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Opinion
Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Part 2
Monday, November 30, 2009
Douglas MacArthur was a fellow who apparently was born to be a leader of men. His grandfather, Arthur MacArthur Sr., a jurist in Milwaukee, and onetime governor of Wisconsin (briefly), was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. Arthur was a Democrat, but was politically skillful enough that he was appointed to this office by the Republican President, Ulysses S. Grant.
His son, Arthur MacArthur Jr., had joined the Union Army as a member of the Wisconsin 24th Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War. Though but 19 years of age, he won the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Missionary Ridge, where he rallied his Regiment with the cry of "On Wisconsin" (the tune that McCook High School uses for its fight song). For his service in this battle, Arthur was promoted to the brevet rank of colonel. He was beloved by his men, who sang the praises of "The Boy Colonel."
Arthur MacArthur stayed in the Army after the war and was assigned to "The Indian Wars." In 1874, he was named the first post commander of Fort Robinson in Northwestern Nebraska. Capt. Arthur MacArthur was later stationed at Little Rock, Ark., when Douglas was born, in 1880. Douglas was to say in later years that he was certainly born into the Army way of life -- "I learned to ride and shoot before I could read and write, indeed, almost before I could walk and talk."
By 1893, Arthur was stationed in San Antonio, and Douglas entered the West Texas Military Academy, with the goal of receiving an appointment to West Point. He was a good student, but was rejected twice, before his appointment, in 1898. When be went east, to enter West Point his mother went with him, to take up quarters in a hotel, which overlooked the school. The story goes that with the aid of a telescope she could look from her room into the room of her son -- to make sure that he was studying. Whatever she did must have worked. He graduated first in his class in 1903. What is more, because of his outstanding record in sports, military training, and academics, he received the academy's highest honor, First Captain the Corps of Cadets.
Upon graduation, he received his commission of 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Army Engineers. He was sent to the Philippines, where he served as an aid to his father, during the Russo-Japanese War.
Douglas MacArthur served with distinction during the Vera Cruz Campaign of the Mexican War in 1914. For his bravery in this battle, he was recommended for the Medal of Honor. However, perhaps as a omen of things to come, he was denied this medal, on the grounds that he had exceeded the scope of his orders.
During World War I MacArthur matured as an officer and as a tactician. He seemingly was gravitated to combat and relished his reputation as an officer who "led his men ... from the front." He refused to carry a weapon into battle (only his ever-present riding crop) and disdained the use of a gas mask, a practice that left him with respiratory problems that would plague him the rest of his life. Gen. Mehoher called MacArthur "the greatest fighting man in the Army." During the World War I, he earned two Distinguished Crosses, seven Silver Stars, a Distinguished Service Medal, and two Purple Hearts, making him one of the most highly decorated soldiers to come out of that war.
An interesting sidelight occurred during World War I. Now Gen. MacArthur investigated a battle during the Hundred Days Offensive, where the highly decorated Col. "Wild Bill" Donovan's Battalion had been almost wiped out during an attack. MacArthur demanded an explanation for the heavy casualties. Donovan explained that his unit had not been given the artillery support that was needed and had been promised.
MacArthur was livid and sought out the Artillery Captain that had been responsible for that support, and thoroughly dressed him down for not doing the job assigned to him. The man who incurred MacArthur's wrath was Capt. Harry Truman. MacArthur and Truman were to meet again later, under much different circumstances.
After World War I, MacArthur remained in the Army and served in a number of varied positions. As Superintendent of West Point he oversaw a rather complete overhaul of policies at the Academy, which changed the tactical, athletic, and disciplinary systems, and instituted a new Cadet Honor Code for West Point.
In the '20s, MacArthur served two tours of duty in the Philippines. He also served on the Courts Martial of Gen. Billy Mitchell, and headed the U.S. Olympic Committee for the 1928 Summer Olympics.
In the 1930s, MacArthur served as Chief of Staff and led efforts to modernize the Army and bolster the Air Wing of the Army. He caught much criticism when allegedly used excessive force in carrying out President Hoover's directive to disperse the Bonus Marchers (on Washington D.C.), mainly World War I veterans who demonstrated for peace, and whom MacArthur claimed were dupes for the Communists.
In the late '30s MacArthur took on the task of organizing the Philippine Army, and was rewarded with the title of Field Marshall of the Philippine Army by President Quezon.
At the time of Pearl Harbor, MacArthur was Allied Commander of the Philippines, but the Allied forces were no match for the Japanese invasion, and MacArthur was forced to leave Bataan (his famous vow, "I shall return"). Eventually, MacArthur, now the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific, followed a successful island hopping strategy that did allow him to return to the Philippines at Leyte, in October 1944.
MacArthur was chosen to accept Japan's surrender aboard the USS Missouri in 1945. Then, during the next five years, as Supreme Allied Commander of Japan, he made his greatest contribution to history.
During this time, he and his staff helped a devastated Japan to rebuild itself, to institute a democratic government, and to chart a course that today has made Japan one of the great industrial powers of the world.
When the North Korean Army invaded South Korea in 1950 MacArthur was named Commander of the United Nations Forces in Korea.
After initial successes had put North Korea to the very edge of Pusan, on the Southernmost point of the Korean Peninsula, MacArthur's daring invasion of Korea at Inchon cut the North Korean Army in half and effectively ended its worth as a fighting force. UN Forces chased the North Korean Army to the banks of the Yalu River, across from China. MacArthur declared the war over, dismissing a Chinese threat to enter the war. And, just in case the Chinese did enter the war, he requested permission to bomb Red Air Bases in Manchuria.
President Truman turned down MacArthur's request summarily, fearing that such an act would bring not only China into the war, but the Soviet Union as well, and could lead to a nuclear holocaust. When MacArthur criticized Truman's policies publically Truman felt he had no choice but to relieve the general of his command.
Upon his return to the U.S. (the first time in 11 years he had been home), MacArthur was given a hero's welcome, and was invited to speak to a Joint Session of Congress, where he gave his "Old Soldiers Never Die, They Just Fade Away" speech.
MacArthur continued to be a consultant of presidents for the rest of his life, but always behind the scenes. Friends' efforts to lure him into political life were unsuccessful.
In 1964, this proud, larger-than-life American hero, a complex and controversial figure died quietly at his New York home.
He is entombed with his second wife, Jean, in the rotunda of a museum in downtown Norfolk, Va.