- born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on 26 January 1880
- graduated from the United States Military Academy, 1903
- was commissioned a second lieutenant of engineers and served in the Philippines, 1903-1904
- was promoted to first lieutenant, April 1904
- was an engineer officer and aide to the commander of the Pacific Division, 1904-1906
- served with the 2d Engineer Battalion, attended the Engineer School and was aide to President Theodore Roosevelt, 1906-1908
- was troop commander, adjutant, and was Army Service Schools instructor at Fort Leavenworth, 1908-1912
- was promoted to captain, February 1911
- was on the General Staff, 1913-1917
- took part in the Vera Cruz Expedition
- was promoted to major, December 1915, and colonel, August 1917
- was chief of staff of the 42d Division in France, 1917-1918
- was promoted to brigadier general in the National Army, June 1918, took part in Marne operations and commanded the 84th Infantry Brigade in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives
- commanded the 42d Division in the Sedan offensive, 1918
- served with the Army of Occupation, 1918-1919
- was superintendent of the United States Military Academy, 1919-1922
- became a brigadier general in the Regular Army, January, 1920
- married Louise Cromwell Brooks, 1922 (divorced 1929)
- was promoted to major general, January 1925
- successively commanded the District of Manila, 1922-1923, the Fourth and Third Corps Areas, 1925-1928, and the Ninth Corps Area, 1930
- was promoted to temporary general, November 1930
- was chief of staff of the United States Army, 21 November 1930-1 October 1935; stressed Army deficiencies in personnel and materiel, presided over development of plans for industrial mobilization and manpower procurement, established an Air Force headquarters, administered Army control over the Civilian Conservation Corps, and supervised eviction of "bonus marchers" from Washington
- resumed his permanent rank of major general and became military adviser to the government of the Philippines, 1935-1941
- married Jean Marie Faircloth, 1937
- retired from active service, December 1937 but continued as adviser to the Philippine government
- was recalled to active duty as lieutenant general and named commander, United States Army Forces in the Far East, July 1941
- was promoted to temporary general, December 1941
- led American forces in Pacific campaigns as Supreme Allied Commander, 1941-1945
- was promoted to temporary General of the Army, December 1944
- received the Medal of Honor for Philippine defense preparations and operations
- was appointed Supreme Allied Commander, Japan, 1945
- rank as General of the Army made permanent, April 1946
- was designated commander in chief Far East Command 1947
- upon the North Korean invasion of South Korea was designated commander, United Nations Command in the Far East, July, 1950
- was relieved of his command by President Truman, April 1951
- died in Washington, D.C., on 5 April 1964.
U.S. military leaders in Korea visit the front linres north of Suwon on 28 January 1951. General MacArthur is at the right front. General Ridgeway is in the center, third from the left. (DA photograph)
Douglas MacArthur was the son of Civil War hero Arthur MacArthur (they constitute the only father and son to have won the Medal of Honor), graduated from West Point in 1903, with some of the highest grades ever recorded. An engineer, he held a variety of staff and academic posts, but no troop commands (albeit that he got into action during the Vera Cruz Operation), until World War I, when he helped organized the 42nd "Rainbow" Division, composed of National Guard units from several states. As a staff officer, later deputy division commander, and for two days acting division commander at the end of the war, MacArthur often went into action with the troops. After the war he reorganized West Point's academic and cadet discipline programs (he made a concerted effort to abolish hazing, which was only partially successful), served on the Billy Mitchell court martial, commanded in the Philippines, and served as chief-of-staff of the Army, during which he violently suppressed the 'Bonus March,' apparently against orders from the President.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur signs as the Supreme Allied Commander of the Pacific Theater during formal surrender ceremonies in Tokyo Bay
In 1935 he was sent to the Philippines again to help organize the Commonwealth's defense forces, and in 1937 resigned from the Army in order to continue in the service of the Commonwealth. When, in mid-1941, the Philippine Armed Forces were activated by the President and merged into the US Armed Forces, MacArthur was recalled to duty as a full general and placed in overall command. Caught napping by the onset of the war (he lost his entire air force on the ground nine hours after Pearl~Harbor), MacArthur seriously bungled the initial defense of the Philippines, but managed to salvage the situation by a belated retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. Ordered to Australia by President Roosevelt in February 1942, MacArthur assumed command of Allied forces there, and shortly began an offensive that would eventually recover New~Guinea and the Philippines. As Army Commander-designate for the invasion of Japan, MacArthur instead commanded the occupation forces, and became virtual ruler of the country for several years.
In 1950, MacArthur assumed command of U.N. force in Korea. He planned the spectacularly successful Inchon Operation, but subsequently mismanaged the pursuit of the defeated North Korean Army and totally misread Chinese intentions, with disastrous results. After repeated warnings from the President about his unauthorized political statements, MacArthur was relieved of duty in April of 1951. Despite the belief by many that he would undertake a political career, he spent the rest of his life in retirement.
MacArthur was a commander of erratic capabilities, when he was good he was brilliant, but he was often careless and self-centered, which led to errors in planning. Although generally regarded as a staunch conservative, he had no personal political principles, merely saying what seemed to please whomsoever he was speaking with (among other things he endorsed socialism and the American Civil Liberties Union). He had no friends, as he had no equals. MacArthur is buried in a pompous monument at Norfolk, Virginia.
Additional Sources:
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
users.pandora.be
www.army.mil
www.history.navy.mil
www.umich.edu
gi.grolier.com
www.mpls.lib.mn.us
www.homeofheroes.com
www.trumanlibrary.org
americanhistory.si.edu
www.nps.gov
www.mpls.lib.mn.us