Douglas MacArthur

For the municipality in the Philippines, see General MacArthur, Eastern Samar.

General Douglas MacArthur in Manila, Pilippine Islands on August 24, 1945

Douglas MacArthur January 26 1880 — April 5 1964 was an American military leader who was instrumental in defeating the Japanese in World War II. He helped rebuild Japan after the war and played a key role in limiting the Communist takeover of Korea with his daring Inchon landing. A controversial figure, he was dismissed by President Truman but returned to the largest tickertape parade ever.

He served in the U.S. Army most of his 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 five people to hold that rank in U.S. history. President Manuel L. Quezon of the Philippines also made him a Field Marshal in 1937, the only American to ever hold such a rank, which he held until his death.

One of the most decorated soldiers in the history of the United States military, MacArthur became famous for both losing and retaking the Philippines during World War II. He was appointed Supreme Allied Commander in the South West Pacific Area and led a series of military victories by Allied forces in the theatre. After Imperial Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945, MacArthur became the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, rebuilding Japan during the Allied occupation. At the end of the war however, he secretly granted immunity to the physicians of Unit 731 in exchange for providing America with their research on biological weapons. During the Korean War, MacArthur was removed from command for insubordination to U.S. President Harry S. Truman, causing a national controversy.

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. Shortly before he died, he was given the nickname "Gaijin Shogun" ("foreign military leader") a title which former Honor Guard and author David Valley believed that MacArthur would have appreciated.

Early life and education

MacArthur was born in Little Rock,in Arkansas on the northwest upper floor of The Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal. His parents were Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur, a recipient of the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Missionary Ridge on November 25, 1863 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 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 playing 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-profile Washington political culture that had enormous influence on Douglas.

MacArthur's father was posted to San Antonio, Texas in 1893. There, Douglas attended the 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 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 Rainbow Division. Upon his promotion to Brigadier General (the youngest ever in the Army) he became the commander of the 84th Infantry Brigade.

Inter-war years

In 1929 MacArthur met Isabel Rosario Cooper, a sixteen-year old Filipina actress, whom he later took with him to Washington. He later would spend 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.

Prior to the inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the man widely expected to become the first popularly-elected President of the Philippines was Manuel L. Quezon. He asked MacArthur to supervise the creation of a Philippine Army preparatory to independence. MacArthur accepted and was present at the inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Legislation approved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt permitted active duty American officers to serve as military advisors overseas, and MacArthur took up residence in the Manila Hotel. Among MacArthur's assistants as Military Advisor to the Commonwealth of the Philippines was Dwight D. Eisenhower.

When MacArthur retired from the U.S. Army in 1937, he was made a Field Marshal of the Philippine Army, by President Quezon but returned in July 1941 as commander of United States Army Forces Far East (USAFFE), based in Manila when he was recalled to active duty for fear of impending war with Japan.

World War II

MacArthur landing at Leyte Beach in 1944

After the United States entered World War II, MacArthur became Allied commander in the Philippines. He courted controversy on several occasions, especially when he overruled his air commander, General Lewis H. Brereton, who had requested permission to launch air attacks against Japanese bases on nearby Taiwan. Consequently much of the US Far East Air Force was destroyed on the ground in the Philippines, the prelude to a Japanese invasion. His headquarters during the period of defeat in the Philippines was in the island fortress of Corregidor, while his making only one trip to the front lines in Bataan led to the disparaging moniker and ditty, "Dugout Doug." 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, Victoria, Australia. With a select group of advisers and subordinate military commanders, MacArthur fled the Phillipines, arriving at Batchelor Airfield in Australia's Northern Territory on the 17th March and taking The Ghan railway through the Australian outback to Adelaide, South Australia. 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 him with the Philippine Distinguished Conduct Star.

MacArthur became Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) and took command of Australian, US, Dutch and other Allied forces defending Australia, fighting mainly in and around New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies. On 20th July 1942 SWPA headquarters was moved to what is now the MacArthur Central building in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, where he stayed from 1942 to 1944. Australian and American forces under MacArthur's command 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 his contemporaries and subsequent historians. During 1942, MacArthur controlled more Australian than US forces. However, it has been claimed that he decreed that all Australian victories would be reported as "Allied victories", while American victories would be reported as American. ^{[citation needed]} It is also a widely-held view that, from mid-1943 onwards. MacArthur confined the Australian Army divisions under his command to tough and largely irrelevant 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, especially concerning his attitude towards the Kokoda Track Campaign which he thought irrelevant. ^{[citation needed]}

American forces under MacArthur's command took back the Philippines on October 20th 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 Southwest Pacific Theater. Philippine President Sergio Osmeña also decorated him with the Philippines' highest military award, the Medal of Valor.

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 US 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 relieved by President Truman on April 11, 1951. Truman replaced SCAP leader MacArthur with General Ridgway of the Armed Forces.

General MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito at the US Embassy in Tokyo on September 27, 1945

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 UN coalition counter-offensive, noted for a daring and overwhelmingly successful 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 armed retaliation into Chinese territory, but President Truman refused. 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 dire statements to the press, warning of imminent, crushing defeat.

