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Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880 — April 5, 1964) was a senior American military leader in the Pacific Theater who served in World War II. MacArthur helped rebuild Japan after the war, and played a key role in limiting the Communist takeover of Korea with his daring Inchon landing. MacArthur was dismissed by President Truman at the of the Korean War for 'insubordination', but returned to the largest ticker-tape parade ever. Douglas MacArthur is the most highly-decorated officer in history.

General MacArthur took part in three major wars (World War I, World War II, Korean War) and rising to the rank of General of the Army, one of only five people to hold that rank in U.S. history. President Manuel L. Quezon of the Philippines also made him a Field Marshal in 1937, the only American to ever hold such a rank; which MacArthur held until his death.

One of the most decorated soldiers in the history of the United States military, MacArthur became famous for both losing and re-taking the Philippines during World War II. He was appointed Supreme Allied Commander in the South West Pacific Area, and led a series of military victories by Allied forces in the theatre. After Imperial Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945, MacArthur became the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, rebuilding Japan during the Allied occupation. At the end of the war however, he secretly granted immunity to the physicians of Unit 731 in exchange for providing America with their research on biological weapons. During the Korean War, MacArthur was removed from command for insubordination to U.S. President Harry S. Truman, causing a national stir.

MacArthur remains one of the most 'controversial' figures in American history. While greatly admired by many for his strategic and tactical brilliance, MacArthur is also criticized by many (especially 'revisionist' historians) for his actions in command, such as his role in putting down the Bonus Army, his command in the Philippines and New Guinea, and his challenge to Truman during the Cold War. MacArthur was also criticized for his 'egotistical attitude'. Shortly before he died, he was given the nickname "Gaijin Shogun" ("foreign military leader") a title which former Honor Guard and author David Valley believed that MacArthur would have appreciated.

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MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on the northwest upper floor of The Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal. His parents were Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur Jr., a recipient of the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War, who was the son of jurist and politician Arthur MacArthur, Sr., and Mary Pinkney Hardy MacArthur of Norfolk, Virginia. In 1883, when he was three years old, his other brother, Malcolm, died (his older brother Arthur would later attend the U.S. Naval Academy and die in 1923 as a Captain.) Young Douglas MacArthur spent much of his childhood playing in remote parts of New Mexico such as Fort Selden, where his father commanded an infantry company. In his memoir , MacArthur wrote that his first memory was the sound of the bugle, and that he had learned to 'ride and shoot even before I could read or write--indeed, almost before I could walk and talk'.

When MacArthur was six years old, his father was reassigned to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. Three years later, the MacArthur family moved to Washington, D.C. when Douglas's father took a post at the War Department. There he spent time with his paternal grandfather, Judge Arthur MacArthur, a member of the high-profile Washington political culture that had enormous influence on Douglas.

MacArthur's father was posted to San Antonio, Texas in 1893. There, Douglas attended the T.M.I.: The Episcopal School of Texas, where he became an excellent student. MacArthur entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1898. An outstanding cadet, he graduated as valedictorian of his 93-man class in 1903, with only two other students in the history of West Point surpassing his achievements. MacArthur became a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he was a leader in combat engineering.

During World War I MacArthur served in France, with the 42nd Division. Upon his promotion to Brigadier General (the youngest ever in the Army) he became the commander of the 84th Infantry Brigade. During the First World War, MacArthur received numerous awards for valor almost too numerous to list here.

In 1929, MacArthur met Isabel Rosario Cooper, a sixteen-year old Filipina actress, whom he later took with him to Washington. He later would spend most of the inter-war period on different assignments in the Philippines. In 1932, while in Washington, D.C. he commanded the troops used to disperse the 'Bonus Army' of First World War veterans, who were in the capital protesting against the government's failure to give them much-needed benefits. MacArthur was accused of using excessive force against a 'peaceful protest', even though the D.C. police had 'lost control' of the situation, and had requested the army to intervene. According to MacArthur, the demonstration had been taken over by Communists and pacifists by the time of his action, with only 'one man in ten being veterans'. MacArthur had brought with his soldiers the young Dwight D. Eisenhower, and George S. Patton. There was not a single fatality during this action.

Prior to the inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the man widely expected to become the first popularly-elected President of the Philippines was Manuel L. Quezon. He asked MacArthur to supervise the creation of a Philippine Army preparatory to Philippine independence, but lacked critical support from the United States. MacArthur accepted and was present at the inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Legislation approved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt permitted active duty American officers to serve as military advisors overseas, and MacArthur took up residence in the Manila Hotel. Among MacArthur's assistants as Military Advisor to the Commonwealth of the Philippines was Dwight D. Eisenhower.

