border.
By late October, MacArthur’s forces effectively won the war when China’s government initiated new hostilities by sending their elite troops into Korea. MacArthur planned on expanding the limited conflict into a general war against communist China. In a letter publicized by a conservative Republican congressman, MacArthur criticized his civilian and military superiors’ policies. In April 1951, MacArthur’s actions against his superiors forced President Harry S. Truman to relieve Gen. MacArthur from his duties.
Macarthur’s Retirement Years
MacArthur returned home to a boisterous and joyous ticker-tape parade in New York City. He was embraced by many American’s as a celebrated Roman Caesar returning home from a successful campaign abroad. He made his classic “old soldiers never die” speech to congress. Later, he delivered the keynote address at the Republican presidential convention, but his military popularity was insufficient to win him the nomination. During his retirement years, he served as chairman for the Remington Rand Corporation. MacArthur was a man who inspired extreme emotions among his critics and admirers; he was a brilliant soldier who played major roles in American military history for roughly 3.5 decades.
Finally, MacArthur was a brilliant communicator and his philosophy and legacy can be summarized in his famous “duty, honor, country” speech, which he gave to West Point cadets shortly before his death. On 5 April 1964, he died in Washington, D.C.
Literary Sources:
- Axelrod, Alan, Ph.D.; World War I; Alpha Books; 2000.
- Bard, Mitchell G., Ph.D.; World War II; Alpha Books; 2000.
- Hall, Timothy C., M.A.; World History; Alpha Books; 2008.
- Mann, Robert T.; The Cold War; Alpha Books; 2002.
- McManus, John C., Ph.D.; U.S. Military History; Wiley Publishing, Inc.; 2008.
Eliot Elwar - This author enjoys studying ancient military history, reading biblical eschatology, analyzing Greek mythology, and illustrating military ...
