But Douglas MacArthur was an altogether greater man than the other famous generals with whom his name is associated. It is very hard to retrieve the true dimensions of the man from all this.
These memories and some recent entertainments, including a mediocre film, also remind us of Mac-Arthur’s ample and highly mannered speech, of his numerous vanities, and of his fatal political error in quarreling with the little haberdasher who was also a great President. In our memory of the Korean war, MacArthur’s name evokes a daring landing at Inchon, a rapid advance to apparent victory, the sudden Chinese intervention, and then the bitter fighting which eventually ended with the restoration of the status quo ante at the 48th parallel. A year later he was stripped of all his commands because he had challenged Truman’s authority over policy, and thus the principle of civilian control over the military.Īs far as World War II is concerned, MacArthur is associated with Marshall, Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton, and so on in the military history we all remember. In 1950 he was appointed, in addition, UN commander-in-chief in Korea. Far East Command and when he had received Japan’s surrender in 1945, he became also the chief of the occupation.
In 1942 he was recalled to active duty and placed in charge of the U.S. He then found employment as the organizer of the new army of the Philippines, and was its war commander in defeat. American Caesar: Douglas Mac-Arthur 1880-1964.ĭouglas MacArthur rose to the top in the small army of the interwar years and then retired in 1934, after serving his full term as chief of staff.
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