When MacArthur retired from the U.S. Army in 1937, he was made a Field Marshal of the Philippine Army, by President Quezon but returned in July 1941 as commander of United States Army Forces Far East (USAFFE), based in Manila when he was recalled to active duty for fear of impending war with Japan. The pacifistic United States leadership under F.D.R. had belatedly tried to take some action, 'much too little, and much too late'.

After the United States entered World War II, MacArthur became Allied commander in the Philippines. He courted controversy on several occasions, especially when he overruled his air commander, General Lewis H. Brereton, who had requested permission to launch air attacks against Japanese bases on nearby Taiwan. Consequently much of the US Far East Air Force was destroyed on the ground in the Philippines, the prelude to a Japanese invasion. His headquarters during the period of defeat in the Philippines was in the island fortress of Corregidor, while his making only one trip to the front lines in Bataan led to the disparaging moniker and ditty, "Dugout Doug." 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, Victoria, Australia. With his wife and four-year-old son and a select group of advisers and subordinate military commanders, MacArthur fled the Phillipines on a patrol boat commanded by John Bulkeley, who successfully evaded an intense Japanese search for the escaping American general.

Macarthur reached the island of Mindanao on March 13 and was picked up by B-17 Flying Fortresses three days later; on the 17th March he arrived at Batchelor Airfield in Australia's Northern Territory and took The Ghan railway through the Australian outback to Adelaide, South Australia. 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 him with the Philippine Distinguished Conduct Star.

MacArthur became Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) and took command of Australian, US, Dutch and other Allied forces defending Australia, fighting mainly in and around New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies. On 20th July 1942 SWPA headquarters was moved to what is now the MacArthur Central building in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, where he stayed from 1942 to 1944. Australian and American forces under MacArthur's command eventually achieved success, overrunning Japanese resistance in 1943 and 1944.

American forces under MacArthur's command took back the Philippines on October 20th 1944, fulfilling MacArthur's vow to return to the Philippines and consolidating their hold on the archipelago after heavy fighting. In September 1945 MacArthur received the formal Japanese surrender which ended World War II.

He was awarded and received the Medal of Honor for his leadership in the Southwest Pacific Theater. Philippine President Sergio Osmeña also decorated him with the Philippines' highest military award, the Medal of Valor.

After World War II, MacArthur served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP). His first responsibility was overseeing the reconstruction in Japan. Though it was officially an effort of the Allies, the US was firmly in control, and MacArthur was effectively the leader of Japan during this period. In 1946, MacArthur's staff created the constitution that is in use in Japan to this day and has greatly contributed to the stability and prosperity of the country. MacArthur handed over power to the newly-formed Japanese government in 1949, and remained in Japan until relieved by President Truman on April 11, 1951. Truman replaced SCAP leader MacArthur with General Ridgway of the Armed Forces.

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 UN coalition counter-offensive, noted for a daring and overwhelmingly successful amphibious landing behind North Korean lines in the Battle of Inchon. The maneuver successfully out-flanked the North Korean army, which had been trying to annihlate the surrounded and cut-off American forces remaining in Korea. The North Korean forces, containing Chinese soldiers and Russian and Chinese pilots flying Russian-made jets, fled and retreated north, pursued by the Americans and their military allies. As MacArthur's forces approached the Korea-China border, the Chinese warned that they would become involved, rather than watch the North Koreans be defeated. During his trip to Wake Island to meet with President Truman, MacArthur was specifically asked by President Truman about Chinese involvement in the war. MacArthur was dismissive of the danger, advising absolute defeat for the North Korean forces, and famously-advising, "There is no substitute for victory."

On October 25, 1950, the People's Liberation Army attacked across the Yalu River, forcing the U.N forces to embark on a lengthy retreat. MacArthur sought an armed retaliation into Chinese territory, saying that the US should "Nuke China", but President Truman refused. MacArthur repeatedly requested authorization to strike Manchuria and major Chinese cities with thirty to fifty nuclear weapons, an action which Truman and the State Department feared would draw China's ally, the Soviet Union, into the conflict. Angered by Truman's desire to maintain a "limited war", MacArthur began issuing dire statements to the press, warning of imminent, crushing defeat.

In March of 1951, after a relentless U.N. counterattack commanded by Matthew B. Ridgway turned the tide of the war in the U.N.'s favor, Truman alerted MacArthur of his intention to initiate 'cease-fire' talks. Such news ended any hopes the general had retained of leading a full-scale war against China, and MacArthur quickly issued his own ultimatum to Red China. Mocking the Chinese lack of military power and industrial strength, MacArthur's declaration threatened the expansion of the war, and was by his own aide's later admission 'designed to undercut' Truman's negotiating position. Such an act unquestionably qualified as rank insubordination, and was so contrary to MacArthur's long and distinguished military service that General Bradley later speculated that MacArthur's disappointment over his inability to wage war on China had "snapped his brilliant but brittle mind."span Of course, mediocre generals such as Bradley had always been jealous of MacArthur and his spectacular accomplishments. Bradley also said similar things about Patton, the best tank-commanding leader America probably ever had. On April 11, 1951 President Truman relieved General MacArthur of his military command. General Matthew B. Ridgway replaced MacArthur and stabilized the situation near the 38th parallel.

