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http://warannals.com Douglas MacArthur
MacArthur, Douglas (1880-1964), an American general, who commanded Allied troops in the Pacific during World War II, supervised the postwar occupation of Japan, and led United Nations forces during the Korean War. MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on January 26, 1880, the son of General Arthur MacArthur, a hero of the American Civil War who was later military governor of the Philippines. In 1903 he graduated with highest honors from the U.S. Military Academy and became an engineer officer. During the next 14 years his career included some routine assignments, but he also toured the Orient as his father's aide, served as aide to President Theodore Roosevelt, and became the army's first public relations officer. In World War I, MacArthur reached the rank of general and won numerous honors for his heroism and his leadership of the 42nd (Rainbow) Division. From 1919 to 1922, as superintendent of West Point, he revitalized the military academy. After other assignments, including the command of the Philippine Department, he was made army chief of staff in 1930 and held the post for five years, longer than any predecessor. During the Great Depression, he fought hard for army personnel but was pilloried for using force to drive disgruntled veterans, known as the Bonus Army, from Washington, D.C. After his retirement in 1935, he was given the rank of field marshal in the Philippine army and served as military adviser to the Philippines from 1936 to 1941. Recalled to active duty to command American troops in the Philippines in July 1941, MacArthur jettisoned a plan that called for U.S. forces to withdraw to Bataan in case of a Japanese attack and to go on the defensive until help arrived; he optimistically hoped to stop the Japanese on the beach. When war came, however, he soon reverted to the original plan. In response to orders from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he left the Philippines for Australia before the U.S. defenders surrendered to the invading Japanese in 1942. MacArthur was embittered and frustrated by the Allied strategy that gave priority to Europe and forced him to share the Pacific command with Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. As supreme commander of the Southwest Pacific, MacArthur led a combined American and Australian force in a series of brilliant victories, gradually retaking the islands seized by Japan at the beginning of the war. The campaign culminated with the re-conquest of the Philippines (October 1944-July 1945), during which he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army. He was at work on plans for the invasion of Japan when the Japanese asked for peace. Appointed supreme commander for the Allied powers, he accepted the surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945. During the Allied occupation of Japan, he demilitarized the former enemy power and implemented a comprehensive policy of social, economic, and political reforms with the goal of liberalizing that nation. MacArthur returned home to a tumultuous welcome. Although he delivered the keynote address at the next Republican presidential convention, his popularity was not enough to gain him the nomination. He died on April 5, 1964, in Washington, D.C. A man who inspired extreme emotions among admirers and critics alike, MacArthur was a brilliant soldier who played a crucial role in American military affairs for more than three decades.
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