Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on January 26, 1880, the son of Arthur MacArthur, Jr. and Mary “Pinky” Hardy.
Arthur MacArthur was an army officer and a Union hero of the American Civil War.
“Pinky” was the daughter of a cotton merchant from Norfolk, VA. During the Civil War, her brothers fought for the Confederacy.
Note: The American Civil War was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, a collection of eleven southern states that left the Union in 1860 and 1861.
MacArthur entered West Point Military Academy on 13 June 1899, MacArthur was a corporal in Company B in his second year, a first sergeant in Company A in his third year and First Captain in his final year.
He played left field for the baseball team and academically earned 2424.12 merits out of a possible 2470.00 or 98.14%, which was the third-highest score ever recorded.
He graduated first in his 93-man class on June 11, 1903. At the time it was customary for the top-ranking cadets to be commissioned into the United States Army Corps of Engineers, therefore, MacArthur was commissioned as a second lieutenant in that corps.
His first duty assignment was in the Philippines, where his father had been military governor from 1900-1901. In 1905 MacArthur accompanied his father, who was at this time a Major General, on an official tour of Asia. During this time, MacArthur visited military bases in Japan, China,
Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka
Shortly after returning to the United States, MacArthur reported to Washington, D.C. for duty. For a while, he served as an aide to President Theodore Roosevelt in the White House.
In 1914, the United States occupied the port city of Vera Cruz, Mexico.
MacArthur was sent to Vera Cruz on a special intelligence gathering
mission.
With several guides, MacArthur ventured into enemy territory to find
locomotives that the Army could use to transport troops and supplies into
Mexico. MacArthur and his guides were attacked by bandits several times.
Armed with only a .38 caliber revolver, MacArthur killed seven attackers, and escaped with only four bullet holes in his clothing. He was nominated for the Medal of Honor for this action, but the award was denied.
When World War I started, a then Major MacArthur was involved in the creation of the 42nd “Rainbow Division.” The 42nd Division was made up of men from twenty-six different states. MacArthur coined the term “Rainbow” because he described the multi-state 42nd Division as
stretching from coast to coast – like a rainbow.
MacArthur was promoted to Colonel and was made Chief of Staff of the 42nd Division. In November of 1917, the 42nd Division arrived in France. Once there, the 42nd Division took part in some of the fiercest fighting American forces were involved in during World War I. MacArthur served with distinction during World War I, earning two Distinguished Service Crosses, a Distinguished Service Medal, and seven Silver Stars. In 1932, he was awarded two Purple Hearts for injuries sustained in World War I as the result of two separate mustard gas attacks. By the end of the war, MacArthur was a Brigadier General.
After the war, MacArthur returned to the United States and was named superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Today,
MacArthur is considered the father of modern West Point. During his tenure as superintendent, he updated West Point’s curriculum and made athletics
a core part of the program. These innovations met with strong resistance at the time, but were more accepted in later years. In 1922, MacArthur married Louise Cromwell Brooks, a wealthy socialite. Louise disliked army life and the couple divorced in 1929.
During the 1920’s, MacArthur also served two tours of duty in the
Philippines, and later led the U.S. Delegation to the 1928 Olympics
in Amsterdam.
In 1930 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, by President
Herbert Hoover. During his tenure as Chief of Staff, MacArthur was
involved in the controversial Bonus March. During the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt extended MacArthur’s term as Chief of Staff. On President Roosevelt’s request, MacArthur helped organize the Civilian Conservation Corps – a new program that put tens of thousands of young men back to work.
When MacArthur stepped down as Chief of Staff in 1935, he once again returned to the Philippines. He was named Field Marshal of the Philippines and was given the responsibility of preparing the armed forces of the Philippines for independence as well as preparing the Philippine Islands
for defense against possible Japanese aggression.
In 1937, MacArthur married Jean Marie Faircloth, a wealthy socialite from Tennessee who he had met on the way to Manila in 1935. In 1938 the couple had a son named Arthur MacArthur IV in honor of MacArthur’s father. When World War II started in the Pacific in 1941, the family was living in the
Philippines.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, they
also attacked the Philippines. As the United States entered the war,
MacArthur was ordered to organize the defense of the Philippines and to
defend against a Japanese invasion. MacArthur’s efforts stalled the
Japanese but did not prevent the invasion. His forces eventually
retreated to the Bataan Peninsula and the Island of Corregidor, where they
bravely continued their resistance.
World War II was fought on two fronts – the European Theater and the Pacific Theater. When the war began, President Roosevelt decided on a “Europe First” strategy; which meant that the bulk of the war effort would be aimed at defeating Nazi Germany first. When that was accomplished, it was decided that the focus would then shift to defeating Japan.
Although promises were made concerning the rescue of the forces in the Philippines, nothing substantial was done to aid MacArthur and his forces. In early 1942, as the situation in the Philippines became more desperate, President Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to escape the Philippines and go to Australia.
Note: The headlines would read: MACARTHUR DESERTS “THE BATTLING BASTARDS OF BATAAN” AND ESCAPES TO AUSTRALIA
“We’re the battling bastards of Bataan: No mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam,
No aunts, no uncles, no nephews, no nieces, No rifles, no planes, or artillery pieces, And nobody gives a damn.” This doggerel verse reflects the strong sense of betrayal felt by MacArthur’s troops on Bataan.
