Gen. Douglas MacArthur in Korea

Douglas MacArthur was the third son of Arthur MacArthur, Jr., a hero of the Civil War. By the time of World War II, Douglas already had a very distinguished Army career. He had graduated from West Point at the top of hiss class in 1903. He had been nominated for a Medal of Honor during the Mexican War in 1914. He served as Chief of Staff of the 42ne (Rainbow) Division in WW I, nominated for the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Silver Star seven times. From 1919-1923 he served as Superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point, In 1924 he served in the Philippines, where he was instrumental in quelling a revolt of the Philippine Scouts. In 1925 he became the Army's youngest major general.

He was president of the United States Olympic Committee for the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. In 1930 he became the Chief of Staff for the Army, and oversaw the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). In 1937 he resigned from the Army to become Military Advisor to the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

On the eve of WW II, MacArthur was recalled to duty in 1941, to become the Commander of US Army Forces in the Pacific. He saw the capture of US Bases throughout the Far East following Pearl Harbor, and then, as Supreme Commander of Forces in the SW Pacific, oversaw the eventual recapture of those bases, including the Philippines.

General MacArthur, probably the most decorated US General coming out of WW II -- the liberator of the Philippines. He received the surrender of Japan, amidst much ceremony aboard the Battleship Missouri, in 1945. As Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Japan, he was a very good administrator and he implemented reforms that turned Japan from an Emperor led dictatorship into a democracy and one of the world's leading economic powerhouses.

When the Korean War began MacArthur was named Commander of the UN Forces. MacArthur's plan for retaking Korea began with a landing at Inchon, to attack the North Korean Army well behind its forward lines, cutting it half, and swiftly ending the war -- a daring plan.

(Korea had been a Colony of the Japanese Imperial Empire since 1910.

In 1945 Korea was divided by the victorious Allied Forces, at the 38th Parallel. The Soviet Union claimed all of Korea above the 38th parallel, as a separate (puppet) communist country. South Korea was a democracy (more or less), with US backed Syngman Rhee as President.

Early in 1950, Dean Acheson, Truman's Secretary of State, made it clear that Korea and Taiwan were outside the US Far East Security Zone -- an invitation to the North Koreans to invade South Korea. The North Koreans assumed that their aggression would be ignored by the UN, which was just getting started as the world's "Keeper of the Peace.")

In June 1950, North Korean forces made their invasion of South Korea. The UN Security Council demanded that the North Koreans bring their forces back north of the 38th Parallel. The North Koreans and their Russian backers merely laughed at that order.

Though the United Nations (mainly US) stepped in to aid the Republic of Korea Army (ROK), by September, 1950, the North Koreans had driven the Allied troops to the very tip of the Korean Peninsula, and threatened to drive the ROK Army and the Americans into the sea.

Today Inchon, on the Northwest Korean Coast, just a stone's throw from North Korea, is one of the most important cities in the Orient, but In 1950 Inchon was far from booming. It was a quiet little fishing village, with dirt streets, and only small native boats in the harbor.

It was said that Gen. MacArthur made a reconnaissance flight over Korea in early September, 1950, and took note of an impending bumper harvest. He vowed then that the North Koreans would not have that harvest. His invasion plan would save the crop for the South Koreans, relieve pressure on the UN forces, and hopefully end the war, in one fell swoop.

MacArthur was a strong and persuasive man. He needed all of his persuasive skills to sell his invasion plans to his generals and admirals, and his superiors in Washington.

There were a number of questions about his plan. 1. There was the tide problem. Because of great tidal fluctuations, there are only narrow windows of time to land large numbers of men on the shore. 2. There was the problem of coordinating a large-scale naval operation (320 naval craft) with appropriate air support for such a large force of men. 3. MacArthur's Marines, had been greatly weakened by Washington powers after WW II. (Some said that there had been a serious attempt to discontinue the Marine Corps altogether after WWII.)

Somehow, by Sept. 15, 1950, MacArthur was able to put his plan into effect. After a bombardment by the US Navy and American aircraft, the full force of 70,000 men was thrown at the North Koreans at Inchon, 100 miles behind the North Korean forward lines. The 1st Marine Division led the way in cutting the North Korean Army in half. Of 100,000 North Koreans who had invaded South Korea, only 30,000 were able to escape back north. 70,000 North Koreans were either killed, or captured and placed in various prisons in South Korea.

Two weeks after the invasion began, Seoul, the Capital of South Korea, was back in the hands of MacArthur's United Nations forces. The North Korean Army was rendered totally ineffective. The bumper harvest had been saved for the South Koreans, and the way seemed to be open for a United Nations' romp all the way to the Yalu River (which marked the boundary between the Korean Peninsula and mainland China.)

After the Inchon invasion MacArthur was being hailed a military genius '-- the savior of South Korea -- the man who had preserved peace in the Far East. It was MacArthur's finest hour. It is unfortunate that General MacArthur did not retire on his laurels then and there.

Following the invasion at Inchon, the war moved almost to the Yalu River in the extreme north. At that time the thought in the United States was that the war was virtually over. There was talk of bringing most of the American Divisions home by Christmas. But in late November, 1950, 200,000 Chinese troops poured across the Yalu River to assist the North Koreans and again pushed the United Nations forces south of the 38th Parallel. During this time MacArthur began to have serious differences with President Truman and the civilian leadership in Washington. MacArthur was all for opposing the Chinese (and Soviet forces, who were rumored to be ready to enter the fray on behalf of the North Koreans), even to an invasion of China, across the Yalu River. MacArthur had hinted that he would use nuclear weapons if necessary. This was too much for President Truman, who effectively fired MacArthur at a well- publicized meeting at Wake Island in April 1951, "for contradicting administration policies in public."

MacArthur was replaced by Lt. Gen. Matthew Ridgeway. The UN forces gradually stemmed the Chinese advance, and for the next three years the fighting was confined to a narrow strip of very mountainous territory on either side of the 38th Parallel.

The Korean "Police Action" was never officially called a war, since President Truman committed US troops without a Declaration of War by Congress, yet one would have trouble convincing anyone who fought in that conflict that this was not a full-fledged war. The United States suffered some 54,000 dead and 103,000 wounded during that period, with some 46% of the casualties coming during the period of the stalemate. Although an Armistice was signed at Panmunjom on the 38th Parallel on July 27th, 1953, no Peace Settlement has yet been signed.