Douglas MacArthur General of the Army Douglas MacArthur ( 26 January 18805 April 1964 ) was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army who 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 U . S . Army , and the only man ever to become a field marshal in the Philippine Army . Raised in a military family in the American Old West , MacArthur was valedictorian at the West Texas Military Academy , and First Captain at the United States Military Academy at West Point , where he graduated top of the class of 1903 . During the 1914 United States 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 . In the fighting 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 at West Point , where he attempted a series of reforms . His next assignment was in the Philippines , where in 1924 he was instrumental in quelling the Philippine Scout Mutiny . In 1925 , he became the Army ' s youngest major general . He served on the court martial of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell and was president of the American Olympic Committee during the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam . In 1930 , he became Chief of Staff of the United States Army . As such , he was involved in the expulsion of the Bonus Army protesters from Washington , D . C . in 1932 , and the establishment and organization of the Civilian Conservation Corps . He retired from the U . S . Army in 1937 to become Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines . MacArthur was recalled to active duty in 1941 as commander of United States Army Forces in the Far East . A series of disasters followed , starting with the destruction of his air forces on 8 December 1941 , and the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese . MacArthur ' s forces were soon compelled to withdraw to Bataan , where they held out until May 1942 . In March 1942 , MacArthur , his family and his staff left nearby Corregidor Island in PT boat s and escaped to Australia , where MacArthur became Supreme Commander , Southwest Pacific Area . For his defense of the Philippines , MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor . After more than two years of fighting in the Pacific , he fulfilled a promise to return to the Philippines . He officially accepted Japan ' s surrender on 2 September 1945 , and oversaw the occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1951 . As the effective ruler of Japan , he oversaw sweeping economic , political and social changes . He led the United Nations Command in the Korean War until he was removed from command by President Harry S . Truman on 11 April 1951 . He later became Chairman of the Board of Remington Rand . Early life and education . A military brat , Douglas MacArthur was born 26 January 1880 , at the Arsenal Barracks in Little Rock , Arkansas , to Arthur MacArthur , Jr . , a U . S . Army captain , and his wife , Mary Pinkney Hardy MacArthur ( nicknamed " Pinky " ) . The son of jurist and politician Arthur MacArthur , Sr . , Arthur would later receive the Medal of Honor for his actions with the Union Army in the Battle of Missionary Ridge during the American Civil War , and be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general . Pinkney came from a prominent Norfolk , Virginia , family . Two of her brothers had fought for the South in the Civil War , and refused to attend her wedding . Arthur and Pinky had three sons , of whom Douglas was the youngest , following Arthur III , born on 1 August 1876 , and Malcolm , born on 17 October 1878 . The family lived on a succession of Army posts in the American Old West . Conditions were primitive , and Malcolm died of measles in 1883 . In his memoir , " Reminiscences " , MacArthur wrote " I learned to ride and shoot even before I could read or write — indeed , almost before I could walk and talk . " This time on the frontier ended in July 1889 when the family moved to Washington , D . C . , where Douglas attended the Force Public School . His father was posted to San Antonio , Texas , in September 1893 . While there MacArthur attended the , where he was awarded the gold medal for " scholarship and deportment " . He also participated on the school tennis team , and played quarterback on the school football team and shortstop on its baseball team . He was named valedictorian , with a final year average of 97 . 33 out of 100 . MacArthur ' s father and grandfather unsuccessfully sought to secure Douglas a presidential appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point , first from President Grover Cleveland and then from President William McKinley . After these two rejections , he passed an examination for an appointment from Congressman Theobald Otjen , scoring 93 . 3 on the test . He later wrote : " It was a lesson I never forgot . Preparedness is the key to success and victory . " MacArthur entered West Point on 13 June 1899 , and his mother also moved there to a suite at Craney ' s Hotel , overlooking the grounds of the Academy . Hazing was widespread at West Point at this time , and MacArthur and his classmate Ulysses S . Grant III were singled out for special attention by southern cadets as sons of generals with mothers living at Craney ' s . When Cadet Oscar Booz left West Point after being hazed and subsequently died of tuberculosis , there was a congressional inquiry . MacArthur was called to appear before a special Congressional committee in 1901 , where he testified against cadets implicated in hazing , but downplayed his own hazing even though the other cadets gave the full story to the committee . Congress subsequently outlawed acts " of a harassing , tyrannical , abusive , shameful , insulting or humiliating nature " , although hazing continued . MacArthur was a corporal in Company B in his second year , a first sergeant in Company A in his third year and First Captain in his final year . He played left field for the baseball team , and academically earned 2424 . 12 merits out of a possible 2470 . 00 or 98 . 14 , the third highest score ever recorded , graduating first in his 93 - man class on 11 June 1903 . At the time it was customary for the top - ranking cadets to be commissioned into the United States Army Corps of Engineers , so MacArthur was commissioned as a second lieutenant in that corps . Junior officer . MacArthur spent his graduation furlough with his parents at Fort Mason , California , where his father , now a major general , was serving as commander of the Department of the Pacific . Afterward , he joined the 3rd Engineer Battalion , which departed for the Philippines in October 1903 . MacArthur was sent to Iloilo , where he supervised the construction of a wharf at Camp Jossman . He went on to conduct surveys at Tacloban City , Calbayog City and Cebu City . In November 1903 , while working on Guimaras , he was ambushed by a pair of Filipino brigands or guerrillas ; he shot and killed both with his pistol . He was promoted to first lieutenant in Manila in April 1904 . In October 1904 , his tour of duty was cut short when he contracted malaria and dhobi itch during a survey on Bataan . He returned to San Francisco , where he was assigned to the California Debris Commission . In July 1905 , he became chief engineer of the Division of the Pacific . In October 1905 , MacArthur received orders to proceed to Tokyo for appointment as aide - de - camp to his father . They inspected Japanese military bases at Nagasaki , Kobe and Kyoto , then headed to India via Shanghai , Hong Kong , Java and Singapore , reaching Calcutta in January 1906 . In India , they visited Madras , Tuticorin , Quetta , Karachi , the Northwest Frontier and the Khyber Pass . They then sailed to China via Bangkok and Saigon , and toured Canton , Tsingtao , Peking , Tientsin , Hankow and Shanghai before returning to Japan in June . The next month they returned to the United States , where Arthur MacArthur resumed his duties at Fort Mason , still with Douglas as his aide . In September , Douglas received orders to report to the 2nd Engineer Battalion at the Washington Barracks and enroll in the Engineer School . While there he also served as " an aide to assist at White House functions " at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt . In August 1907 , MacArthur was sent to the engineer district office in Milwaukee , where his parents were now living . In April 1908 , he was posted to Fort Leavenworth , where he was given his first command , Company K , 3rd Engineer Battalion . He became battalion adjutant in 1909 and then engineer officer at Fort Leavenworth in 1910 . MacArthur was promoted to captain in February 1911 and was appointed as head of the Military Engineering Department and the Field Engineer School . He participated in exercises at San Antonio , Texas , with the Maneuver Division in 1911 and served in Panama on detached duty in January and February 1912 . The sudden death of their father on 5 September 1912 brought Douglas and his brother Arthur back to Milwaukee to care for their mother , whose health had deteriorated . MacArthur requested a transfer to Washington , D . C . so his mother could be near Johns Hopkins Hospital . Army Chief of Staff , Major General Leonard Wood , took up the matter with Secretary of War Henry L . Stimson , who arranged for MacArthur to be posted to the Office of the Chief of Staff in 1912 . Veracruz expedition . On 21 April 1914 , President Woodrow Wilson ordered the occupation of Veracruz . MacArthur joined the headquarters staff that was sent to the area , arriving on 1 May 1914 . He realized that the logistic support of an advance from Veracruz would require the use of the railroad . Finding plenty of railroad cars in Veracruz but no locomotives , MacArthur set out to verify a report that there were a number of locomotives in