Service summary of Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur, United States Army General began his career in 1899, served in three major military conflicts and held the highest military office of the United States and of the Philippines during that service.

Chronology and summary of military service

West Point

June 13, 1899 – appointed as a cadet at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.
1900: Is the victim of hazing and becomes involved in a serious scandal where one cadet is left dead by upperclassman abuse. During the investigation he implicates only cadets who were already expelled from West Point or had previously confessed.
June 1903 – Graduates first in his class, commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers

Early career

June 1903: Serves with the 33rd Battalion of Engineers in the Philippine Islands.
1904: Assigned to the California Debris Commission.
April 1904: Promoted to First Lieutenant, becomes acting Chief Engineering Officer for the Army Pacific Division based in San Francisco, California
October 1904: Reports to Tokyo, Japan to serve as an aide to his father (Major General Arthur MacArthur, Jr.) in the Far East
December 1906: Serves as aide-de-camp to President Theodore Roosevelt
August 1907: Attends the Engineering School of Application in Washington, D.C.
February 1908: Assigned as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Improvements Commission, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
April 1908: Appointed as commanding officer, Company K, 3rd Battalion of Engineers. Later that year becomes an instructor at the Mounted Service School, Fort Riley, Kansas
April 1909: Becomes Quartermaster for the 3rd Battalion of Engineers
February 1911: Promoted to captain and serves as the Officer-in-Charge of the Engineering Depot at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
November 1912: Assigned to the General Staff Corps, for duty as a member and recorder of the Board of Engineering Troops
April 1913: Appointed as superintendent of the State, War, and Navy Building in Washington, D.C. as a member of the Army General Staff
April 1914: Becomes the assistant engineering officer of the military expedition to Veracruz, Mexico
December 1915: Promoted to major, serves as an engineering officer on the Army General Staff
August 1917: Advanced to the temporary rank of colonel in the National Army. Reports to Camp Mills, Long Island, New York to begin forming the 42nd Division.

World War I

1917 – 1918: Becomes chief of staff of the 42nd Division and is credited with naming it the "Rainbow Division". Joins the American Expeditionary Force bound for France. Departs U.S. for France in November 1917.
June 1918: Appointed a brigadier general in the National Army and in August is appointed as commander of the 84th Infantry Brigade. Briefly commands the 42nd Division from 10 to 22 November 1918.
1918 – 1919: Receives two Distinguished Service Crosses and seven Silver Star Citations (later converted to Silver Stars) for battlefield leadership and bravery and also is wounded in action 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 to the United States as a hero, but is distraught over the lack of recognition his Rainbow Division receives for actions in France.

Inter-war years

June 12, 1919: Becomes the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy, West Point.[1]
January 20, 1920: Appointed as a brigadier general in the Regular Army.[1] Is one of the few officers who retain their wartime rank. 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".
November 1, 1922: Becomes Commanding General, District of Manila, in the Philippines.[1]
June 29, 1923: While still serving as District of Manila Commander, also becomes commander of the 23rd Infantry Brigade.
November 18, 1924: Assigned as commander of the Philippine Division.[1]
January 17, 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 commander.[1]
May 1, 1925: Assigned as 4th Corps Area Commander, encompassing the southeastern states with headquarters in Atlanta.[1] Quickly reassigned as local residents did not welcome MacArthur because his father was a Union officer during the Civil War.
July 25, 1925: Relived of assignment as 4th Corps Area Commander.
August 1, 1925 – September 3, 1928: Serves as 3rd Corps Area Commander, with headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland.[1]
September 16, 1927 to 1928: Serves as president of the American Olympic Committee. Leads the United States Olympic Team to Amsterdam in August 1928.
October 1, 1928: Assigned as the Commanding General of the Philippine Department, with headquarters in Manila.[1]
October 2, 1930: Becomes the commander of the Ninth Corps Area with headquarters at the Presidio of San Francisco, California.[1]
November 21, 1930: Appointed by President Hoover as Chief of Staff of the United States Army and promoted to the rank of general on the same date.[1]
June 1932: Presides over the dispersal of the "Bonus Army", deemed a low point of his tenure as Army Chief of Staff.
1932: Establishes the Silver Star and Purple Heart decorations.
October 1, 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 Philippines. Makes his residence at the Manila Hotel.
January 14, 1936: Made a Master Mason at Sight by Samuel R. Hawthorne, Grand Master of the Philippines.
August 24, 1936: Commissioned as a field marshal in the Philippine Army. Only person to ever hold that rank in the Philippine Army.
April 30, 1937: marries Jean Faircloth in New York City.
December 31, 1937: Retires from the army at his own request. Placed on the retired list as a four-star general.
1937 – 1941: Civilian adviser to the Philippine Government on military matters. Begins wearing the "scrambled eggs" cap often associated with him.
February 21, 1938: Son Arthur MacArthur IV is born.

