Biography

Contributions

After the United States entered World War II, MacArthur became Allied commander in the Philippines. He "courted controversy" on several occasions, especially when he over-ruled his air commander, General Lewis H. Brereton, who had requested permission to launch air attacks by the US Far East Air Force (FEAF) against Japanese bases on nearby Taiwan,
a plan that MacArthur had labeled suicide. MacArthur instead ordered
the planes to be moved, to conserve them from Japanese raids; only half
had been when FEAF was all but destroyed on the ground, the prelude to
a Japanese invasion.

His headquarters during the Philippines campaign of 1941-42 was on the island fortress of Corregidor, and he making only one trip to the front lines in Bataan
led to the disparaging moniker and ditty, "Dugout Doug." Nevertheless,
MacArthur's fortress was clearly marked, and was the target of Japanese
air attacks, until Manuel Quezon cautioned MacArthur "not to subject
himself to danger". In March 1942, as Japanese forces tightened their
grip on the Philippines, MacArthur was ordered by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to relocate to Melbourne, Australia,
after Quezon and his wife had already left. With his wife and
four-year-old son, and a select group of advisers and subordinate
military commanders, MacArthur at last fled the Philippines on PT-41
commanded by Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley, and successfully evaded an intense Japanese search for the escaping American general.

MacArthur reached the island of Mindanao on March 13, and boarded a B-17 bomber three days later; on 17 March, he arrived at Batchelor Airfield in Australia's Northern Territory, and took The Ghan railway through the Australian outback to Adelaide. His famous speech, in which he said "I came out of Bataan and I shall return", was made at Terowie, South Australia on March 20. During this period, President Manuel L. Quezon decorated MacArthur with the Philippine Distinguished Conduct Star.

MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA). To remove all ambiguity, the Australian Prime Minister, John Curtin
put MacArthur in direct command of the Australian military, which
numerically dominated MacArthur's forces at the time, augmented by a
small number of U.S., Dutch
and other Allied forces. One of MacArthur's first missions was to
reassure Australians, who apprehended a Japanese invasion. The fighting
at this time was predominantly in and around Achievements"* June 13, 1899 – appointed as a Cadet at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York

* 1900: Is the victim of hazing and becomes involved in a serious scandal where one Cadet is left dead by upperclassman abuse. Maintains his honor, and does not appear as a snitch, by only naming cadets who hazed him who were already expelled from West Point or had previously confessed

* June 1903 – Graduates first in his class, commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers

• June 1903: Serves with the 3rd Battalion of Engineers in the Philippine Islands.
  
• 1904: Assigned to the California Debris Commission.
  
• April 1904: Promoted to First Lieutenant, becomes acting Chief Engineering Officer for the Army Pacific Division based in San Francisco, California
  
• October 1904: Reports to Tokyo, Japan to serve as an aide to his father (Major General Arthur MacArthur, Jr.) in the Far East
  
• December 1906: Serves as aide-de-camp to President Theodore Roosevelt
  
• August 1907: Attends the "Engineering School of Application" in Washington, DC
  
• February 1908: Assigned as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Improvements Commission, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  
• April 1908: Appointed as Commanding Officer, Company K, 3rd
  Battalion of Engineers. Later that year becomes an instructor at the
  Mounted Service School, Fort Riley, Kansas
  
• April 1909: Becomes Quartermaster for the 3rd Battalion of Engineers
  
• February 1911: Promoted to Captain and serves as the Officer-in-Charge of the Engineering Depot at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
  
• November 1912: Assigned to the General Staff Corps, for duty as a Member and Recorder of the Board of Engineering Troops
  
• April 1913: Appointed as Superintendent of State, War, and Navy Buildings as a member of the General Staff
  
• April 1914: Becomes the Assistant Engineering Officer of the military expion to Veracruz, Mexico
  
• December 1915: Promoted to Major, serves as an Engineering Officer on the Army General Staff
  
• August 1917: Advanced to the temporary rank of Colonel in the National Army. Reports to Camp Mill, Long Island, New York to begin forming the 42nd Infantry Division.
  