Alvarado , Veracruz . For $ 150 in gold , he acquired a handcar and the services of three Mexicans , whom he disarmed . MacArthur and his party located five engines in Alvarado , two of which were only switcher s , but the other three locomotives were exactly what was required . On the way back to Veracruz , his party was set upon by five armed men . The party made a run for it and outdistanced all but two of the armed men , whom MacArthur shot . Soon after , they were attacked by a group of about fifteen horsemen . MacArthur took three bullet holes in his clothes but was unharmed . One of his companions was lightly wounded before the horsemen finally decided to retire after MacArthur shot four of them . Further on , the party was attacked a third time by three mounted men . MacArthur received another bullet hole in his shirt , but his men , using their handcart , managed to outrun all but one of their attackers . MacArthur shot both that man and his horse , and the party had to remove the horse ' s carcass from the track before proceeding . A fellow officer wrote to Wood recommending that MacArthur ' s name be put forward for the Medal of Honor . Wood did so , and Chief of Staff Hugh L . Scott convened a board to consider the award . The board questioned " the advisability of this enterprise having been undertaken without the knowledge of the commanding general on the ground " . This was Brigadier General Frederick Funston , a Medal of Honor recipient himself , who considered awarding the medal to MacArthur " entirely appropriate and justifiable . " However the board feared that " to bestow the award recommended might encourage any other staff officer , under similar conditions , to ignore the local commander , possibly interfering with the latter ' s plans " ; consequently , MacArthur received no award at all . World War I . Rainbow Division . MacArthur returned to the War Department , where he was promoted to major on 11 December 1915 . In June 1916 , he was assigned as head of the Bureau of Information at the office of the Secretary of War , Newton D . Baker . MacArthur has since been regarded as the Army ' s first press officer . Following the declaration of war on Germany on 6 April 1917 , Baker and MacArthur secured an agreement from President Wilson for the use of the National Guard on the Western Front . MacArthur suggested sending first a division organized from units of different states , so as to avoid the appearance of favoritism toward any particular state . Baker approved the creation of this formation , which became the 42nd ( " Rainbow " ) Division , and appointed Major General William A . Mann , the head of the National Guard Bureau , as its commander ; MacArthur was its chief of staff , with the rank of colonel . At MacArthur ' s request , this commission was in the infantry rather than the engineers . The 42nd Division was assembled in August and September 1917 at Camp Mills , New York , where its training emphasized open - field combat rather than trench warfare . It sailed in a convoy from Hoboken , New Jersey , for France on 18 October 1917 ; MacArthur made the passage on the transport . On 19 December , Mann was replaced as division commander by Major General Charles T . Menoher . Champagne - Marne Offensive . The 42nd Division entered the line in the quiet Lunéville sector in February 1918 . On 26 February , MacArthur and Captain Thomas T . Handy accompanied a French trench raid in which MacArthur assisted in the capture of a number of German prisoners . The commander of the French VII Corps , Major General Georges de Bazelaire , decorated MacArthur with the " Croix de guerre " . Menoher recommended MacArthur for a Silver Star , which he later received . The Silver Star Medal was not instituted until 8 August 1932 , but small silver Citation Star s were authorized to be worn on the campaign ribbons of those cited in orders for gallantry , similar to the British mention in despatches . When the Silver Star Medal was instituted , it was retrospectively awarded to those who had been awarded Silver Stars . On 9 March , the 42nd Division launched three raids of its own on German trenches in the Salient du Feys . MacArthur accompanied a company of the 168th Infantry . This time , his leadership was rewarded with the Distinguished Service Cross . A few days later , MacArthur , who was strict about his men carrying their gas mask s but often neglected to bring his own , was gassed . He recovered in time to show Secretary Baker around the area on 19 March . MacArthur was promoted to brigadier general on 26 June . In late June , the 42nd Division was shifted to Châlons - en - Champagne to oppose the impending German Champagne - Marne Offensive . " Général d ' Armée " Henri Gouraud of the French Fourth Army elected to meet the attack with a defense in depth , holding the front line area as thinly as possible and meeting the German attack on his second line of defense . His plan succeeded , and MacArthur was awarded a second Silver Star . The 42nd Division participated in the subsequent Allied counter - offensive , and MacArthur was awarded a third Silver Star on 29 July . Two days later , Menoher relieved Brigadier General Robert A . Brown of the 84th Infantry Brigade of his command , and replaced him with MacArthur . Hearing reports that the enemy had withdrawn , MacArthur went forward on 2 August to see for himself . He later wrote : MacArthur reported back to Menoher and Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett that the Germans had indeed withdrawn , and was awarded a fourth Silver Star . He was also awarded a second " Croix de guerre " and made a " commandeur " of the " Légion d ' honneur " . Battle of Saint - Mihiel and Meuse - Argonne Offensive . The 42nd Division earned a few weeks rest , returning to the line for the Battle of Saint - Mihiel on 12 September . The Allied advance proceeded rapidly and MacArthur was awarded a fifth Silver Star for his leadership of the 84th Infantry Brigade . He received a sixth Silver Star for his participation in a raid on the night of 25 – 26 September . The 42nd Division was relieved on the night of 30 September moving to the Argonne sector where it relieved the 1st Division on the night of 11 October . On a reconnaissance the next day , MacArthur was gassed again , earning a second Wound Chevron . The 42nd Division ' s participation in the Meuse - Argonne Offensive began on 14 October when it attacked with both brigades . That evening , a conference was called to discuss the attack , during which Charles Pelot Summerall , commander of the First Infantry Division and V Corps , rang and demanded that Châtillon be taken by 18 : 00 the next evening . An aerial photograph had been obtained that showed a gap in the German barbed wire to the northeast of Châtillon . Lieutenant Colonel Walter E . Bare — the commander of the 167th Infantry — proposed an attack from that direction , where the defenses seemed least imposing , covered by a machine - gun barrage . MacArthur adopted this plan . He was wounded , but not severely , while verifying the existence of the gap in the barbed wire . Summerall nominated MacArthur for the Medal of Honor and promotion to major general , but he received neither . Instead he was awarded a second Distinguished Service Cross . The 42nd Division returned to the line for the last time on the night of 4 – 5 November 1918 . In the final advance on Sedan . MacArthur later wrote that this operation " narrowly missed being one of the great tragedies of American history . " An order to disregard unit boundaries led to units crossing into each other ' s zones . In the resulting chaos , MacArthur was taken prisoner by men of the 1st Division , who mistook him for a German general . His performance in the attack on the Meuse heights led to his being awarded a seventh Silver Star . On 10 November , a day before the armistice that ended the fighting , MacArthur was appointed commander of the 42nd Division . For his service as chief of staff and commander of the 84th Infantry Brigade , he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal . His period in command was brief , for on 22 November he , like other brigadier generals , was replaced , and returned to the 84th Infantry Brigade . The 42nd Division was chosen to participate in the occupation of the Rhineland , occupying the Ahrweiler district . In April 1919 , they entrained for Brest and St Nazaire , where they boarded ships to return to the United States . MacArthur traveled on the ocean liner , which reached New York on 25 April 1919 . Between the wars . Superintendent of the United States Military Academy . In 1919 , MacArthur became Superintendent of the U . S . Military Academy at West Point , which Chief of Staff Peyton March felt had become out of date in many respects and was much in need of reform . Accepting the post allowed MacArthur to retain his rank of brigadier general , instead of being reduced to his substantive rank of major like many of his contemporaries . When MacArthur moved into the superintendent ' s house with his mother in June 1919 , he became the youngest superintendent since Sylvanus Thayer in 1817 . However , whereas Thayer had faced opposition from outside the Army , MacArthur had to overcome resistance from graduates and the academic board . MacArthur ' s vision of what was required of an officer came not just from his recent experience of combat in France but also from that of the occupation of the Rhineland in Germany . The military government of the Rhineland had required the Army to deal with political , economic and social problems but he had found that many West Point graduates had little or no knowledge of fields outside of the military sciences . During the war , West Point had been reduced