Douglas MacArthur
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*The General is first mentioned in Chapter 7:
The American base at Cavite, along the shore of Manila Bay, burns real good once the Nips have set it on fire, Bobby Shaftoe and the rest of the Fourth Marines get a good long look at it as they cruise by, sneaking out of Manila like thieves in the night. He has never felt more personally disgraced in his life, and the same thing goes for the other Marines. The Nips have already landed in Malaya and are headed for Singapore like a runaway train, they are besieging Guam and Wake and Hong Kong and God knows what else, and it should be obvious to anyone that they are going to hit the Philippines next. Seems like a regiment of hardened China Marines might actually come in handy around here.
But MacArthur seems to think he can defend Luzon all by himself, standing on the walls of Intramuros with his Colt .45. So they are shipping out. They have no idea where to. Most of them would rather hit the beaches of Nippon itself than stay here in Army territory.
The opium-inspired and real life encounter with the giant lizard ends here.
"I said" The General begins. But then the atmospheres riven by a series of bizarre whizzing noises. One of the houses windows is suddenly punched out of its frame. Shaftoe hears a thud from inside and some crockery breaking. For the first time, The General shows some awareness that a military action is taking place. "Warm up my jeep, Shaftoe," he says, "I have a bone to pick with my triple-A boys." Then he turns around and Shaftoe gets a look at the back of his pink silk dressing gown. It is embroidered, in black thread, with a giant lizard, rampant.
The General suddenly turns around. "Is that you screaming down there, Shaftoe?"
"Sir, no sir!"
"I distinctly heard you scream." MacArthur turns his back on Shaftoe again, giving him another look at the lizard (which on second thought might be some sort of Chinese dragon design) and goes inside the house, mumbling irritably to himself. *
Authored entries
- TBA
Douglas B. MacArthur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Douglas B. MacArthur (January 26, 1880 - April 5, 1964) served as a United States General of the Army and received the Medal of Honor. MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and was the son of the Civil War Medal of Honor winner Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur and of Mary Pinkney Hardy MacArthur of Norfolk, Virginia. Douglas MacArthur's older brother, Arthur, attended the United States Naval Academy and died in 1923, as a Captain. His other brother, Malcolm, died in 1883.
MacArthur grew up on Army bases. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1898 and graduated first in his class in 1903, as a 2nd Lieutenant of engineers.
World War I
MacArthur held the rank of major when the United States entered World War I in April 1917. He became chief of staff of the 42nd Division, nicknamed the Rainbow Division, and served in France. MacArthur became known as an outstanding combat leader, especially in the St.-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives. He was wounded twice and received many decorations for bravery. By June 1918, MacArthur had risen to the rank of brigadier general. His promotion to Brigadier General (the youngest ever in the United States Army ), occured as commander of the 84th Infantry Brigade. He spent most of the inter-war period on different assignments in the Philippines. He was twice wounded and much decorated. He left the U.S. Army in 1937 to command the Philippines Army, but returned in July of 1941 as commander of US Army Forces - Far East. 
Corn Cob and all
General Douglas "Big Lizard" MacArthur
Between World Wars
After occupation duty in Germany, MacArthur served as superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy from 1919 to 1922. Later in the 1920's, he served in the Philippines and again in the United States.
In 1930, at the age of 50, MacArthur became chief of staff of the U.S. Army. The Great Depression, a worldwide economic slump, hampered his efforts to modernize and expand the Army during his five years in this office. From 1935 to 1941, MacArthur served as military adviser to the Commonwealth of the Philippines. The Philippines, which had been a U.S. possession since 1898, were being prepared for independence.
World War II
In July 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made MacArthur commander of the Army forces in the Far East. On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese planes bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and attacked American air bases in the Philippines. The United States entered World War II when it declared war on Japan on December 8. A major Japanese invasion of the Philippines began two weeks later.
MacArthur Led the Defense of the Philippines
He concentrated his Filipino and American troops on Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island in Manila Bay. In March 1942, under orders from Roosevelt, MacArthur and his family left Corregidor. Soon afterward, MacArthur flew to Australia. Upon reaching Australia, he made a pledge that became famous: "I shall return."
MacArthur received the Medal of Honor for his defense of the Philippines. His father had won this medal, the nation's highest military award, for his heroism in the Civil War. The MacArthurs are the only father and son who have both received it.
Roosevelt appointed MacArthur commander of the Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, and the general began an offensive against Japan. Early in 1943, MacArthur's forces drove the Japanese from southeast New Guinea. His troops then seized northeast New Guinea, western New Britain, and the Admiralty Islands. These victories isolated the Japanese base at Rabaul, the chief port of New Britain. By September 1944, MacArthur had also recaptured western New Guinea and Morotai.
On Oct. 20, 1944, MacArthur and his forces landed on the Philippine island of Leyte, thus carrying out his pledge to return. His troops landed on Mindoro in the central Philippines in December. MacArthur became a five-star general that same month. His troops invaded Luzon in January 1945 and recaptured most of that island by the time the war ended in August. He also retook the southern Philippines and Borneo.
Japan surrendered in August 1945, and MacArthur was appointed Allied supreme commander. He presided over the surrender ceremony aboard the U.S.S. Missouri on September 2 and then took over as commander of the Allied occupation forces in Japan.
