Douglas MacArthur

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Douglas MacArthur
MacArthur in 1945
Governor of the Ryukyu Islands
In office 15 December 1950 – 11 April 1951
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Matthew Ridgway
Commander of the United Nations Command
In office 7 July 1950 – 11 April 1951
President	Harry S. Truman
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Matthew Ridgway
Commander of the Far East Command
In office 1 January 1947 – 11 April 1951
President	Harry S. Truman
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Matthew Ridgway
1st Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers
In office 14 August 1945 – 11 April 1951
President	Harry S. Truman
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Matthew Ridgway
United States Military Advisor to the Philippines
In office 1935–1941
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
13th Chief of Staff of the Army
In office 21 November 1930 – 1 October 1935
President	Herbert Hoover Franklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded by	Charles P. Summerall
Succeeded by	Malin Craig
Commander of the Philippine Department
In office 1 October 1928 – 2 October 1930
Preceded by	William Lassiter
Succeeded by	John L. Hines
16th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy
In office 1919–1922
Preceded by	Samuel Escue Tillman
Succeeded by	Fred Winchester Sladen
Personal details
Born	(1880-01-26)26 January 1880 Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Died	5 April 1964(1964-04-05) (aged 84) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	MacArthur Memorial
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Louise Cromwell Brooks ​ ​ (m. 1922; div. 1929)​ Jean Faircloth ​ (m. 1937)​
Children	Arthur MacArthur IV
Parents	Arthur MacArthur Jr. Mary Pinkney Hardy MacArthur
Relatives	MacArthur family
Education	United States Military Academy
Civilian awards	Congressional Gold Medal Thanks of Congress
Signature
Nicknames	Dugout Doug Big Chief
Military service
Allegiance	United States Philippines
Branch/service	United States Army Philippine Army
Years of service	1903–1964
Rank	General of the Army (U.S. Army) Field Marshal (Philippine Army)
Commands	United Nations Command Far East Command Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers U.S. Army Forces Pacific Southwest Pacific Area U.S. Army Forces Far East Philippine Department U.S. Army Chief of Staff Philippine Division U.S. Military Academy Superintendent 42nd Division 84th Infantry Brigade
Battles/wars	See list Philippine–American War Post-war insurgency Banana Wars Occupation of Veracruz World War I Lunéville-Baccarat Defensive Campaign Champagne-Marne Offensive Battle of Saint-Mihiel Meuse–Argonne offensive World War II Philippines campaign (1941–1942) Battle of Bataan Battle of Timor Battle of the Coral Sea New Guinea campaign Huon Peninsula campaign Battle of Sio Kokoda Track campaign Operation Cartwheel Salamaua–Lae campaign Landing at Nadzab Solomon Islands campaign Bougainville campaign New Britain campaign Admiralty Islands campaign New Georgia campaign Philippines campaign (1944–1945) Battle of Leyte Battle of Ormoc Bay Battle of Luzon Battle of Manila Borneo campaign Occupation of Japan Korean War Battle of Pusan Perimeter Battle of Taegu Battle of P'ohang-dong Battle of Inchon Pusan Perimeter offensive Second Battle of Seoul UN Offensive, 1950 UN offensive into North Korea Second Phase Offensive UN Offensive, 1951 Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River Battle of Chosin Reservoir UN retreat from North Korea Hungnam evacuation Third Battle of Seoul Operation Thunderbolt (1951) Operation Roundup (1951) Battle of Hoengsong Third Battle of Wonju Operation Killer Operation Ripper Operation Courageous Operation Rugged
Military awards	Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross (3) Army Distinguished Service Medal (5) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star (7) Distinguished Flying Cross Bronze Star with valor Air Medal Purple Heart (2) Taegeuk Order of Military Merit Full list
Douglas MacArthur's voice The final words of Douglas MacArthur's final address to a joint session of the United States Congress. (recorded 1951)

Douglas MacArthur (26 January 1880 – 5 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army. He served with distinction in World War I; as chief of staff of the United States Army from 1930 to 1935; as Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area, from 1942 to 1945 during WWII; as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers overseeing the occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1951; and as head of the United Nations Command in the Korean War from 1950 to 1951. MacArthur was nominated for the Medal of Honor three times, and was awarded it for his WWII service in the Philippines. He is one of only five men to rise to the rank of General of the Army, and the only one to hold the rank of Field Marshal in the Philippine Army.

MacArthur, the son of Medal of Honor recipient Arthur MacArthur Jr., was raised on Army posts in the Old West. He was valedictorian of the West Texas Military Academy and First Captain at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated first in his class in 1903. During the 1914 U.S. occupation of Veracruz, he conducted a reconnaissance mission for which he was nominated for the Medal of Honor. In 1917, he was promoted from major to colonel and became chief of staff of the 42nd (Rainbow) Division. On the Western Front during World War I, he rose to the rank of brigadier general, was again nominated for a Medal of Honor, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross twice and the Silver Star seven times. From 1919 to 1922, MacArthur served as Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy, where he initiated a series of reforms. His next posting was in the Philippines, where in 1924 he was instrumental in quelling the Philippine Scout Mutiny. In 1925, MacArthur became the Army's youngest major general at the age of 45, and in 1930 was appointed Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. He was involved in the controversial expulsion of the Bonus Army protesters from Washington, D.C., in 1932, and took charge of the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1935, MacArthur became the Military Advisor to the Commonwealth of the Philippines. He retired from the Army in 1937, but continued as advisor and was Field Marshal of the Philippine Army from 1936.

MacArthur was recalled to active duty in July 1941 as commander of U.S. Army Forces in the Far East. A large portion of his air forces were destroyed on 8 December 1941 in the Japanese attack on Clark Field, and an invasion of the Philippines followed. MacArthur's forces withdrew to Bataan, where they held out until May 1942. In March 1942, MacArthur left nearby Corregidor Island and escaped to Australia, where he became Supreme Commander of the Southwest Pacific Area in April. He famously promised that he would return to the Philippines, and for his defense of the islands was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1942. From Australia, he commanded the New Guinea campaign, and in October 1944 returned to the Philippines and led the campaign which liberated the islands. In December 1944, he was promoted to General of the Army.

At the end of the war, MacArthur accepted the surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945. As the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and effective ruler of Japan, he oversaw the war crimes tribunals and the demilitarization and democratization of the country under its new constitution, introducing women's rights, labor unions, land reform, and civil liberties. In 1948, MacArthur made a brief bid for the Republican Party's nomination in that year's presidential election. During the Korean War, he led the United Nations Command with initial success, but suffered a series of major defeats after China's entry into the war in October 1950. MacArthur was contentiously removed from his command in Korea by President Harry S. Truman in April 1951. He later became chairman of the board of Remington Rand, and died in Washington, D.C., in 1964.