Charles A . Willoughby Charles Andrew Willoughby ( March 8 , 1892 – October 25 , 1972 ) was a Major General in the U . S . Army , serving as General Douglas MacArthur ' s Chief of Intelligence during most of World War II and the Korean War . Early life and education . Charles Andrew Willoughby is often quoted as being born March 8 , 1892 in Heidelberg , Germany as Adolph Karl Weidenbach , the son of Baron T . Scheppe - Weidenbach and wife Emma Willoughby Scheppe - Weidenbach of Baltimore , Maryland . However , this was disputed by Frank Kluckhohn of The Reporter ( New York Journal ) in 1952 and there remains uncertainty as to both his birth name and lineage . It is certain however that Willoughby immigrated from Germany to the US in 1910 , and in October 1910 , he enlisted in the US Army where he served with the 5th US Infantry initially as a Private , later rising to the rank of Sergeant . He was honorably discharged in 1913 . He then entered Gettysburg College as a Senior in 1913 based on his three - years of attendance at the University of Heidelberg and Sorbonne in Paris before he came to the US in 1910 . He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1914 . It is also disputed whether or not he actually did attend either European university . After graduation from Gettysburg College , Willoughby was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Officers ' Volunteer Corps of the US Army in 1914 . He spent three years teaching German and military studies ( while serving as a reserve US Army officer ) at various prep - schools in the United States . In August 1916 , he vacated his position in the reserves to accept a Regular Army Commission as a second lieutenant under the name Adolph Charles Weidenbach , he rose to Captain and served in World War I in the American Expeditionary Force . He changed his name at some point between 1910 - 1930 to Charles Andrew Willoughby ( a loose translation of Weidenbach , the German for " willow brook " ) . During his early life , he became fluent in English , Spanish , German , French and later , Japanese . World War I . Using the name Adolf Charles Weidenbach , Willoughby was commissioned as both a Second Lieutenant in the Regular Army on 27 November 1916 , and promoted to First Lieutenant on the same day . He joined the American Expeditionary Force ( AEF ) in June 1917 and was promoted to Captain ( permanent ) on 30 June 1917 , serving initially with the 16th Infantry , First Division . He later transferred to the US Army Air Corps , where he was trained as a pilot by the French military . He was allegedly intimately involved with Elyse Raimonde DeRoche , a French woman subsequently shot as an alleged spy by the French Army . At some point in 1917 he was recalled to Washington in connection with an Army Intelligence investigation of pro - German sentiments . He was ultimately cleared . During this period he continued to use the name Adolf C . Weidenbach . Post World War I . After the war , Captain Willoughby / Weidenbach joined the 24th Infantry in New Mexico in 1919 . He spent two years at his post before being posted to San Juan , Puerto Rico . He became involved in military intelligence while in San Juan . He had served as a Military Attaché in Ecuador . He received the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus from Benito Mussolini ' s government . In the 1920s Willoughby was an admirer of Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco calling him the " second greatest general in the world " . He met him in Morocco and then delivered a speech to him at a lunch in Madrid . He was toasted by the Secretary General of the Falangist Party . In 1929 , Willoughby was assigned to Command & General Staff College as a student and in 1931 as an instructor . In 1936 , Major Willoughby was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel . World War II & occupation of Japan . Willoughby was the Chief of Intelligence on General MacArthur ' s staff during World War II , the occupation of Japan , and the Korean war . Willoughby became a major general on 12 April 1945 . Due to his initiative at the end of the Pacific Campaign Shirō Ishii was dispensed with charges of war crime s in exchange for information gathered by Unit 731 , as well as monetary reward for Ishii . Willoughby ' s contribution ( s ) during the Korean War is subject to some significant concern , with several sources insisting that he intentionally distorted , if not out and out suppressed , intelligence estimates showing that the Chinese were massing at the Yalu River . Willoughby allegedly did so in order to better reinforce MacArthur ' s ( mistaken ) assertion that the Chinese would never cross the Yalu , and allow MacArthur a freer hand in his drive to the Yalu . MacArthur affectionately referred to him as " my pet fascist . " During WW II MacArthur said , " There have been three great intelligence officers in history . Mine is not one of them . " Writer David Halberstam in his book " The Coldest Winter " paints Willoughby as largely appointed head of intelligence for Korea due to his sycophancy toward Douglas MacArthur . He points out that many veterans of the war , both enlisted and otherwise , felt that the lack of correct intelligence regarding the Chinese presence resulted in poor preparation by field commanders . This also contributed to MacArthur ' s desire push his upper level commanders to divide their commands making mutual support of units and fortifications inadequate for the large numbers of Chinese they were about to face . Other activities . He was involved in the creation of Field Operations Intelligence , a top secret Army Intelligence unit that later came under joint military and Central Intelligence Agency control . Willoughby retired from the army in 1951 . Retirement , death and legacy . After his retirement , Willoughby travelled to Spain to act as an advisor and lobbyist for dictator Francisco Franco . In his later years , Willoughby published the " Foreign Intelligence Digest " newspaper , and worked closely with Texas oil tycoon H . L . Hunt on the International Committee for the Defence of Christian Culture , an extreme right " umbrella " organization that had connections to anti - Communist groups . Another one of Willoughby ' s allies was Rev . Billy James Hargis . In 1968 , Willoughby moved with his wife to Naples , Florida . Charles A . Willoughby died on 25 October 1972 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery . He is the member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame . Dates of rank . Medals and decorations . Willoughby received several Medals and decorations , including : Published works . " Guerrilla Resistance Movement in the Philippines , 1941 - 1945 " New York : Vantage , 1972 " MacArthur , 1941 - 1951 " New York : McGraw - Hill , 1954 " Shanghai Conspiracy : The Sorge Spy Ring " Boston : Western , 1952 " Intelligence Series : G - 2 USAFFE , SWPA , AFPAC , FEC , SCAP " Washington , DC : Government Printing Office , 1948 " Campaigns of MacArthur in the Pacific " " Japanese Operations Against MacArthur " " MacArthur in Japan : Military Phases " Written by Willoughby and a team of American and Japanese military commanders after World War II . Intended to be the basis for General MacArthur ' s memoirs , the final version disappeared after President Truman dismissed MacArthur . No copy has turned up in MacArthur ' s or Willoughby ' s papers . " Argosy " Jan 1966 " America Needs a Foreign Legion ! " ( with Edward Hymoff ) , References and notes . Notes . General Willoughby is frequently mentioned in author W . E . B . Griffin ' s series " The Corps " , usually in an unflattering light .