to an officer candidate school , with five classes graduated in two years . Cadet and staff morale was low and hazing " at an all - time peak of viciousness " . MacArthur ' s first change turned out to be the easiest . Congress had set the length of the course at three years . MacArthur was able to get the four - year course restored . During the debate over the length of the course , " The New York Times " brought up the issue of the cloistered and undemocratic nature of student life at West Point . Also , starting with Harvard University in 1869 , civilian universities had begun grading students on academic performance alone , but West Point had retained the old " whole man " concept of education . MacArthur sought to modernize the system , expanding the concept of military character to include bearing , leadership , efficiency and athletic performance . He formalized the hitherto unwritten Cadet Honor Code in 1922 when he formed the Cadet Honor Committee to review alleged code violations . Elected by the cadets themselves , it had no authority to punish , but acted as a kind of grand jury , reporting offenses to the commandant . MacArthur attempted to end hazing by using officers rather than upperclassmen to train the plebes . Instead of the traditional summer camp at Fort Clinton , MacArthur had the cadets trained to use modern weapons by regular army sergeants at Fort Dix ; they then marched back to West Point with full packs . He attempted to modernize the curriculum by adding liberal arts , government and economics courses , but encountered strong resistance from the Academic Board . In Military Art classes , the study of the campaigns of the American Civil War was replaced with the study of those of World War I . In History class , more emphasis was placed on the Far East . MacArthur expanded the sports program , increasing the number of intramural sports and requiring all cadets to participate . He allowed upper class cadets to leave the reservation , and sanctioned a cadet newspaper , " The Brag " , forerunner of today ' s " West Pointer " . He also permitted cadets to travel to watch their football team play , and gave them an allowance of $ 5 . 00 a month . Professors and alumni alike protested these radical moves . Most of MacArthur ' s West Point reforms were soon discarded but , in the ensuing years , his ideas became accepted and his innovations were gradually restored . Army ' s youngest major general . 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 . Rumors circulated that General Pershing , who had also courted Louise , had threatened to exile them to the Philippines if they were married . This was denied by Pershing as " all damn poppycock . " In October 1922 , MacArthur left West Point and sailed to the Philippines with Louise and her two children , Walter and young Louise , to assume command of the Military District of Manila . MacArthur was fond of the children , and spent much of his free time with them . The islands were peaceful now , and in the wake of the Washington Naval Treaty , the garrison was being reduced . MacArthur ' s friendships with Filipinos like Manuel Quezon offended some people . " The old idea of colonial exploitation " , he later conceded , " still had its vigorous supporters . " In February and March 1923 MacArthur returned to Washington to see his mother , who was ill from a heart ailment . She recovered , but it was the last time he saw his brother Arthur , who died suddenly from appendicitis in December 1923 . In June 1923 , MacArthur assumed command of the 23rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Division . On 7 July 1924 , he was informed that a mutiny had broken out amongst the Philippine Scouts over grievances concerning pay and allowances . Over 200 were arrested and there were fears of an insurrection . MacArthur was able to calm the situation , but his subsequent efforts to improve the salaries of Filipino troops were frustrated by financial stringency and racial prejudice . On 17 January 1925 , at the age of 44 , he was promoted , becoming the Army ' s youngest major general . Returning to the U . S . , MacArthur took command of the IV Corps Area , based at Fort McPherson in Atlanta , Georgia , on 2 May 1925 . However , he encountered southern prejudice because he was the son of a Union Army officer , and requested to be relieved . A few months later , he assumed command of the III Corps area , based at Fort McHenry in Baltimore , Maryland , which allowed MacArthur and Louise to move to her Rainbow Hill estate near Garrison , Maryland . However , this relocation also led to what he later described as " one of the most distasteful orders I ever received " : a direction to serve on the court martial of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell . MacArthur was the youngest of the thirteen judges , none of whom had aviation experience . Three of them , including Summerall , the president of the court , were removed when defense challenges revealed bias against Mitchell . Despite MacArthur ' s claim that he had voted to acquit , Mitchell was found guilty as charged and convicted . MacArthur felt " that a senior officer should not be silenced for being at variance with his superiors in rank and with accepted doctrine . " In 1927 , MacArthur and Louise separated , and she moved to New York City . In August that year , William C . Prout — the president of the American Olympic Committee — died suddenly and the committee elected MacArthur as their new president . His main task was to prepare the U . S . team for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam . MacArthur saw the team as representatives of the United States , and its task was to win medals . " We have not come 3 , 000 miles , " he told them , " just to lose gracefully . " The Americans had a successful meet , earning 24 gold medals , and setting 17 Olympic records and seven world records . Upon returning to the U . S . , MacArthur received orders to assume command of the Philippine Department . In 1929 , while he was in Manila , Louise obtained a divorce , ostensibly on the grounds of " failure to provide " . In view of Louise ' s great wealth , William Manchester described this legal fiction as " preposterous " . Chief of Staff . By 1930 , MacArthur was still , at age 50 , the youngest of the U . S . Army ' s major generals , and the best known . He left the Philippines on 19 September 1930 and for a brief time was in command of the IX Corps Area in San Francisco . On 21 November , he was sworn in as Chief of Staff of the United States Army , with the rank of general . While in Washington , he would ride home each day to have lunch with his mother . At his desk , he would wear a Japanese ceremonial kimono , cool himself with an oriental fan , and smoke cigarettes in a jeweled cigarette holder . In the evenings , he liked to read military history books . About this time , he began referring to himself as " MacArthur " . The onset of the Great Depression forced Congress to make cuts in the Army ' s personnel and budget . Some 53 bases were closed , but MacArthur managed to prevent attempts to reduce the number of regular officers from 12 , 000 to 10 , 000 . MacArthur ' s main programs included the development of new mobilization plans . He grouped the nine corps areas together under four armies , which were charged with responsibility for training and frontier defense . He also negotiated the MacArthur - Pratt agreement with the Chief of Naval Operations , Admiral William V . Pratt . This was the first of a series of inter - service agreements over the following decades that defined the responsibilities of the different services with respect to aviation . This agreement placed coastal air defense under the Army . In March 1935 , MacArthur activated a centralized air command , General Headquarters Air Force , under Major General Frank M . Andrews . One of MacArthur ' s most controversial acts came in 1932 , when the " Bonus Army " of veterans converged on Washington . He sent tents and camp equipment to the demonstrators , along with mobile kitchens , until an outburst in Congress caused the kitchens to be withdrawn . MacArthur was concerned that the demonstration had been taken over by communists and pacifists but the General Staff ' s intelligence division reported that only three of the march ' s 26 key leaders were communists . MacArthur went over contingency plans for civil disorder in the capital . Mechanized equipment was brought to Fort Myer , where anti - riot training was conducted . On 28 July 1932 , a clash between the District police and demonstrators resulted in two men being shot . President Hoover ordered MacArthur to " surround the affected area and clear it without delay . " MacArthur brought up troops and tanks and , against the advice of Major Dwight D . Eisenhower , decided to accompany the troops , although he was not in charge of the operation . The troops advanced with bayonets and sabers drawn under a shower of bricks and rocks , but no shots were fired . In less than four hours , they cleared the Bonus Army ' s campground using tear gas . The gas canisters started a number of fires , causing the only death during the riots . While not as violent as other anti - riot operations , it was nevertheless a public relations disaster . In 1934 , MacArthur sued journalists Drew Pearson and Robert S . Allen for defamation after they described his treatment of the Bonus marchers as " unwarranted , unnecessary , insubordinate , harsh and brutal " . In turn , they threatened to call Isabel Rosario Cooper as a witness . MacArthur had met Isabel , a Eurasian woman , while in the Philippines , and she had become his mistress . MacArthur was forced to settle out of court , secretly paying Pearson $ 15 , 000 . President Hoover was defeated in the 1932 election by Franklin D . Roosevelt . MacArthur and Roosevelt had worked together before World War I and , despite political differences , remained friends . MacArthur supported the New Deal through the Army ' s operation of the Civilian Conservation Corps . He ensured that detailed plans were drawn up for its employment and decentralized its administration to the corps areas , which became an important factor in the program ' s success . MacArthur ' s support for a strong military , and his public criticism of pacifism and isolationism , made him unpopular with the Roosevelt administration . Perhaps the most incendiary exchange between Roosevelt and MacArthur occurred over an administration proposal to cut 51 % of the Army ' s budget . In response , MacArthur lectured Roosevelt that " when we lost the next war , and an American boy , lying in the mud with an enemy bayonet through his belly and an enemy foot on his dying throat , spat out his last curse , I wanted the name not to be MacArthur , but Roosevelt . " In response , Roosevelt yelled " you must not talk that way to the President ! " MacArthur offered to resign , but Roosevelt refused his request , and MacArthur then staggered out of the White House and vomited on the front steps . In spite of such exchanges , MacArthur was extended an extra year as Chief of Staff , and ended his tour in October 1935 . For his service as chief of staff , he was awarded a second Distinguished Service Medal . He was retroactively awarded two Purple Hearts for his World War I service , a decoration that he authorized in 1932 based loosely on the defunct Military Badge of Merit . MacArthur also insisted on being the first recipient of the Purple Heart , which he had engraved with " # 1 . " Field Marshal of the Philippine Army . When the Commonwealth of the Philippines achieved semi - independent status in 1935 , President of the Philippines Manuel Quezon asked MacArthur to supervise the creation of a Philippine Army . Quezon and MacArthur had been personal friends since the latter ' s father had been Governor - General of the Philippines , 35 years earlier . With President Roosevelt ' s approval , MacArthur accepted the assignment . It was agreed that MacArthur would receive the rank of field marshal , with its salary and allowances , in addition to his major general ' s salary as Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines . It would be his fifth tour in the Far East . MacArthur sailed from San Francisco on the SS " President Hoover " in October 1935 , accompanied by his mother and sister - in - law . He brought Eisenhower and Major James B . Ord along as his assistants . Another passenger on the " President Hoover " was Jean Marie Faircloth , an unmarried 37 - year - old socialite . Over the next two years , MacArthur and Jean were frequently seen together . His mother became gravely ill during the voyage and died in Manila on 3 December 1935 . President Quezon officially conferred the title of field marshal on MacArthur in a ceremony at Malacañan Palace on 24 August 1936 , and presented him with a gold baton and a unique uniform . The Philippine Army was formed from conscription . Training was conducted by a regular cadre , and the Philippine Military Academy was created along the lines of West Point to train officers . MacArthur and Eisenhower found that few of the training camps had been constructed and the first group of 20 , 000 trainees did not report until early 1937 . Equipment and weapons were " more or less obsolete " American cast offs , and the budget of $ 6 million was completely inadequate . MacArthur ' s requests for equipment fell on deaf ears , although MacArthur and his naval advisor , Lieutenant Colonel Sidney L . Huff , persuaded the Navy to initiate the development of the PT boat . Much hope was placed in the Philippine Army Air Corps , but the first squadron was not organized until 1939 . 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 31 December 1937 , MacArthur officially retired from the Army . He ceased to represent the U . S . as military adviser to the government , but remained as Quezon ' s adviser in a civilian capacity . Eisenhower returned to the U . S . , and was replaced as MacArthur ' s chief of staff by Lieutenant Colonel Richard K . Sutherland , while Richard J . Marshall became deputy chief of staff . World War II . Philippines Campaign ( 1941 – 42 ) . On 26 July 1941 , Roosevelt federalized the Philippine Army , recalled MacArthur to active duty in the U . S . Army as a major general , and named him commander of U . S . Army Forces in the Far East ( USAFFE ) . MacArthur was promoted to lieutenant general the following day , and then to general on 20 December . At the same time , Sutherland was promoted to major general , while Marshall , Spencer B . Akin , and Hugh J . Casey were all promoted to brigadier general . On 31 July 1941 , the Philippine Department had 22 , 000 troops assigned , 12 , 000 of whom were Philippine Scouts . The main component was the Philippine Division , under the command of Major General Jonathan M . Wainwright . Between July and December 1941 , the garrison received 8 , 500 reinforcements . After years of parsimony , much equipment was shipped . By November , a backlog of 1 , 100 , 000 shipping tons of equipment intended for the Philippines had accumulated in U . S . ports and depots awaiting vessels . In addition , the Navy intercept station in the islands , known as Station CAST , had an ultra secret Purple cipher machine , which decrypted Japanese diplomatic messages , and partial codebooks for the latest JN - 25 naval code . Cast sent MacArthur its entire output , via Sutherland , the only officer on his staff authorized to see it . At 03 : 30 local time on 8 December 1941 ( about 09 : 00 on 7 December in Hawaii ) , Sutherland learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor and informed MacArthur . At 05 : 30 , the Chief of Staff of the U . S . Army , General George Marshall , ordered MacArthur to execute the existing war plan , Rainbow Five . MacArthur did nothing . On three occasions , the commander of the Far East Air Force , Major General Lewis H . Brereton , requested permission to attack Japanese bases in Formosa , in accordance with prewar intentions , but was denied by Sutherland . Not until 11 : 00 did Brereton speak with MacArthur about it , and obtained permission . MacArthur later denied having the conversation . At 12 : 30 , aircraft of Japan ' s 11th Air Fleet achieved complete tactical surprise when they attacked Clark Field and the nearby fighter base at Iba Field , and destroyed or disabled 18 of Far East Air Force ' s 35 B - 17 s , 53 of its 107 P - 40 s , three P - 35 s , and more than 25 other aircraft . Most were destroyed on the ground . Substantial damage was done to the bases , and casualties totaled 80 killed and 150 wounded . What was left of the Far East Air Force was all but destroyed over the next few days . Prewar defense plans assumed the Japanese could not be prevented from landing on Luzon and called for U . S . and Filipino forces to abandon Manila and retreat with their supplies to the Bataan peninsula . MacArthur attempted to slow the Japanese advance with an initial defense against the Japanese landings . However , he reconsidered his confidence in the ability of his Filipino troops after the Japanese landing force made a rapid advance after landing at Lingayen Gulf on 21 December , and ordered a retreat to Bataan . Manila was declared an open city at midnight on 24 December , without any consultation with Admiral Thomas C . Hart , commanding the Asiatic Fleet , forcing the Navy to destroy considerable amounts of valuable material . On the evening of 24 December , MacArthur moved his headquarters to the island fortress of Corregidor in Manila Bay , boarding the Army transport " Don Esteban after 19 : 00 arriving Corregidor at 21 : 30 , with his headquarters reporting to Washington as being open on the 25th . A series of air raids by the Japanese destroyed all the exposed structures on the island and USAFFE headquarters was moved into the Malinta Tunnel . Later , most of the headquarters moved to Bataan , leaving only the nucleus with MacArthur . The troops on Bataan knew that they had been written off but continued to fight . Some blamed Roosevelt and MacArthur for their predicament . A ballad sung to the tune of " The Battle Hymn of the Republic " called him " Dugout Doug " . However , most clung to the belief that somehow MacArthur " would reach down and pull something out of his hat . " On 1 January 1942 , MacArthur accepted $ 500 , 000 from President Quezon of the Philippines as payment for his pre - war service . MacArthur ' s staff members also received payments : $ 75 , 000 for Sutherland , $ 45 , 000 for Richard Marshall , and $ 20 , 000 for Huff . Eisenhower — after being appointed Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force ( AEF ) — was also offered money by Quezon , but declined . These payments were known only to a few in Manila and Washington , including President Roosevelt and Secretary of War Henry L . Stimson , until they were made public by historian Carol Petillo in 1979 . The revelation tarnished MacArthur ' s reputation . Escape to Australia and Medal of Honor . In February 1942 , as Japanese forces tightened their grip on the Philippines , MacArthur was ordered by President Roosevelt to relocate to Australia . On the night of 12 March 1942 , MacArthur and a select group that included his wife Jean and son Arthur , as well as Sutherland , Akin , Casey , Richard Marshall , Charles A . Willoughby , LeGrande A . Diller , and Harold H . George , left Corregidor in four PT boats . MacArthur , his family and Sutherland