Douglas Macarthur

Personal

Vocation

Notable

Family

American five-star general and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army. He was Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Philippines Campaign, which made him and his father Arthur MacArthur Jr., the first father and son to be awarded the medal. He was one of only five men ever to rise to the rank of General of the Army in the US Army, and the only man ever to become a field marshal in the Philippine Army. After MacArthur became romantically involved with socialite and multi-millionaire heiress Louise Cromwell Brooks they were married at her family's villa in Palm Beach, Florida on 14 February 1922. In 1929, while he was in Manila, Louise obtained a divorce. MacArthur married Jean Faircloth in a civil ceremony on 30 April 1937. Their marriage produced a son, Arthur MacArthur IV, who was born in Manila on 21 February 1938. On 18 April 1942, MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), based in Australia. His General Headquarters were initially located in Melbourne, but moved to Brisbane—the northernmost city in Australia with the necessary communications facilities—on 21 July 1942. Brisbane remained his headquarters until 14 June 1945. The surrender of Japan took place in August 1945. On 29 August 1945, MacArthur was ordered to exercise authority through the Japanese government machinery, including the Emperor Hirohito. MacArthur's headquarters was relocated to Tokyo. MacArthur was responsible for confirming and enforcing the sentences for war crimes handed down by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. As Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) in Japan, MacArthur and his staff helped Japan rebuild itself, eradicate militarism and ultra-nationalism, promote political civil liberties, institute democratic government, and chart a new course that ultimately made Japan one of the world's leading industrial powers. The U.S. was firmly in control of Japan to oversee its reconstruction, and MacArthur was effectively the interim leader of Japan from 1945 until 1948. On 25 June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, starting the Korean War. The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 82, which authorized a United Nations (UN) force to assist South Korea. The UN empowered the American government to select a commander, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff unanimously recommended MacArthur. He therefore became Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command (UNCOM), while remaining SCAP in Japan with all South Korean forces placed under his command. MacArthur returned to the U.S. from Korea on 18 April 1951. Douglas and Jean MacArthur spent their last years together in the penthouse of the Waldorf Towers, a part of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Douglas MacArthur died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on 5 April 1964, of biliary cirrhosis. He was 84. Link to Wikipedia biography