MacArthur returned to Washington (his first time in the continental US in 11 years), where he made his last public appearance in a farewell address to the U.S. Congress, interrupted by thirty ovations. In his closing speech, he mused: "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." 'And like the old soldier of 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 light to see that duty. Good-by.'

On his return from Korea, after his relief by Truman, MacArthur encountered massive public adulation, which aroused expectations that he would run for the US presidency as a Republican in the 1952 election. However, a U.S. Senate Committee investigation of his removal, chaired by Richard Russell, contributed to a marked cooling of the public mood and MacArthur's 'presidential hopes' died away. (MacArthur, in his repeatedly stated that he had no political aspirations.)

In the 1952 Republican presidential nomination contest, rumors were rife that Sen. Robert Taft of Ohio offered the vice presidential nomination to MacArthur. Had a Taft-MacArthur ticket defeated Democrat Adlai Stevenson in November, the general would have become President upon Taft's sudden death eight months later in July 1953. Taft, who was initially favored to win the GOP nomination, lost the nomination to Dwight Eisenhower

MacArthur spent the remainder of his life quietly in New York, except for a spectacular "sentimental journey" to the Philippines in 1961, when he was decorated by President Carlos P. Garcia with the Philippine Legion of Honor, rank of Chief Commander. During one of his visits, the Pan-Philippine Highway was renamed to MacArthur Highway in his honor.

President John F. Kennedy solicited MacArthur's counsel in 1961. The first of two meetings was shortly after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. According to White House staffer Kenneth P. O'Donnell, MacArthur was extremely critical of the Pentagon and its military advice to Kennedy. MacArthur also cautioned the young President to avoid a U.S. military build-up in Vietnam, pointing out that domestic problems should be given a much greater priority. Kennedy was said to have come out of the more than three-hour meeting 'stunned' and 'enormously impressed'.

MacArthur and his second wife, Jean Faircloth, are buried together in downtown Norfolk, Virginia; their burial site is in a small museum dedicated to his memory, and there is a major shopping mall named for him across the street from the burial site. The couple's son changed his surname and now lives anonymously as a saxophonist in the New York area.

MacArthur's nephew, Douglas MacArthur II (a son of his brother Arthur), served as a diplomat for several years, including the post of Ambassador to Japan and another country.

MacArthur had a particular attachment to the Philippines. This began with his father's tenure as the military governor of the nation and later his own. His "I shall return" declaration as Allied troops left it to the conquering Japanese is famous. MacArthur appeared to have a genuine affection for the nation, having spent a good deal of his life there; his mother had died there. It was the only country he visited after his dismissal.