• 1917 - 1918: Becomes Chief of Staff of the 42nd Infantry Division and is cred with naming it the "Rainbow Division". Joins the American Expionary Force bound for France
  
• June 1918: Appointed a Brigadier General in the National Army and serves as Divisional Chief of Staff, 84th Infantry Brigade, and is later appointed as the Divisional Commander
  
• 1918 - 1919:
  Cited for extreme battlefield bravery and also is wounded in combat and
  gassed by the enemy. Was known for personally leading troops into
  battle, often without a weapon of his own. Begins to develop a negative
  relationship with General of the Armies John Pershing, after feeling that Pershing is wasting the lives of his troops with bad military tactics.
  
• May 1919: Returns to the United States a hero, but is
  distraught over the lack of recognition his Rainbow Division receives
  for actions in France.
  

• June 1919: Becomes the Superintendent of the US Military Academy, West Point
  
• February 1920: Reverts to peacetime rank, but is one of the
  few officers who does not lose his World War I position. Becomes a
  brigadier general in the Regular Army.
  Receives a negative evaluation report from Pershing, now Chief of
  Staff, who ranks Macarthur 38 out of 45 generals and states that
  MacArthur has an "exalted view of himself and should remain in his
  present grade for several years".
  
• October 1922: Becomes Commanding General, District of Manila, in the Philippines
  
• July 1923: While still serving as District of Manila Commander, also becomes Commander of the 23rd Infantry Brigade
  
• January 1925: Promoted to Major General, becoming the youngest two-star general in the U.S. Army. Returns to the United States to become a Corps Commander
  
• May 1925: Assigned as IVth Area Corps Commander, U.S. Army, encompassing areas of Atlanta and Georgia
  
• 1926 - 1927: Serves as 3rd Corps Commander, based in Baltimore, Maryland
  
• 1928: Leads the US Olympic Team to Amsterdam and is then assigned as the Commanding General, Philippine Department, based in Manila.
  
• October 1930: Becomes the commander of the Ninth Corps Area based in San Francisco, California
  
• November 21, 1930: Appointed as a full General and becomes Chief of Staff of the United States Army
  
• June 1932: Presides over the destruction of the "Bonus Army", deemed a low point of his tenure as Army Chief of Staff
  
• October 1935: Completes his tour as Chief of Staff and
  declines retirement from the Army. Per Army regulations, reverts to his
  permanent rank of Major General and becomes the Chief Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines
  
• December 31, 1937:
  Decides to retire from the United States Army. Is advanced back to the
  rank of General for listing on the U.S. Army retired rolls
  

• 1937 - 1941: Civilian advisor to the Philippine Government on military matters. Is appointed a Field Marshal
  in the Philippine Army, the only American officer in history accorded
  with that rank. Begins wearing the cap which is so often associated
  with him, that being a Field Marshal cover with U.S. Army crest
  
• April 1937 - marries Jean Faircloth
  
• February 21, 1938 - Arthur MacArthur IV is born
  

• July 26, 1941: Recalled to active service in the United States Army as a Major General
  
• July 27, 1941: Appointed Lieutenant General in the Army of the United States and becomes Commanding General of USAFFE (United States Army Forces in the Far East)
  
• December 1941: Japanese attack and defeat US Air Force in Philippines
  
• December 1941: promoted to General in the Army of the United States
  
• December 1941-May 1942; retreat to Bataan and Corregidor in face of Japanese invasion
  
• February 1942: Roosevelt orders MacArthur out of the Philippines; MacArthur promises, "I shall return."
  
• 1942 - 1943: rebuilds Australian morale; begins the reconquest of the island of New Guinea
  
• 1943 - 1944: argues with the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding reconquest of the Philippine Islands. Chiefs propose bypass; MacArthur appeals to President Roosevelt.
  