The Occupation of Japan
From 1945 to 1951, MacArthur headed the Allied occupation of Japan. The occupation had the basic goals of demilitarizing Japan and making it a democratic nation. MacArthur administered the occupation with great independence, and he introduced major reforms in Japan's political, economic, and social institutions. The Japanese respected MacArthur's capable, firm leadership. He used the Japanese emperor and government to help carry out the reforms.
The occupation programs removed from power supporters of military conquest and reduced the control that a small group of Japanese families had over the nation's industry. A land reform program enabled farmers to own their own land. Labor unions were recognized, the government improved public health and education, and women received the right to vote. A new Japanese constitution went into effect in 1947. MacArthur also headed the U.S. Far East Command from 1947 to 1951.
The Korean War
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel, the border between North and South Korea. President Harry S. Truman appointed MacArthur head of the military force that the United Nations (UN) sent to defend South Korea. MacArthur led a surprise landing behind enemy lines at the South Korean port of Inchon. This move changed the course of the war, enabling the UN forces to capture Seoul and causing an almost total collapse of the North Korean army. MacArthur then invaded North Korea.
Appointed superintendent of West Point after the war, he instituted reforms in curriculum, teaching methods, and standards of performance that began to restore West Point to an academic respectability badly eroded by wartime policies. After the surprise attack of the North Korean army in June 1950 started the Korean War, the United Nations General Assembly authorized a United Nations (UN) force to help South Korea. MacArthur led the U.N. coalition counter-offensive, noted for an amphibious landing behind North Korean lines at Inchon. As his forces approached the Korea- China border, the Chinese warned they would become involved. During his trip to Wake Island to meet with President Truman, he was specifically asked by President Truman about Chinese involvement in the war. MacArthur was dismissive. On October 25 ,1951, the People's Liberation Army attacked across the Yalu River, forcing the U.N forces to embark on a lengthy retreat. MacArthur sought an extension of the conflict into China, but President Truman relieved him of his duty in April 1951. Recently declassified documents indicate that MacArthur planned to drop many nuclear bombs on China (some sources put this number at 50). Truman did not agree, fearing a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union and needless Chinese deaths. General Matthew B. Ridgway replaced MacArthur and stabilized the situation near the 38th parallel. MacArthur made his last public appearance in a farewell address to Congress, interrupted by thirty ovations.
On his return from Korea, after his relief by Truman, MacArthur encountered massive public adulation, which aroused expectations were that he would run for the US presidency as a Republican in 1952. However, a Senate Committee investigation of his removal, chaired by Richard Russell, contributed to a marked cooling of the public mood and, once his presidential hopes had died away, MacArthur spent the remainder of his life quietly in New York.
Military Career
- 1899 -- attends the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York
- June 11, 1903 -- graduates first in his class, commissioned officer 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers
- April 23, 1904 -- promoted to 1st Lieutenant
- 1905 - 1906 -- serves as an aide to his father in the Far East
- 1907 -- aide-de-camp to President Theodore Roosevelt
- February 27, 1911 -- promoted to Captain
- 1914 -- Mexican Expedition to Veracruz, Mexico
- 1917 - 1919 -- joins the 42nd Infantry Division; is credited with naming it the "Rainbow Division"
- serves as divisional Chief of Staff, 84th Infantry Brigade Commander, and as the divisional commander
- June 26, 1918 -- promoted to Brigadier General
- 1919 -- becomes Superintendent of the US Military Academy
- 1922 - 1930 -- serves in the Philippines, commanding the District of Manila and the 23rd Brigade
- January 17, 1925 -- promoted to Major General (Regular army)
- January 1925 -- returns to US as a corps area commander
- 1928 -- leads the US Olympics Team to Amsterdam and returns to Manila as commander of the Philippine Department
- October 1930 -- commander of the Ninth Corps Area
- November 1, 1930 - 1935 -- Chief of Staff of the United States Army
- 1935 -- serves as the Office of the Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government (Philippines)|Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines
- December 31, 1937 -- retires from the US Army and becomes Field Marshal of the Philippine Army
- April 1937 -- marries Jean Faircloth
- February 21, 1938 -- Arthur MacArthur IV born
- July 26, 1941 -- returns to active duty as the Major General in command of USAFFE
- July 27 -- promoted to Lieutenant General
- December 18, 1941 -- promoted to General
- February 22, 1942 -- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered MacArthur out of the Philippines as the American defense of the nation collapsed. Upon leaving he says, "I shall return."
- February 5, 1945 -- He fulfils his promise and returns to liberated Manila
- September, 1945 -- Becomes military governor of Japan
- July 8, 1950 -- Named commander of UN forces in Korea
- July 31, 1950 -- Travels to Taiwan and conducts diplomacy with Chiang Kai-Shek
- September 15 1950 -- Battle of Inchon fought; though not present, he had planned it
- October 15 1950 -- Meets with Truman on Wake Island, after informing the White House that he is too busy to return to Washington
- April 11, 1951 -- After he publicly criticizes White House policy in Korea, Harry Truman removes him from command
- April 19, 1951 -- As farewell address before Congress, gives famous Old Soldiers Never Die speech
- 1951 -- Retires from the U.S. army with the rank of General of the Army
The Old Soldier has a tunnel named for him on the Park Presidio leading north to the Golden Gate Bridge.