MacArthur was shocked to learn that the Philippines had been abandoned by the United States to its fate On February 4, 1942, the submarine Trout arrived at Corregidor to transfer Philippine Treasury gold to a safe place and evacuate Lieutenant Colonel Warren J. Clear, an intelligence officer. Before departing, Clear revealed to MacArthur that the Arcadia Conferences, held in Washington between December 22, 1941 and January 14, 1942, involving the chiefs of staff of the United States and Britain, had produced agreement between the United States and Britain “that only the minimum of force necessary for the safeguarding of vital interests in other theaters should be diverted from the operations against Germany.” In a study that the US Army planners had produced on January 3, 1942, they demonstrated that MacArthur’s plan for reinforcement of the Philippines from Australia was impractical while the Japanese ruled the seas in the western Pacific. The Army planners described MacArthur’s plan as “an entirely unjustifiable diversion of forces from the principal theater, the Atlantic.”
When MacArthur arrived safely in Australia, he promised to return and liberate the Philippines. For his defense of the Philippines, in the face of overwhelming odds, MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor. The highest military honor in the United States.
It would take him more than two years to keep his promise to return to the Philippines, but gradually MacArthur led his forces towards the Philippines by retaking other islands that the Japanese had conquered. MacArthur’s strategy of bypassing Japanese strong points and attacking weaker areas was called “Island Hopping.”
Wading ashore at Leyte on October 20, 1944, MacArthur kept his promise to return to the Philippines. Shortly thereafter, MacArthur was made a five-star general. One of only five men elevated to the five star rank of General of the Army.
By early 1945, the eventual defeat of Japan seemed certain. It was just a question of how much longer the war would last and how many more lives would be lost. Around this time, MacArthur was involved in planning the anticipated invasion of Japan. If Japan was invaded, Allied and Japanese causalities were expected to be extremely high. To avoid further bloodshed, the Potsdam Declaration was sent to the Japanese in July 1945. This declaration called for the Japanese to surrender or face total destruction. When the Japanese refused these terms, President Truman decided to use the atom bomb against Japan to force an end to the war and thereby minimize casualties on both sides.
The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Defying expectations, Japan did not surrender. As a result, on August 9, 1945, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Despite opposition from military leaders, Emperor Hirohito decided that it was his duty to save the lives of his people and end the conflict. The Japanese formally surrendered on September 2, 1945. MacArthur presided over the surrender ceremony.
Following the surrender of Japan, MacArthur took over the administration of the Occupation of Japan. During this time, he and his family lived in Tokyo.
From Tokyo, MacArthur personally oversaw the rebuilding and democratization of Japan. MacArthur refused American pressure to strip Emperor Hirohito of his throne and played a role in crafting a new Japanese constitution that outlawed war and gave Japanese women the right to vote. In addition, during the first year of the Occupation, the Japanese were faced with starvation. In response, MacArthur ordered food and other supplies to be made available to the Japanese. For these efforts, MacArthur became very
popular with the Japanese people.
In 1950, while MacArthur was still in Japan, communist North Korea invaded South Korea. MacArthur was placed in charge of a multi-national UN force and was ordered to push the North Koreans out of South Korean. MacArthur was very successful in doing this, and was on the verge of unifying North and South Korea, when hundreds of thousands of
Chinese communist troops began pouring into North Korea. MacArthur’s troops were surprised by the Chinese, and were eventually forced to retreat.
MacArthur wanted to strike back at the Chinese, but President Truman was worried that the conflict would escalate into World War III. Over time, both men publicly disagreed over the strategy and policy of the war. As a result, Truman eventually relieved MacArthur of his command on April 11, 1951.
After an absence of 14 years, MacArthur returned to the United States. He received a hero’s welcome. On April 19, 1951, MacArthur addressed a
joint session of Congress and delivered his famous speech “Old Soldiers Never Die.” The speech itself was only 36 minutes long, but it was interrupted at least 50 times by applause and standing ovations.
For a time, MacArthur’s popularity soared, and in 1952 he was even considered a possible presidential contender. MacArthur never became President, but Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, a man who had once served as MacArthur’s aide, won the presidential election of 1952. In later years, MacArthur met with and advised President Eisenhower, President
Kennedy, and President Johnson.
Towards the end of his life, MacArthur wrote his autobiography “Reminiscences” and was awarded West Point’s prestigious Thayer Award. In accepting the award, MacArthur delivered his famous “Duty, Honor, Country” speech.
On April 5, 1964, MacArthur died at Walter Reed Army Hospital in
Washington, D.C. He was 84 years old and was survived by his wife Jean and
his son Arthur. MacArthur’s body lay in state at the 7th Regiment Armory in New York, then at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., and finally at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, VA.
On April 11, 1964, the thirteenth anniversary of his dismissal by President
Truman, MacArthur was buried with full honors at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, VA. Since then, more than 4.5 million people have visited the MacArthur Memorial to learn about the life and times of General
Douglas MacArthur.