traveled aboard " PT 41 " , commanded by Lieutenant John D . Bulkeley . The others followed aboard " PT 34 " , " PT 35 " and " PT 32 " . MacArthur and his party reached Del Monte Airfield on Mindanao , where B - 17s picked them up , and flew them to Australia . His famous speech , in which he said , " I came through and I shall return " , was first made at Terowie , a small town in South Australia , on 20 March . Washington asked MacArthur to amend his promise to " We shall return " . He ignored the request . Bataan surrendered on 9 April , and Corregidor on 6 May . George Marshall decided that MacArthur would be awarded the Medal of Honor , a decoration for which he had twice previously been nominated , " to offset any propaganda by the enemy directed at his leaving his command " . Eisenhower pointed out that MacArthur had not actually performed any acts of valor as required by law , but Marshall cited the 1927 award of the medal to Charles Lindbergh as a precedent . Special legislation had been passed to authorize Lindbergh ' s medal , but while similar legislation was introduced authorizing the medal for MacArthur by Congressmen J . Parnell Thomas and James E . Van Zandt , Marshall felt strongly that a serving general should receive the medal from the President and the War Department . MacArthur chose to accept it on the basis that " this award was intended not so much for me personally as it is a recognition of the indomitable courage of the gallant army which it was my honor to command . " Arthur and Douglas MacArthur thus became the first father and son to be awarded the Medal of Honor . They remained the only pair until 2001 , when Theodore Roosevelt was awarded posthumously for his service during the Spanish American War , Theodore Roosevelt , Jr . having received one posthumously for his service during World War II . His citation , written by George Marshall , read : As the symbol of the forces resisting the Japanese , MacArthur received many other accolades . The Native American tribes of the Southwest chose him as a " Chief of Chiefs " , which he acknowledged as from " my oldest friends , the companions of my boyhood days on the Western frontier " . He was touched when he was named Father of the Year for 1942 , and wrote to the National Father ' s Day Committee that : New Guinea Campaign . General Headquarters . On 18 April 1942 , MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area ( SWPA ) . Lieutenant General George Brett became Commander , Allied Air Forces , and Vice Admiral Herbert F . Leary became Commander , Allied Naval Forces . Since the bulk of land forces in the theater were Australian , George Marshall insisted an Australian be appointed as Commander , Allied Land Forces , and the job went to General Sir Thomas Blamey . Although predominantly Australian and American , MacArthur ' s command also included small numbers of personnel from the Netherlands East Indies , the United Kingdom , and other countries . MacArthur established a close relationship with the Prime Minister of Australia , John Curtin , although many Australians resented MacArthur as a foreign general who had been imposed upon them . MacArthur had little confidence in Brett ' s abilities as commander of Allied Air Forces , and in August 1942 selected Major General George C . Kenney to replace him . Kenney ' s application of air power in support of Blamey ' s troops would prove crucial . The staff of MacArthur ' s General Headquarters ( GHQ ) was built around the nucleus that had escaped from the Philippines with him , who became known as the " Bataan Gang " . Though Roosevelt and George Marshall pressed for Dutch and Australian officers to be assigned to GHQ , the heads of all the staff divisions were American and such officers of other nationalities as were assigned served under them . Initially located in Melbourne , GHQ moved to Brisbane — the northernmost city in Australia with the necessary communications facilities — in July 1942 , occupying the AMP Insurance Society building . MacArthur formed his own signals intelligence organization , known as the Central Bureau , from Australian intelligence units and American cryptanalysts who had escaped from the Philippines . This unit forwarded Ultra information to Willoughby for analysis . After a press release revealed details of the Japanese naval dispositions during the Battle of the Coral Sea , at which a Japanese attempt to capture Port Moresby was turned back , Roosevelt ordered that censorship be imposed in Australia , and the Advisory War Council granted GHQ censorship authority over the Australian press . Australian newspapers were restricted to what was reported in the daily GHQ communiqué . Veteran correspondents considered the communiqués , which MacArthur drafted personally , " a total farce " and " Alice - in - Wonderland information handed out at high level . " Papuan Campaign . Anticipating that the Japanese would strike at Port Moresby again , the garrison was strengthened and MacArthur ordered the establishment of new bases at Merauke and Milne Bay to cover its flanks . The Battle of Midway in June 1942 led to consideration of a limited offensive in the Pacific . MacArthur ' s proposal for an attack on the Japanese base at Rabaul met with objections from the Navy , which favored a less ambitious approach , and objected to an Army general being in command of what would be an amphibious operation . The resulting compromise called for a three - stage advance . The first stage , the seizure of the Tulagi area , would be conducted by the Pacific Ocean Areas , under Admiral Chester W . Nimitz . The later stages would be under MacArthur ' s command . The Japanese struck first , landing at Buna in July , and at Milne Bay in August . The Australians repulsed the Japanese at Milne Bay , but a series of defeats in the Kokoda Track campaign had a depressing effect back in Australia . On 30 August , MacArthur radioed Washington that unless action was taken , New Guinea Force would be overwhelmed . He sent Blamey to Port Moresby to take personal command . Having committed all available Australian troops , MacArthur decided to send American forces . The 32nd Infantry Division , a poorly trained National Guard division , was selected . A series of embarrassing reverses in the Battle of Buna - Gona led to outspoken criticism of the American troops by the Australians . MacArthur then ordered Lieutenant General Robert L . Eichelberger to assume command of the Americans , and " take Buna , or not come back alive . " MacArthur moved the advanced echelon of GHQ to Port Moresby on 6 November 1942 . After Buna finally fell on 3 January 1943 , MacArthur awarded the Distinguished Service Cross to twelve officers for " precise execution of operations " . This use of the country ' s second highest award aroused resentment , because while some , like Eichelberger and George Alan Vasey , had fought in the field , others , like Sutherland and Willoughby , had not . For his part , MacArthur was awarded his third Distinguished Service Medal , and the Australian government had him appointed an honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath . New Guinea Campaign . At the Pacific Military Conference in March 1943 , the Joint Chiefs of Staff approved MacArthur ' s plan for Operation Cartwheel , the advance on Rabaul . MacArthur explained his strategy : In New Guinea , a country without roads , large - scale transportation of men and materiel would have to be accomplished by aircraft or ships . A multi - pronged approach was employed to solve this problem . Disassembled landing craft were shipped to Australia , where they were assembled in Cairns . The range of these small landing craft was to be greatly extended by the landing ships of the VII Amphibious Force , which began arriving in late 1942 , and formed part of the newly formed Seventh Fleet . Since the Seventh Fleet had no aircraft carriers , the range of naval operations was limited by that of the fighter aircraft of the Fifth Air Force . Lieutenant General Walter Krueger ' s Sixth Army headquarters arrived in SWPA in early 1943 but MacArthur had only three American divisions , and they were tired and depleted from the fighting at Battle of Buna – Gona and Battle of Guadalcanal . As a result , " it became obvious that any military offensive in the South - West Pacific in 1943 would have to be carried out mainly by the Australian Army . " The offensive began with the landing at Lae by the Australian 9th Division on 4 September 1943 . The next day , MacArthur watched the landing at Nadzab by paratroops of the 503rd Parachute Infantry . His B - 17 made the trip on three engines because one failed soon after leaving Port Moresby , but he insisted that it fly on to Nadzab . For this , he was awarded the Air Medal . The Australian 7th and 9th Divisions converged on Lae , which fell on 16 September . MacArthur advanced his timetable , and ordered the 7th to capture Kaiapit and Dumpu , while the 9th mounted an amphibious assault on Finschhafen . Here , the offensive bogged down , partly because MacArthur had based his decision to assault Finschhafen on Willoughby ' s assessment that there were only 350 Japanese defenders at Finschhafen , when in fact there were nearly 5 , 000 . A furious battle ensued . In early November , MacArthur ' s plan for a westward advance along the coast of New Guinea to the Philippines was incorporated into plans for the war against Japan . Three months later , airmen reported no signs of enemy activity in the Admiralty Islands . Although Willoughby did not agree that the islands had been evacuated , MacArthur ordered an amphibious landing there , commencing the Admiralty Islands campaign . He accompanied the assault force aboard the light cruiser , the flagship