Douglas MacArthur - 7 April 2010 - Blog

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Douglas MacArthur

General MacArthur" redirects here. For other uses, see General MacArthur (disambiguation).
Douglas MacArthur
January 26, 1880 (1880-01-26) – April 5, 1964 (1964-04-06) (aged 84)

1945 picture of MacArthur smoking a corncob pipe in Manila
NicknameGaijin Shogun, Dugout Doug, Big Chief
Place of birthLittle Rock, Arkansas
Place of deathWashington, D.C.
Place of burialNorfolk, Virginia
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service1903–1951
Rank General of the Army (United States Army)
Field Marshal (Philippine Army)
Service numberO-57
Commands heldUnited Nations Command (Korea)
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Southwest Pacific Area
U.S. Army Forces Far East
Philippine Department
Chief of Staff
Philippine Division
U.S. Military Academy Superintendent
42nd Division
84th Infantry Brigade
Battles/warsMexican Revolution: United States occupation of Veracruz
World War I: Champagne-Marne Offensive Battle of Saint-Mihiel Battle of the Argonne Forest
World War II: Philippines Campaign (1941–42) New Guinea Campaign Philippines Campaign (1944–45) Borneo Campaign (1945) Occupation of Japan
Korean War: Battle of Incheon UN Offensive, 1950 Chinese Winter Offensive UN Offensive, 1951
Awards Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross (3)
Army Distinguished Service Medal (5)
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Flying Cross
Silver Star (7)
Bronze Star
Air Medal
Purple Heart (2)
Order of the Rising Sun
Complete list
RelationsArthur MacArthur, Sr. (grandfather)
Arthur MacArthur, Jr. (father)
Arthur MacArthur III (brother)
Douglas MacArthur II (nephew)
Other workChairman of the Board of Remington Rand

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880 – April 5, 1964) was an American general and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He was a highly decorated soldier of the war, receiving the Medal of Honor for his early service in the Philippines. Arthur MacArthur, Jr. and Douglas MacArthur were the first father and son to each be awarded the medal. He was one of only five men ever to rise to the rank of General of the Army and the only one to become a field marshal in the Philippine Army.
The son of Arthur MacArthur, Jr., an Army officer who was awarded the Medal of Honor for the American Civil War, Douglas MacArthur was raised as a military brat in the American Old West. He attended the West Texas Military Academy, where he was valedictorian, and the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was First Captain and graduated top of the class of 1903. During the U.S. occupation of Veracruz he conducted a daring reconnaissance mission for which he was nominated for the Medal of Honor. In 1917 he was promoted from major to colonel and became chief of staff of the 42nd ("Rainbow") Division. In the fighting on the Western Front during World War I he rose to the rank of brigadier general, was again nominated for the Medal of Honor, awarded the Distinguished Service Cross twice and the Silver Star seven times for gallantry.
After the war, he was appointed Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he attempted to carry through a series of reforms. Posted to the Philippines, he dealt with a mutiny that had broken out amongst the Philippine Scouts. In 1925 he became the Army's youngest major general. He served on the court martial of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell and was president of the United States Olympic Committee during the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. In 1930 he became Chief of Staff of the United States Army. As such, he was involved with the expulsion of the Bonus Army protesters fro Washington, D.C. in 1932, and the establishment and organization of the Civilian Conservation Corps. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1937 to become Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines.
MacArthur was recalled to active duty in 1941 as commander of U.S. Army Forces in the Far East. A series of disasters followed, starting with the destruction of his air force December 8, 1941 and the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese. MacArthur's forces were soon compelled to withdraw to Bataan, where they held out until May 1942. In March 1942, MacArthur, his family and his staff left Corregidor in four PT boats, and escaped to Australia, where MacArthur became Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area. For his defense of the Philippines, MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor. After more than two years of fighting he fulfilled a promise to return to the Philippines. He officially accepted Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945, and oversaw the occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1951. He led the United Nations Command in the Korean War from 1950 to 1951. On April 11, 1951, MacArthur was removed from command by President Harry S. Truman for disagreeing with Truman's policy on the Korean War.