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 confessedJune 11, 1903 – Graduates first in his class, commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of EngineersApril 1904: Promoted to First Lieutenant, becomes acting Chief Engineering Officer for the Army Pacific Division based in San Francisco, CaliforniaOctober 1904: Reports to Tokyo, Japan to serves as an aide to his father (Major General Arthur MacArthur, Jr.) in the Far EastFebruary 1908: Assigned as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Improvements Commission, Milwaukee, WisconsinApril 1908: Appointed as Commanding Officer, Company K, 3rd Battalion of Engineers. Later that year becomes an instructor at the Mounted Service School, Fort Riley, KansasFebruary 1911: Promoted to Captain and serves as the Officer-in-Charge of the Engineering Depot at Fort Leavenworth, KansasNovember 1912: Assigned to the General Staff Corps, Washington DC, for duty as a Member and Recorder of the Board of Engineering TroopsApril 1913: Appointed as Superintendent of State, War, and Navy Buildings as a member of the General StaffApril 1914: Becomes the Assistant Engineering Officer of the military expedition to Veracruz, MexicoAugust 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 credited with naming it the "Rainbow Division". Joins the American Expeditionary Force bound for FranceJune 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 Commander1918 - 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 the United States a hero, but is distraught over the lack of recognition his Rainbow Division receives for actions in France.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".July 1923: While still serving as District of Manila Commander, also becomes Commanding of the 23rd Infantry BrigadeJanuary 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 CommanderMay 1925: Assigned as IVth Area Corps Commander, U.S. Army, encompassing areas of Atlanta and Georgia1928: Leads the US Olympic Team to Amsterdam and is then assigned as the Commanding General, Philippine Department, based in Manila.June 1932: Presides over the destruction of the "Bonus Army", deemed a low point of his tenure as Army Chief of StaffOctober 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 PhilippinesDecember 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 rolls1937 - 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 crestJuly 27, 1941: Appointed a 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: Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, is promoted to General in the Army of the United States and ordered to defend the Philippine islands from a Japanese invasionFebruary 22, 1942: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt orders MacArthur out of the Philippines as the American defense of the nation collapses. Upon leaving MacArthur says, "I shall return."1942 - 1943: Begins the conquest of New Guinea and is generally credited with halting an invasion of Australia by Japanese forces1943 - 1944: Begins a series of arguments with the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding a return to the Philippine Islands. The majority of the Joint Chiefs want to bypass the Philippines and take Formosa. MacArthur makes a personal appeal to President Roosevelt that, should the Philippines be bypassed, he would publicly denounce the war effort as betraying captured U.S. soldiers and leaving a large enemy flank to the rear of U.S. forces attacking the Japanese home islands.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 Marshall1944 - 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.August 1945: Is considered for promotion to Six Star General (General of the Armies) to lead to massive invasion force which will attack Japan in 1946. Is stunned when the atomic bomb ends the war abruptly, quoted that "this apparatus will make men like me obsolete". MacArthur knew nothing of the bombs development, however Eisenhower did.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.1945 - 1948: Begins sweeping reforms, drafts a new constitution for Japan, and puts an end to centuries of Emperor god-worship1948 - 1950: Becomes second man in Japan to a new Ambassador-Extraordinary, appointed by President Harry Truman. Attempts to run for President in 1948 but withdraws his candidacy after the news media states that MacArthur would be disloyal to his Commander-in-Chief if he ran against Harry Truman.July 8, 1950: Following the invasion of North Korea into South Korea, MacArthur is named Commander of all United Nations forces in Korea.September 15, 1950: Leads UN forces at the Battle of Inchon, seen as one of the greatest military maneuvers in historyOctober 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 handshakeNovember - 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 materiel 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.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 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 precipitous 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.

In 1955, a bill passed by the United States Congress authorized the President of the United States to promote Douglas MacArthur to the rank of General of the Armies (a similar measure had also been proposed unsuccessfully in 1945). However, due to regulations involving retirement pay and benefits, as well as MacArthur being junior to George C. Marshall (who had not been recommended for the same promotion), MacArthur declined promotion to what many view would have been seen as a Six Star General.

During his military career, General MacArthur was awarded the following decorations from both the United States and other allied nations. The awards listed below are those which would have been worn on a military uniform and do not include commemorative medals, unofficial decorations, and non-portable awards.

"Recreation of Douglas MacArthur's awards as they would today appear(does not include all foreign decorations)" MacArthur Park located in western Los Angeles, California is named after General MacArthur. The park was also the basis of the song of the same name written by Jimmy Webb.MacArthur had no middle name, though some Internet sources variously ascribe him a middle initial of "A", "B", "C", "D", "M", or "S". An archivist at the MacArthur Memorial asserts that MacArthur did wear a monogrammed handkerchief with a middle initial of "A", possibly chosen to indicate his father, but the general had no official middle name.Arthur and Douglas MacArthur were the first father and son to each be awarded a Medal of Honor. They remained the only pair until 2001 when Theodore Roosevelt was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service during the Spanish American War. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. had won one for his service during World War II.There are two bridges and one road named after MacArthur in Taiwan, becoming one of the only three foreigners (to Taiwan) who has somewhere named after them. (The other two are Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. and George Leslie Mackay) The road is located in Taipei, although it is renamed now. The two bridges remain fully functional to this day.In 1945, MacArthur gave his treasured Gold Castles insignia, a personal possession, to his chief engineer, Major General Leif J. Sverdrup. They are currently worn by the Chief of Engineers as a tradition, and formed the basis for the "castle" logo of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.The large MacArthur Central plaza in downtown Brisbane, Australia is named after MacArthur and has as its logo the five stars of his rank. His HQ was located on the site during WWII.Douglas MacArthur was dismissed in 1951 by President Truman in dispute over U.S. policy toward China during the Korean War. Arthur MacArthur, Jr., who fought Geronimo, was relieved of his command, by President Taft, for insubordination. Arthur MacArthur, Sr., defied orders while winning the battle of Missionary Ridge in the Civil War.United States Army service record of Douglas MacArthur, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, MissouriLong, Gavin Merrick "MacArthur as Military Commander"; B.T. Batsford Ltd.; D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc. for a highly-critical view of MacArthur; the author calls MacArthur 'brilliant', while noting his military successes, but picking him to pieces for his 'failures'.