of Vice Admiral Thomas C . Kinkaid , the new commander of the Seventh Fleet , and came ashore seven hours after the first wave of landing craft , for which he was awarded the Bronze Star . It took six weeks of fierce fighting before the 1st Cavalry Division captured the islands . MacArthur now bypassed the Japanese forces at Hansa Bay and Wewak , and assaulted Hollandia and Aitape , which Willoughby reported to be lightly defended based on intelligence gathered in the Battle of Sio . Although they were out of range of the Fifth Air Force ' s fighters based in the Ramu Valley , the timing of the operation allowed the aircraft carriers of Nimitz ' s Pacific Fleet to provide air support . Though risky , the operation turned out to be another success . MacArthur caught the Japanese off balance and cut off Lieutenant General Hatazō Adachi ' s Japanese XVIII Army in the Wewak area . Because the Japanese were not expecting an attack , the garrison was weak , and Allied casualties were correspondingly light . However , the terrain turned out to be less suitable for airbase development than first thought , forcing MacArthur to seek better locations further west . While bypassing Japanese forces had great tactical merit , it had the strategic drawback of tying up Allied troops to contain them . Moreover , Adachi was far from beaten , which he demonstrated in the Battle of Driniumor River . Philippines Campaign ( 1944 – 45 ) . Leyte . In July 1944 , President Roosevelt summoned MacArthur to meet with him in Hawaii " to determine the phase of action against Japan . " Nimitz made the case for attacking Formosa . MacArthur stressed America ' s moral obligation to liberate the Philippines . In September , Halsey ' s carriers made a series of air strikes on the Philippines . Opposition was feeble and Halsey concluded , incorrectly , that Leyte was " wide open " and possibly undefended , and recommended that projected operations be skipped in favor of an assault on Leyte . On 20 October 1944 , troops of Krueger ' s Sixth Army landed on Leyte , while MacArthur watched from the light cruiser . That afternoon he arrived off the beach . The advance had not progressed far ; snipers were still active and the area was under sporadic mortar fire . When his whaleboat grounded in knee - deep water , MacArthur requested a landing craft , but the beachmaster was too busy to grant his request . MacArthur was compelled to wade ashore . In his prepared speech , he said : Since Leyte was out of range of Kenney ' s land - based aircraft , MacArthur was dependent on carrier aircraft . Japanese air activity soon increased , with raids on Tacloban , where MacArthur decided to establish his headquarters , and on the fleet offshore . MacArthur enjoyed staying on " Nashville " ' s bridge during air raids , although several bombs landed close by , and two nearby cruisers were hit . Over the next few days , the Japanese counterattacked in the Battle of Leyte Gulf , resulting in a near - disaster that MacArthur attributed to the command being divided between himself and Nimitz . Nor did the campaign ashore proceed smoothly . Heavy monsoonal rains disrupted the airbase construction program . Carrier aircraft proved to be no substitute for land - based aircraft , and the lack of air cover permitted the Japanese to pour troops into Leyte . Adverse weather and valiant Japanese resistance slowed the American advance , resulting in a protracted campaign . By the end of December , Krueger ' s headquarters estimated that 5 , 000 Japanese remained on Leyte , and on 26 December MacArthur issued a communiqué announcing that " the campaign can now be regarded as closed except for minor mopping up . " Yet Eichelberger ' s Eighth Army killed another 27 , 000 Japanese on Leyte before the campaign ended in May 1945 . On 18 December 1944 , MacArthur was promoted to the new five - star rank of General of the Army . Luzon . MacArthur ' s next move was the invasion of Mindoro , where there were good potential airfield sites . Willoughby estimated , correctly as it turned out , that the island had only about 1 , 000 Japanese defenders . The problem this time was getting there . Kinkaid balked at sending escort carriers into the restricted waters of the Sulu Sea , and Kenney could not guarantee land based air cover . The operation was clearly hazardous , and MacArthur ' s staff talked him out of accompanying the invasion on " Nashville " . As the invasion force entered the Sulu Sea , a " kamikaze " struck " Nashville " , killing 133 people and wounding 190 more . Australian and American engineers had three airstrips in operation within two weeks , but the resupply convoys were repeatedly attacked by " kamikazes " . The way was now clear for the invasion of Luzon . This time , based on different interpretations of the same intelligence data , Willoughby estimated the strength of General Tomoyuki Yamashita ' s forces on Luzon at 137 , 000 , while Sixth Army estimated it at 234 , 000 . MacArthur ' s response was " Bunk ! " . He felt that even Willoughby ' s estimate was too high . " Audacity , calculated risk , and a clear strategic aim were MacArthur ' s attributes " , and he disregarded the estimates . In fact , they were too low ; Yamashita had more than 287 , 000 troops on Luzon . This time , MacArthur traveled aboard the light cruiser , watching as the ship was nearly hit by a bomb and torpedoes fired by midget submarine s . His communiqué read : " The decisive battle for the liberation of the Philippines and the control of the Southwest Pacific is at hand . General MacArthur is in personal command at the front and landed with his assault troops . " MacArthur ' s primary concern was the capture of the port of Manila and the airbase at Clark Field , which were required to support future operations . He urged his commanders on . On 25 January 1945 , he moved his advanced headquarters forward to Hacienda Luisita , closer to the front than Krueger ' s . He ordered the 1st Cavalry Division to conduct a rapid advance on Manila . It reached the northern outskirts of Manila on 3 February , but , unknown to the Americans , Rear Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi had decided to defend Manila to the death . The Battle of Manila raged for the next three weeks . To spare the civilian population , MacArthur prohibited the use of air strikes , but thousands of civilians died in the crossfire or Japanese massacres . He also refused to restrict the traffic of civilians who clogged the roads in and out of Manila , placing humanitarian concerns above military ones except in emergencies . For his part in the capture of Manila , MacArthur was awarded his third Distinguished Service Cross . Southern Philippines . Although MacArthur had no specific directive to do so , and the fighting on Luzon was far from over , he committed his forces to liberate the remainder of the Philippines . In the GHQ communiqué on 5 July , he announced that the Philippines had been liberated and all operations ended , although Yamashita still held out in northern Luzon . Starting in May 1945 , MacArthur used his Australian troops in the invasion of Borneo . He accompanied the assault on Labuan , and visited the troops ashore . While returning to GHQ in Manila , he visited Davao , where he told Eichelberger that no more than 4 , 000 Japanese remained alive on Mindanao . A few months later , six times that number surrendered . In July 1945 , he was awarded his fourth Distinguished Service Medal . As part of preparations for Operation Downfall , the invasion of Japan , MacArthur became commander in chief U . S . Army Forces Pacific ( AFPAC ) , in charge of all Army and Army Air Force units in the Pacific , except the Twentieth Air Force , in April 1945 . At the same time , Nimitz became commander of all naval forces . Command in the Pacific therefore remained divided . The invasion was pre - empted by the surrender of Japan in August 1945 . On 2 September MacArthur accepted the formal Japanese surrender aboard the battleship , thus ending World War II . In recognition of his role as a maritime strategist , the U . S . Navy awarded him the Navy Distinguished Service Medal . Occupation of Japan . Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers . On 29 August 1945 , MacArthur was ordered to exercise authority through the Japanese government machinery , including the Emperor Hirohito . MacArthur ' s headquarters was located in the Dai Ichi Life Insurance Building in Tokyo . As Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers ( SCAP ) in Japan , MacArthur and his staff helped Japan rebuild itself , 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 . In 1946 , MacArthur ' s staff drafted a new constitution that renounced war and stripped the Emperor of his military authority . The constitution — which became effective on 3 May 1947 — instituted a Westminster system form of government , under which the Emperor acted only on the advice of his ministers . It included the famous Article 9 , which outlawed belligerency as an instrument of state policy and the maintenance of a standing army . The constitution also enfranchised women , guaranteed fundamental human rights , outlawed racial discrimination , strengthened the powers of Parliament and the Cabinet , and decentralized the police and local government . A major land reform was also conducted , led by Wolf Ladejinsky of General Douglas MacArthur ' s SCAP staff . Between 1947 and 1949 , approximately , or 38 % of Japan ' s cultivated land , was purchased from the landlords under the government ' s reform program , and was resold to the farmers who worked them . By 1950 , 89 % of all agricultural land was owner - operated and only 11 % was tenant - operated . MacArthur ' s efforts to encourage trade