World War II

July 26, 1941: Recalled to active service in the United States Army as a major general.
July 27, 1941: Commissioned as a lieutenant general in the Army of the United States and appointed commanding general of USAFFE (United States Army Forces in the Far East).
December 8, 1941: Japanese invade the Philippines.
December 18, 1941: Promoted to general in the Army of the United States.
December 24, 1941: Moves headquarters from Manila to Corregidor. Declares Manila an open city.
December 1941–May 1942; Allied forces retreat to Bataan and Corregidor
January 15, 1942: $500,000 from the Philippine treasury is deposited by wire into MacArthur's personal bank account. It is a gratuity to MacArthur from Philippine President Manuel Quezon for his services to the Philippines.
February 22, 1942: Ordered by President Roosevelt to leave the Philippines and go to Australia.
March 12, 1942: Departs the Philippines by PT boat and later takes a plane from Mindanao to Australia.
March 17, 1942: Arrives at Batchellor Field in Darwin, Australia.
March 20, 1942: In Terowie, South Australia, MacArthur promises, "I came out of Bataan and I shall return."
April 1, 1942: Awarded the Medal of Honor by War Department General Order No. 16 for his efforts to defend the Philippines.
April 18, 1942: Appointed Supreme Allied Commander, South West Pacific Area. Australian Prime Minister John Curtin gives MacArthur control of the Australian military, which commences the New Guinea campaign. MacArthur also commands American, Dutch and New Zealand forces. Establishes headquarters in Melbourne, Australia.
July 1942: Moves headquarters to Brisbane, Australia.
September 19, 1942: Awarded Distinguished Service Medal by the American Legion.
November 6, 1942: Moves headquarters to Port Moresby, New Guinea.
November 16, 1942 until 22 January 22, 1943: Battle of Buna–Gona. American and Australian forces under MacArthur engaged in a hard fought campaign eliminated a Japanese stronghold in southwestern New Guinea. Allies casualties were high and much was learned about conducting jungle warfare.
March 2-4, 1943: Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Allied air forces under MacArthur's command sink 8 transports, 4 destroyers and destroy 20 fighter planes with light casualties. The victory greatly reduces Japan's ability to reinforce its forces on New Guinea.
June 1943 to March 1944: MacArthur implements Operation Cartwheel, the Joint Chiefs of Staff plan to isolate the major Japanese base at Rabaul.
1943 – 1944: argues with the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding reconquest of the Philippine Islands. Chiefs propose bypass; MacArthur has a conference with President Roosevelt to argue for invading the Philippines. Due to logistics issues the Joint Chiefs decided to invade only the southern the Philippine Islands. MacArthur again must fight to convince his superiors to invade the entire Philippine Islands. The Joint Chiefs eventually agree that MacArthur is to lead the invasion the Philippine Islands at Leyte Gulf and strike toward Manila.
Early 1944: MacArthur, after being approached by Republican Party leaders, considers running for the Republican nomination for the 1944 presidential election.
March 29, 1944: Invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath by The Rt Hon The Lord Gowrie VC, GCMG etc., Governor General of Australia.
April 30, 1944: Issues a statement asking that no action be taken to nominate him for president. He states, "I do not covet it nor would I accept it."
June 1944: Receives one vote for the presidential nomination at the 1944 Republican National Convention.
July 28, 1944: Meets with President Roosevelt, Admiral William Leahy and Admiral Chester Nimitz in Honolulu, Hawaii to discuss the alternatives of invading the Philippines or Taiwan prior to an invasion of Japan. MacArthur is successful in convincing Roosevelt to have him lead the invasion of the Philippines.
October 20, 1944: MacArthur fulfills his promise to return to the Philippines. U.S. forces landed at Leyte and began reconquest of Philippines.
December 18, 1944: Promoted to the newly created rank of General of the Army becoming second highest ranking active duty officer of the U.S. Army, second only to George Marshall.
February 5, 1945: Forces under MacArthur's command liberate Manila.
March 11, 1945: Awarded the Medal of Valor by the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
Summer 1945: in Manila to plan invasions of Japan in October, 1945.
August 6, 1945: Is stunned by the news of the use of the atomic bomb, and is quoted as saying that "this apparatus will make men like me obsolete".
August 14, 1945: Japan surrenders. MacArthur is appointed Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) and given command of all Allied Forces in Japan.
August 30, 1945: Arrives in Japan and assumes command of the occupation of Japan with his headquarters in Tokyo.
September 2, 1945: Presides over the Japanese surrender ceremony on board the battleship Missouri and is appointed military governor of Japanese home islands. Threatens the Soviet Union with armed conflict should Red Army soldiers attempt to occupy any part of Japan.