• October 1944: lands at Leyte and begins reconquest of Philippines
  
• December 1944: Becomes a General of the Army and is ranked the second highest ranking officer of the U.S. Army, second only to George Marshall
  
• 1944 - 1945: Due to logistics issues the Joint Chiefs decided
  to invade the Philippine Islands. MacArthur again must fight to
  convince his superiors to invade the entire Philippine Islands, whereas
  initial plans call for only an invasion of the south. The Joint Chiefs
  at last agreed that MacArthur is to invade the Philippine Islands at Leyte Gulf and strike towards Manila.
  
• February 5, 1945: MacArthur fulfills his promise to return and liberates Manila
  
• Summer 1945: in Manila to plan invasions of Japan in October, 1945. Is stunned when the atomic bomb ends the war abruptly, quoted that "this apparatus will make men like me obsolete".
  
• September, 1945:
  Presides over the surrender of Japan and becomes military governor of
  Japanese home islands. Threatens the Soviet Union with armed conflict
  should Red Army soldiers attempt to occupy any part of Japan.
  

• December 15, 1945 - Orders the end of Shinto as the state religion of Japan
  
• 1945 - 1948: Begins sweeping reforms, drafts a new constitution for Japan, and puts an end to centuries of Emperor god-worship
  

• July 8, 1950: Following the invasion of North Korea into South Korea, MacArthur is named Commander of all United Nations forces in Korea.
  
• July 31, 1950: Travels to Taiwan and conducts diplomacy with Chiang Kai-Shek
  
• September 15 1950: Leads UN forces at the Battle of Inchon, seen as one of the greatest military maneuvers in history
  
• October 15 1950: Meets with President Truman on Wake Island after heavy disagreements develop regarding the conduct of the Korean War. When meeting Truman, it is very noticeable that MacArthur does not salute his Commander-in-Chief but rather offers a handshake
  
• November - December 1950: With China committed to all-out war
  against the US on the Korean peninsula, MacArthur advocates for the
  same in return against China but is prohibited. He is outraged when
  military leaders in Washington restrict the war to only the Korean
  theater, meaning that he cannot bomb even the bridges of the Yalu river
  over which Chinese troops, supplies, and material are streaming across.
  He is further restricted from bombing their bases in Manchuria.
  MacArthur expressed his outrage later, saying that "The order not to
  bomb the Yalu bridges was the most indefensible and ill-conceived
  decision ever forced on a field commander in our nation's history."
  
• April 11, 1951:
  After several public criticisms of White House policy in Korea, which
  were seen as undercutting the Commander-in-Chief's position, Harry Truman
  removes MacArthur from command and orders him to return to the United
  States. Truman put up with MacArthur's high profile for some time,
  however, and he may have in fact exchanged MacArthur for a sound
  nuclear policy in Korea since he did not trust the "Brass Hat
  MacArthur" with nuclear weapons.
  
• April 19, 1951: At a farewell address before Congress, MacArthur gives the famous Old Soldiers Never Die speech
  
• May 1951: Retires a second time from the U.S. Army, but is
  listed as permanently active duty due to the regulations regarding
  those who hold Five Star General rank. For administrative reasons, is
  assigned in absentee to the Office of the Army Chief of Staff
  

Later life

• 1951 - 1952: Loses a great deal of public support after Senate
  hearings investigate into why MacArthur was relieved and it is revealed
  MacArthur had advocated a full scale war with China
  and, if necessary, nuclear war in the Korean conflict. Historial
  documents revealed after the fact that MacArthur was right about the
  Soviet Union not being inclined to intervene in such an event, however,
  due in part to Stalin's declining health.
  
• 1952: Runs for President on the Republican platform. Is distraught when his former aide, Dwight Eisenhower secures the Republican nomination and later becomes President of the United States. He could still have conceivably won nomination at the convention after he delivered the keynote address, except that Senator Robert Taft of Ohio would not transfer his delegates to him.
  
• January 1955: Is nominated by the United States Congress for promotion to General of the Armies. Declines the promotion as it would have meant a loss of retirement pay and benefits associated with being a Five Star General.
  
• May 12 1962 - Gives famous Duty, Honor, Country valedictory speech at West Point
  
• April 5 1964: Douglas MacArthur dies at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.
  

