Douglas MacArthur
Who was the U.S. General that was more famous out of the U.S. than in it? Douglas MacArthur, hero of the Philippines.
MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on January 26, 1880. His father was the Civil War hero Arthur MacArthur. He went the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and graduated in 1903. He had one of the highest academic records ever recorded there. He was a Major in the First World War. He became chief of staff of the 42nd Division, nicknamed as the Rainbow Division, and served in France. He achieved a wonderful reputation as a combat leader, which moved him up to a brigadier general.
After the war was over, he served as a superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy from 1919 to 1922. He then had his first encounter in the Philippines, but it didn’t last very long. He was soon back in the States. There he was chief of staff to the whole U.S. Army.
In July of 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was president for most of the war, made him commander of the Armed Forces in the Far East. On December 10, 1941, the Japanese held a major attack on the Philippines. MacArthur was there and led the defense of them. After he was done there, he and his family flew to Australia. Before he left, he made the promise of "I Shall Return." He had "I.S.R." printed on cigarettes, candy, toys, and lots of other everyday items that the Filipino people would see.
He received a Medal of Honor for his work in the Philippines. His father, the Civil War hero, had also received this honor, and they were the first and only father-son team to be so honored.
Early in 1943, MacArthur and his troops forced the Japanese out of New Guinea. By September of 1944, MacArthur had captured back the western New Guinea and Morotai.
He fulfilled his promise to the Filipino people by going back on October 20, 1944. He retook almost the entire country. Japan surrendered in August of 1945, and MacArthur was treated as a hero.
He was also in the Korean War.
He died in 1964 when he was 84 years old.