Occupation of Japan

December 15, 1945: Orders the end of Shinto as the state religion of Japan.
1945 – 1948: Begins sweeping reforms, drafts a new constitution for Japan, and puts an end to centuries of Emperor god-worship.
January 1946: Decides not to prosecute Emperor Hirohito for war crimes as the Emperor was invaluable to MacArthur's efforts to reform Japan.
December 14, 1946: Invested with the Grand Cross of the French Legion of Honor.
May 3, 1947: Japan's new constitution, greatly influenced by MacArthur, goes into effect.
June 1948: Receives 11 votes for the presidential nomination at the 1948 Republican National Convention.

Korean War

June 25, 1950: Invasion by North Korea into South Korea.
July 8, 1950: Named Commander-in-Chief of all United Nations forces in Korea.
July 31, 1950: Travels to Taiwan and conducts diplomacy with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.
September 15, 1950: Leads UN forces at the Battle of Inchon, seen as one of the greatest military maneuvers in history.
October 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 handshake. Truman awards MacArthur a fourth oak leaf cluster on his Distinguished Service Medal.
November – 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 material 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. Some suggest Truman may have exchanged MacArthur for a sound nuclear policy in Korea since he did not trust "Brass Hat MacArthur" with nuclear weapons. Some disagree with this, however, since (as David Horowitz noted in The Free World Colossus) MacArthur later came out against Truman's use of the bomb against Japan and there seems to be no concrete evidence of a major change in his views.
April 19, 1951: At a farewell address before the United States Congress, MacArthur gives his famous "Old Soldiers Never Die" speech.[2]
April 19, 1951: Awarded Gold Commemorative Medal by New York City.
April 20, 1951: Honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City.
April 28, 1951: Awarded Distinguished Service Citizens Medal by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
May 1, 1951: Awarded Gold Good Citizenship Medal by the Sons of the American Revolution.
May 1951: Retires a second time from the U.S. Army, but is listed as permanently on active duty due to the regulations regarding those who hold the rank of General of the Army. For administrative reasons, he is assigned in absentee to the office of the Army Chief of Staff. Makes his residence at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Later life

1952: Allows name to be placed on primary ballots for Republican nomination, but does not campaign or announce as a candidate.
July 1952: Delivers the keynote address at the 1952 Republican National Convention. Senator Robert Taft promises supporters to name MacArthur as candidate for vice president, but Taft loses to nomination to Eisenhower at the on the 1st ballot. MacArthur received 10 votes on the 1st ballot before shifts and only 4 votes after shifts.
1952: Accepts position as chairman of the board of directors of Remington Rand Corporation.
1955: Is considered for promotion to the rank of General of the Armies. The promotion does not take place, various difficulties having arisen.
1960: Active in U.S. Olympic affairs.
June 21, 1960: Invested with the Grand Cordon with Paulownia Flowers of the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun. (This makes MacArthur one of the few generals in history to be honored by a country he fought against.)
January 10, 1961: Invested as Chief Commander of the Philippine Legion of Honor.
April 28, 1961: Meets with President John F. Kennedy at the Waldorf Astoria.
July 20, 1961: Meets with President Kennedy at the White House.
1961: Awarded an honorary Combat Infantryman Badge by Army Chief of Staff, General George H. Decker. During World War II, Decker served as chief of staff of the Sixth United States Army, which was a major element under MacArthur's command.
May 12, 1962: Gives famous Duty, Honor, Country speech at West Point upon accepting the Sylvanus Thayer Award granted by the West Point Association of Graduates.
May 25, 1962: Awarded Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America.
August 16, 1962: Meets the President Kennedy at the White House.
October 9, 1962: Awarded Congressional Gold Medal.
September 30, 1963: Awarded the Distinguished Achievement Medal by Freemasonry.
March 6, 1964: Has surgery at Walter Reed Army Hospital for removal of his gallbladder and of gallstones, which had been causing obstructive jaundice.
March 1964: Visited by President Lyndon Johnson at Walter Reed Army Hospital while recovering from surgery.
April 5, 1964: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur dies of liver and kidney failure following gallbladder surgery at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. President Johnson orders all US flags be flown at half staff until after MacArthur's burial.
April 7, 1964: Lies in honor at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York City.
April 8-9, 1964: Lies in state at the United States Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C. Eulogies are given by the chaplains of the House and Senate and President Johnson lays a wreath on MacArthur's casket. Admiral George Dewey and General John Pershing are the only other military officers who were not presidents or senators to have lain in state at the Capitol.
April 9, 1964: Interred at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia.