• Second Lieutenant, United States Army: June 11 1903
  
• First Lieutenant, United States Army: April 23 1904
  
• Captain, United States Army: February 27 1911
  
• Famous quotes"I shall return
  
  
  
  • A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him.
    
  
  
  • 
    Always there has been some terrible evil at home or
    some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did
    not blindly rally behind it.
  
  
  • 
    Americans never quit.
  
  
  • 
    And like the old soldier in that ballad, I now close
    my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do
    his duty as God gave him the sight to see that duty.
  
  
  • 
    Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to
    know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is
    afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and
    humble and gentle in victory.
  
  
  • 
    Could I have but a line a century hence crediting a
    contribution to the advance of peace, I would yield every honor which
    has been accorded by war.
  
  
  • 
    I am concerned for the security of our great Nation;
    not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the
    insidious forces working from within.
  
  
  • 
    I can recall no parallel in history where a great nation recently at war has so distinguished its former enemy commander.
    
  
  
  • 
    I suppose, in a way, this has become part of my
    soul. It is a symbol of my life. Whatever I have done that really
    matters, I've done wearing it. When the time comes, it will be in this
    that I journey forth. What greater honor could come to an American, and
    a soldier?
  
  
  • 
    I've looked that old scoundrel death in the eye many times but this time I think he has me on the ropes.
    
  
  
  • 
    In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield.
    
  
  
  • 
    In war there is no substitute for victory.
  
  
  • 
    In war, you win or lose, live or die-and the difference is just an eyelash.
    
  
  
  • 
    It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.
    
  
  
  • 
    It is part of the general pattern of misguided
    policy that our country is now geared to an arms economy which was bred
    in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and nurtured upon
    an incessant propaganda of fear.
  
  
  • 
    Last, but by no means least, courage - moral
    courage, the courage of one's convictions, the courage to see things
    through. The world ;is in a constant conspiracy against the brave. It's
    the age-old struggle - the roar of the crowd on one side and the voice
    of your; conscience on the other.
  
  
  • 
    Life is a lively process of becoming.
  
  
  • 
    Like the old soldier of the ballad, I now close my
    military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his
    duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye.
  
  
  • 
    My first recollection is that of a bugle call.
  
  
  • 
    Never give an order that can't be obeyed.
  
  
  • 
    No man is enitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.
    
  
  
  • 
    Old soldiers never die; they just fade away. And
    like the old soldier in that ballad, I now close my military career and
    just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him
    the sight to see that duty.
  
  
  • 
    One cannot wage war under present conditions without
    the support of public opinion, which is tremendously molded by the
    press and other forms of propaganda.
  
  
  • 
    Only those are fit to live who are not afraid to die.
    
  
  
  • 
    Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in
    an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant
    propaganda of fear.
  
  
  • 
    Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in
    an artificually induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant
    propaganda of fear.
  
  
  • 
    Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of
    fear - kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor - with the
    cry of grave national emergency.
  
  
  • 
    Part of the American dream is to live long and die
    young. Only those Americans who are willing to die for their country
    are fit to live.
  
  
  • 
    The best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself.
    
  
  
  • 
    The outfit soon took on color, dash and a unique
    flavor which is the essence of that elusive and deathless thing called
    soldiering.
  
  
  • 
    The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it
    is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of
    war.
  
  
  • 
    The world is in a constant conspiracy against the
    brave. It's the age-old struggle: the roar of the crowd on the one
    side, and the voice of your conscience on the other.
  
  
  • 
    There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity.
    
  
  
  • 
    They died hard, those savage men - like wounded
    wolves at bay. They were filthy, and they were lousy, and they stunk.
    And I loved them.
  
  
  • 
    We are bound no longer by the straitjacket of the
    past and nowhere is the change greater than in our profession of arms.
    What, you may well ask, will be the end of all of this? I would not
    know! But I would hope that our beloved country will drink deep from
    the chalice of courage.
  
  
  • 
    We are not retreating - we are advancing in another direction.
    
  
  
  • 
    Whether in chains or in laurels, liberty knows nothing but victories.
    
  
  
  • 
    You are remembered for the rules you break.