union membership met with phenomenal success , and by 1947 , 48 % of the non - agricultural workforce was unionized . Some of MacArthur ' s reforms were rescinded in 1948 when his unilateral control of Japan was ended by the increased involvement of the State Department . During the Occupation , SCAP successfully , if not entirely , abolished many of the financial coalitions known as the Zaibatsu , which had previously monopolized industry . Eventually , looser industrial groupings known as " Keiretsu " evolved . The reforms alarmed many in the U . S . Departments of Defense and State , who believed they conflicted with the prospect of Japan and its industrial capacity as a bulwark against the spread of communism in Asia . In an address to Congress on 19 April 1951 , MacArthur declared : MacArthur handed over power to the Japanese government in 1949 , but remained in Japan until relieved by President Harry S . Truman on 11 April 1951 . The San Francisco Peace Treaty , signed on 8 September 1951 , marked the end of the Allied occupation , and when it went into effect on 28 April 1952 , Japan was once again an independent state . The Japanese subsequently gave him the nickname " Gaijin Shogun " ( " foreign military ruler " ) but not until around the time of his death in 1964 . War crimes trials . MacArthur was responsible for confirming and enforcing the sentences for war crimes handed down by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East . In late 1945 , Allied military commissions in various cities of the Orient tried 5 , 700 Japanese , Taiwanese and Koreans for war crimes . About 4 , 300 were convicted , almost 1 , 000 sentenced to death , and hundreds given life imprisonment . The charges arose from incidents that included the Rape of Nanking , the Bataan Death March and Manila massacre . The trial in Manila of General Tomoyuki Yamashita , Japanese commander in the Philippines from 1944 , was criticized because Yamashita was hanged for Iwabuchi ' s Manila massacre , which he had not ordered and of which he was probably unaware . Iwabuchi had killed himself as the battle for Manila was ending . MacArthur gave immunity to Shiro Ishii and other members of the bacteriological research unit s in exchange for germ warfare data based on human experimentation . He also exempted the Emperor and all members of the imperial family implicated in war crimes , including Princes Chichibu , Asaka , Takeda , Higashikuni and Fushimi , from criminal prosecutions . MacArthur confirmed that the emperor ' s abdication would not be necessary . In doing so , he ignored the advice of many members of the imperial family and Japanese intellectuals who publicly called for the abdication of the Emperor and the implementation of a regency . Korean War . South to the Naktong , North to the Yalu . 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 and Commander of the USAFFE . All South Korean forces were also placed under his command . As they retreated before the North Korean onslaught , MacArthur received permission to commit U . S . ground forces . All the first units to arrive could do was trade men and ground for time , falling back to the Pusan Perimeter . By the end of August , the crisis subsided . North Korean attacks on the perimeter had tapered off . While the North Korean force numbered 88 , 000 troops , Lieutenant General Walton Walker ' s Eighth Army now numbered 180 , 000 , and he had more tanks and artillery pieces . In 1949 , the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , General of the Army Omar Bradley , had predicted that " large scale combined amphibious operations . . . will never occur again " , but by July 1950 , MacArthur was planning just such an operation . MacArthur compared his plan with that of General James Wolfe at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham , and brushed aside the problems of tides , hydrography and terrain . In September , despite lingering concerns from superiors , MacArthur ' s soldiers and marines made a successful landing at Inchon , deep behind North Korean lines . Launched with naval and close air support , the landing outflanked the North Koreans , recaptured Seoul and forced them to retreat northward in disarray . Visiting the battlefield on 17 September , MacArthur surveyed six T - 34 tanks that had been knocked out by Marines , ignoring sniper fire around him , except to note that the North Korean marksmen were poorly trained . On 11 September , Truman issued orders for an advance beyond the 38th parallel into North Korea . MacArthur now planned another amphibious assault , on Wonsan on the east coast , but it fell to South Korean troops before the 1st Marine Division could reach it by sea . In October , MacArthur met with Truman at the Wake Island Conference , where the president awarded MacArthur his fifth Distinguished Service Medal . Briefly questioned about the Chinese threat , MacArthur dismissed it , saying that he hoped to be able to withdraw the Eighth Army to Japan by Christmas , and to release a division for service in Europe in January . He regarded the possibility of Russian intervention as a more serious threat . A month later , things had changed . The enemy were engaged by the UN forces at the Battle of Unsan in late October , which demonstrated the presence of Chinese soldiers in Korea and rendered significant losses to the American and other UN troops . Nevertheless , Willoughby downplayed the evidence about Chinese intervention in the war . By 24 November , he estimated that up to 71 , 000 Chinese soldiers were in the country , while the true number was closer to 300 , 000 . That day , MacArthur flew to Walker ' s headquarters and he later wrote : MacArthur flew over the front line himself in his Douglas C - 54 Skymaster but saw no signs of a Chinese build up and therefore decided to wait before ordering an advance or withdrawal . Evidence of the Chinese activity was hidden to MacArthur : the Chinese Army traveled at night and dug in during the day . For his reconnaissance efforts , MacArthur was nonetheless awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and honorary combat pilot ' s wings . The next day , 25 November 1950 , Walker ' s Eighth Army was attacked by the Chinese Army and soon the UN forces were in retreat . MacArthur provided the Chief of Staff , General J . Lawton Collins with a series of nine successive withdrawal lines . On 23 December , Walker was killed when his jeep collided with a truck , and was replaced by Lieutenant General Matthew B . Ridgway , whom MacArthur had selected in case of such an eventuality . Ridgway noted that MacArthur ' s " prestige , which had gained an extraordinary luster after Incheon , was badly tarnished . His credibility suffered in the unforeseen outcome of the November offensive . . . " Collins discussed the possible use of nuclear weapons in Korea with MacArthur in December , and later asked him for a list of targets in the Soviet Union in case it entered the war . MacArthur testified before the Congress in 1951 that he had never recommended the use of nuclear weapons . He did at one point consider a plan to cut off North Korea with radioactive poisons ; he did not recommend it at the time , although he later broached the matter with Eisenhower , then president - elect , in 1952 . In 1954 , in an interview published after his death , he stated he had wanted to drop atomic bombs on enemy bases , but in 1960 , he challenged a statement by Truman that he had advocated using atomic bombs . Truman issued a retraction , stating that he had no evidence of the claim ; it was merely his personal opinion . Removal from command . Within weeks of the Chinese attack , MacArthur was forced to retreat from North Korea . Seoul fell in January 1951 , and both Truman and MacArthur were forced to contemplate the prospect of abandoning Korea entirely . European countries did not share MacArthur ' s world view , distrusted his judgement , and were afraid that he might use his stature and influence with the American public to re - focus American policy away from Europe and towards Asia . They were concerned that this might lead to a major war with China , possibly involving nuclear weapons . In a visit to the United States in December 1950 , the British prime minister , Clement Attlee , had raised the fears of the British and other European governments that " General MacArthur was running the show . " Under Ridgway ' s command , the Eighth Army pressed north again in January . He inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese , recaptured Seoul in March 1951 , and pushed on to the 38th Parallel . With the improved military situation , Truman now saw the opportunity to offer a negotiated peace but , on 24 March , MacArthur called upon China to admit that it had been defeated , simultaneously challenging both the Chinese and his own superiors . Truman ' s proposed announcement was shelved . On 5 April , Representative Joseph William Martin , Jr . , the Republican leader in the House of Representatives , read aloud on the floor of the House a letter from MacArthur critical of Truman ' s Europe - first policy and limited - war strategy . The letter concluded with : Truman summoned Secretary of Defense George Marshall , Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Omar Bradley , Secretary of State Dean Acheson and Averell Harriman to discuss what to do about MacArthur . They concurred MacArthur should be relieved of his command , but made no recommendation to do so . Although they felt that it was correct " from a purely military point of view " they were aware that there were important political considerations as well . Truman and Acheson agreed that MacArthur was insubordinate , but the Joint Chiefs avoided any suggestion of this . Insubordination was a military offense , and MacArthur could have requested a public court martial similar to that of Billy Mitchell . The outcome of such a trial was uncertain , and it might well have found him not guilty and ordered his reinstatement . The Joint Chiefs agreed that there was " little evidence that General MacArthur had ever failed to carry out a direct order of the Joint Chiefs , or acted in opposition to an order . " " In point of fact , " Bradley insisted , " MacArthur had stretched but not legally violated any JCS directives . He had violated the President ' s 6 December directive [ not to make public statements on policy matters ] , relayed to him by the JCS , but this did not constitute violation of a JCS order . " Truman ordered MacArthur ' s relief by Ridgway , and the order went out on 10 April with Bradley ' s signature . The relief of the famous general by the unpopular politician for communicating with Congress led to a constitutional crisis , and a storm of public controversy . Polls showed that the majority of the public disapproved of the decision to relieve MacArthur . Truman ' s approval rating fell to 22 percent in February 1952 . , it remains the lowest Gallup Poll approval rating recorded by any serving president . As the increasingly unpopular war in Korea dragged on , Truman ' s administration was beset with a series of corruption scandals , and he eventually decided not to run for re - election . A Joint Senate Committee — chaired by Democrat Richard Russell , Jr . — investigated MacArthur ' s removal . It concluded that " the removal of General MacArthur was within the constitutional powers of the President but the circumstances were a shock to national pride . " Later life . MacArthur flew to Washington , D . C . , with his family . It was his and Jean ' s first visit to the continental United States since 1937 , when they had been married ; Arthur IV , now aged 13 , had never been to the U . S . MacArthur made his last official appearance in a farewell address to the U . S . Congress . This was interrupted by fifty ovations . MacArthur ended the address saying : MacArthur received public adulation , which aroused expectations that he would run for president , but he was not a candidate . Instead , he endorsed Senator Robert Taft , and was keynote speaker at the 1952 Republican National Convention . Taft lost the nomination to Eisenhower , who went on to win the 1952 election by a landslide . Once elected , Eisenhower consulted with MacArthur about ending the war in Korea . Douglas and Jean MacArthur spent their last years together in the penthouse of the Waldorf Towers , a part of the Waldorf - Astoria Hotel . He was elected Chairman of the Board of Remington Rand . In that year , he earned a salary of $ 68 , 000 , in addition to $ 20 , 000 pay and allowances as a General of the Army . The Waldorf became the setting for an annual birthday party on 26 January thrown by the general ' s former deputy chief engineer , Major General Leif J . Sverdrup . At the 1960 celebration for MacArthur ' s 80th birthday , many of his friends were startled by the general ' s obviously deteriorating health . The next day , he collapsed and was rushed into surgery at St . Luke ' s Hospital to control a severely swollen prostate . After his recovery , MacArthur methodically began to carry out the closing acts of his life . He visited the White House for a final reunion with Eisenhower . In 1961 , he made a " sentimental journey " to the Philippines , where he was decorated by President Carlos P . Garcia with the Philippine Legion of Honor . MacArthur also accepted a $ 900 , 000 advance from Henry Luce for the rights to his memoirs , and wrote the volume that would eventually be published as " Reminiscences " . Sections began to appear in serialized form in " Life magazine " in the months before his death . President John F . Kennedy solicited MacArthur ' s counsel in 1961 . The first of two meetings was held shortly after the Bay of Pigs Invasion . MacArthur was extremely critical of the military advice given to Kennedy , and 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 . Shortly before his death , he gave similar advice to President Lyndon B . Johnson . In 1962 , West Point honored the increasingly frail MacArthur with the Sylvanus Thayer Award for outstanding service to the nation , which had gone to Eisenhower the year before . MacArthur ' s speech to the cadets in accepting the award had as its theme " Duty , Honor , Country : " In 1963 , President Kennedy asked MacArthur to help mediate a dispute between the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Amateur Athletic Union over control of amateur sports in the country . The dispute threatened to derail the participation of the United States in the 1964 Summer Olympics . His presence helped to broker a deal , and participation in the games went on as planned . Douglas MacArthur died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on 5 April 1964 , of biliary cirrhosis . Kennedy had authorized a state funeral , and Johnson confirmed the directive , ordering that MacArthur be buried " with all the honor a grateful nation can bestow on a departed hero . " On 7 April , his body was taken on a funeral train to Union Station and transported by a funeral procession to the Capitol , where it lay in state . An estimated 150 , 000 people filed by the bier . The body was finally laid to rest in the rotunda of the Douglas MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk , Virginia . In 1960 , the mayor of Norfolk , Virginia had proposed using funds raised by public contribution to remodel the old Norfolk courthouse as a memorial to General MacArthur and as a repository for his papers , decorations , and mementos he had accepted . Restored and remodeled , the building contains nine museum galleries whose contents reflect the general ' s 50 years of military service . At the heart of the memorial is a rotunda . In its center lies a sunken circular crypt with two marble sarcophagi , one for MacArthur , the other for Jean , who continued to live in the Waldorf Towers until her own death in 2000 . Legacy . MacArthur is not remembered as a victorious general . In the Philippines in 1942 , he suffered a defeat that Gavin Long described as " the greatest in the history of American foreign wars " . Nor is he considered a reformer ; his reforms at West Point were soon discarded , although gradually restored over time . His broad concept of the role of the soldier as encompassing civil affairs , quelling riots and low - level conflict , was passed over by the majority who fought in Europe during World War II , and saw their role as fighting the Soviet Union . Unlike them , in his victories in New Guinea in 1944 , the Philippines in 1945 and Korea in 1950 , he fought outnumbered , and relied on maneuver and firepower for success . It was his relief that had the greatest impact , as it cast a long shadow over American civil - military relations for decades to come . When Lyndon Johnson met with General William Westmoreland in Honolulu in 1966 , he told him : " General , I have a lot riding on you . I hope you don ' t pull a MacArthur on me . " MacArthur ' s relief " left a lasting current of popular sentiment that in matters of war and peace , the military really knows best , " a philosophy which became known as " MacArthurism . " MacArthur remains a controversial and enigmatic figure . He has been portrayed as a reactionary figure , although he was in many respects ahead of his time . He championed a progressive approach to the reconstruction of Japanese society , arguing that all occupations ultimately ended badly for the occupier and the occupied . He was often out of step with his contemporaries , such as in 1941 when he contended that Nazi Germany could not defeat the Soviet Union , when he argued that North Korea and China were no mere Soviet puppets , and throughout his career in his insistence that the future lay in the Far East . This implicitly rejected contemporary notions of racial superiority . He always treated Filipino and Japanese leaders with respect as equals . At the same time , his Victorian sensibilities recoiled at leveling Manila with aerial bombing , an attitude the hardened World War II generation regarded as old fashioned . When asked about MacArthur , Blamey once said that " The best and the worst things you hear about him are both true . " Honors and awards . During his lifetime , MacArthur earned over 100 military decorations from the U . S . and other countries including the Medal of Honor , the French " Légion d ' honneur " and " Croix de guerre " , the Order of the Crown of Italy , the Order of Orange - Nassau from the Netherlands , Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath from Australia , and the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers , Grand Cordon from Japan . MacArthur was enormously popular with the American public . Streets , public works , and children were named after him . Even a dance step was named after him . The MacArthur Leadership Award at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston , Ontario is awarded to the graduating officer cadet who demonstrates outstanding leadership performance based on the credo of Duty - Honor - Country and potential for future military service . Several actors have portrayed MacArthur on screen . Dayton Lummis played him in the 1955 picture " The Court - Martial of Billy Mitchell " . Henry Fonda in the television movie " Collision Course : Truman vs . MacArthur " in 1976 , Gregory Peck in the 1977 film " MacArthur " , Laurence Olivier in " Inchon " in 1981 , and Daniel von Bargen in the 1995 HBO film " Truman " . In the 2013 film " Emperor " he is played by Tommy Lee Jones .