Dates of rank


Insignia	Rank	Component	Date
None	Cadet	United States Military Academy	June 13, 1899
No pin insignia in 1903	Second Lieutenant, Engineers	Regular Army	June 11, 1903
	First Lieutenant, Engineers	Regular Army	April 23, 1904
	Captain, Engineers	Regular Army	February 27, 1911
	Major, Engineers	Regular Army	December 11, 1915
	Colonel, Infantry	National Army	August 11, 1917 (Date of rank was August 5, 1917.)
	Brigadier General	National Army	July 11, 1918. (Date of rank was June 26, 1918.)
	Brigadier General	Regular Army	February 28, 1920 (Date of rank was January 20, 1920.)
	Major General	Regular Army	January 17, 1925
	General	Temporary	November 21, 1930
	Reverted to Major General	Regular Army	October 1, 1935
	General	Retired list	January 1, 1938
	Major General	Regular Army	July 26, 1941 (Recalled to active duty.)
	Lieutenant General	Army of the United States	July 27, 1941
	General	Army of the United States	December 22, 1941 (With date of rank September 16, 1936.)
	General of the Army	Army of the United States	December 18, 1944
	General of the Army	Regular Army	March 23, 1946

[3]

In 1955, legislation was in the early stages of consideration by the United States Congress which would have authorized the President of the United States to promote Douglas MacArthur to the rank of General of the Armies.[4][5] A similar measure had also been proposed unsuccessfully by Stuart Symington in 1945.[6] However, because of several complications which would arise if such a promotion were to take place, the bill was withdrawn.

Awards and decorations

Medal of Honor	Army Distinguished Service Cross with two bronze oak leaf clusters	Army Distinguished Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters

Navy Distinguished Service Medal	Silver Star with six oak leaf clusters	Distinguished Flying Cross	Bronze Star with "V" device
Air Medal	Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster	Philippine Campaign Medal	Mexican Service Medal
World War I Victory Medal with five battle clasps	Army of Occupation of Germany Medal	American Defense Service Medal with "Foreign Service" clasp	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two silver service stars & arrowhead device
World War II Victory Medal	Army of Occupation Medal with "Japan" clasp	National Defense Service Medal (posthumously eligible for bronze service star)	Korean Service Medal with three bronze service stars & arrowhead device
Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (Military Division)	Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour	Belgian Order of the Crown, Grand Cross	Philippine Legion of Honor Degree of Chief Commander
Grand Cordon, Order of the Crown of Italy	Czechoslovakian Military Order of the White Lion, Grand Cross	Polish Order of Polonia Restituta, Grand Cross	Grand Cross Netherlands Order of Orange-Nassau with Swords
Yugoslavian Order of the White Eagle, Grand Cross with swords	Japanese Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers	Knight Grand Cross of Military Order of Italy	Chinese Special Grand Cordon Order of Pao Ting (Precious Tripod)
Hungarian Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Military Division)	Grand Cross Order of Romanian Military Merit	Korean Taegeuk Cordon of the Order of Military Merit	Grand Cross of the Order of Merit "Carlos Manuel de Céspedes" (Cuba)
Ecuadorian Star of Abdon Calderon, First Class	Commander, Order of Sikatuna (Philippines)	Médaille militaire	French Croix de Guerre (1914–1918) with bronze palm and gilt star
French Croix de Guerre (1939–1945) with bronze palm	Belgian Military Cross, 1st class	Belgian Croix de Guerre (1914–1918) with bronze palm	Philippine Medal of Valor
Philippine Distinguished Conduct Star	Italian War Merit Cross	Polish Virtuti Militari, V Class	Greek War Cross, 3rd class
Mexican Medal of Military Merit	Guatemalan Cross of Military Merit, First Class	Philippine Defense Medal with one bronze campaign star	Philippine Liberation Medal with two bronze campaign stars
Philippine Independence Medal	United Nations Korea Medal	Pacific Star (United Kingdom)	Republic of Korea War Service Medal (posthumous)