In March of 1951, after a relentless U.N. counterrattack 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 retained of leading a full-scale war against China, and MacArthur quickly issued his own ultimatum to Red China. Mocking the Chinese's 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 distnguished military service that General Bradley later speculated that MacArthur's disappointment over his inability to wage war on China had "snapped his brilliant but brittle mind."^[1] 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 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 U.S. 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 his presidential hopes died away.

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 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, 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.

MacArthur and his second wife, Jean Faircloth, 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. 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, served as a diplomat for several years.

Philippines

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 Japanese is famous. He appeared to have a genuine affection for the nation and it was the only (and last) country he visited after his dismissal.

Summary of Service

West Point

• June 13, 1899 – 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 11, 1903 – Graduates first in his class, commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers

Early 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 serves as an aide to his father (Major General Arthur MacArthur) 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, Washington DC, 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.

World War I

• 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 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 evalution 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 Commanding 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

World War II

• July 26, 1941: Recalled to active service in the United States Army as a Major General
• July 27, 1941: Appointed a 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: Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, is promoted to General in the Army of the United States and ordered to defend the Philippine islands from a Japanese invasion
• February 22, 1942: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt orders MacArthur out of the Philippines as the American defense of the nation collapses. Upon leaving MacArthur says, "I shall return."
• 1942 - 1943: Begins the conquest of New Guinea and is generally credited with halting an invasion of Australia by Japanese forces
• 1943 - 1944: Begins a series of arguments with the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding a return to the Philippine Islands. The majority of the Joint Chiefs want to bypass the Philippines and take Formosa. MacArthur makes a personal appeal to President Roosevelt that, should the Philippines be bypassed, he would publically denounce the war effort as betraying captured U.S. soldiers and leaving a large enemy flank to the rear of U.S. forces attacking the Japanese home islands.
• 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
• August 1945: Is considered for promotion to Six Star General (General of the Armies) to lead to massive invasion force which will attack Japan in 1946. Is stunned when the atomic bomb ends the war abruptly, quoted that "this apparatus will make men like me obsolete". MacArthur knew nothing of the bombs development, however Eisenhower did.
• 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
• 1948 - 1950: Becomes second man in Japan to a new Ambassador-Extraordinary, appointed by President Harry Truman. Attempts to run for President in 1948 but withdraws his candidacy after the news media states that MacArthur would be disloyal to his Commander-in-Chief if he ran against Harry Truman.

Korean War

• 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: Advocates for full scale war with China upon that nation's entry into the Korean War. Is outraged when military leaders in Washington restrict the war to only the Korean theater.
• April 11, 1951: After he publicly criticizes White House policy in Korea, Harry Truman removes MacArthur from command and orders him to return to the United States
• 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 adminsitrative reasons, is assigned in absentee to the Office of the Army Chief of Staff

Later life

• 1951 - 1952: Loses a great deal of public support after Senate hearings investigate into why MacArthur was relieved and it is revealed MacArthur had advocated a full scale war with China and, if necessary, nuclear war with the Soviet Union as an escalation of the Korean conflict.
• 1952: Runs for President on the Republican platform. Loses badly in the Wisconsin Primary and withdraws from the Presidential race. Is distraught when his former aide, Dwight Eisenhower secures the Republican nomination and later becomes President of the United States
• January 1955: Is nominated by the United States Congress for promotion to General of the Armies. Declines the promotion as it would have meant a loss of retirement pay and benefits associated with being a Five Star General.
• May 12 1962 - Gives famous Duty, Honor, Country valedictory speech at West Point
• 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, 1946

In 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 unsuccesfully 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.

United States

File:MacArthurRibbons.jpg

Recreation of Douglas MacArthur's awards as they would today appear
(does not include all foreign decorations)

• Medal of Honor
• Distinguished Service Cross with one oak leaf cluster
• Army Distinguished Service Medal
• Navy Distinguished Service Medal
• Distinguished Flying Cross
• Silver Star with one silver oak leaf cluster
• 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
• Mexican Service Medal
• World War I Victory Medal with five battle clasps
• 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
• Combat Infantryman 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 War Service Medal
• 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

Trivia

• 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.

• 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 corn cob pipe, in private he actually preferred cigars.

• 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 has somewhere named after them. (The other two are Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. and George Leslie Mackay) The road is located in Taipei, although it is renamed now. The two bridges remain fully functional to this day.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• 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
  • Notes:

1. ^  Bradley Quote: page 836

Headline text

• 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.

External links

• The MacArthur Memorial - The MacArthur Memorial at Norfolk, Virginia
• MacArthur Museum Brisbane - The MacArthur Museum at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
• MacArthur - a site about MacArthur fromPBS.

Preceded by: Charles P. Summerall	Chief of Staff of the United States Army 1930–1935	Succeeded by: Malin Craig
Preceded by: —	Military Governor of Japan 1945–1951	Succeeded by: Matthew B. Ridgway

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Douglas_MacArthur  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Douglas MacArthur"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.