U.S. Army Presidential Unit Citation with three oak leaf clusters	Philippine Presidential Unit Citation	Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation

Civil awards

In addition to the military awards listed above, General MacArthur received numerous other honors and awards. Below is a partial listing.

Army and Navy Club Gold Medal (1935)
American Legion Distinguished Service Medal (1942)
Boy Scouts of America Silver Buffalo Award (1946)
Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Roosevelt Medal (1946)
Sons of the American Revolution Gold Good Citizenship Medal (1951)
Veterans of Foreign Wars Citizens Distinguished Service Medal (1951)
National Football Foundation Gold Medal (1959)
Order of Lafayette Freedom Medal (1961)
United States Military Academy Sylvanus Thayer Award (1962)
Congressional Gold Medal (1962)
Freemasons Distinguished Achievement Medal (1963)

General MacArthur appeared on the cover of Time magazine a total of eight times. He was also featured on the cover of Life magazine six times. In addition, his trademark "scrambled eggs" hat appeared on the cover of Life magazine following his death in 1964.

Memberships

General MacArthur belonged to several military and hereditary societies including the Society of the Cincinnati (honorary member of the New York Society), Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (insignia number 15,317), Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Sons of the American Revolution (accepted by the Empire State Society on August 27, 1945, and assigned national membership number 65,843 and state membership number 7,723), Military Order of Foreign Wars, Military Order of the World Wars (of which he served as national commander in 1928), Order of Lafayette, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion.

In 1942 he received the American Legion's Distinguished Service Medal.[7] On October 13, 1951, he was elected an honorary national president of the Society of American Legion Founders.[8]

MacArthur was also eligible for membership in Sons of the Revolution, Society of Colonial Wars, Order of the Indian Wars of the United States and the Military Order of the Carabao, however, his membership in these organizations has not been confirmed.

On January 17, 1936, MacArthur was made a Freemason at sight by Samuel Hawthorne, Grand Master of Masons in the Philippines in a two-hour ceremony. After being raised to the degree of Master Mason, MacArthur joined Manila Lodge No.1. On October 19, 1937, he was elected Knight Commander Court of Honor, and on December 8, 1947, he was coroneted to the honorary 33rd Degree at the American Embassy in Tokyo. He was also a life member of the Nile Shrine in Seattle, Washington.

References

Cullum's Register of Graduates of the USMA. Vol. VII pg. 576.
Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Army, 1948. Vol. 2. pg. 2312.
Congressional Research Service (1955). Digest of Public General Bills and Resolutions. 84. Library of Congress. p. dccc.
United States Congress (1955). Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States. 84. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 141, 1276, 1312.
Olson, James C. (2003). Stuart Symington: A Life. University of Missouri Press. p. 408. ISBN 9780826264596.
"Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur". The American Legion.
New York Times. October 14, 1951.

External links

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[Cullum-1] Cullum's Register of Graduates of the USMA. Vol. VII pg. 576.

[3] Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Army, 1948. Vol. 2. pg. 2312.

[4] Congressional Research Service (1955). Digest of Public General Bills and Resolutions. 84. Library of Congress. p. dccc.

[5] United States Congress (1955). Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States. 84. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 141, 1276, 1312.

[6] Olson, James C. (2003). Stuart Symington: A Life. University of Missouri Press. p. 408. ISBN 9780826264596.

[7] "Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur". The American Legion.

[8] New York Times. October 14, 1951.

Douglas MacArthur
Career	Service summary In World War II Escape from the Philippines Wake Island Conference Relief
Family	Louise Cromwell Brooks (first wife) Jean MacArthur (second wife) Arthur MacArthur IV (son) Isabel Rosario Cooper (mistress) Arthur MacArthur Jr. (father) Arthur MacArthur Sr. (grandfather) Arthur MacArthur III (brother) Douglas MacArthur II (nephew)
Public image	MacArthur Memorial MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park MacArthur Park Appointment in Tokyo (film) American Caesar (biography) Namesakes