Gaetano Faillace Gaetano Faillace ( September 17 , 1904 – December 31 , 1991 ) was General Douglas MacArthur ' s personal photographer during World War II and the American occupation of Japan after World War II . During his time in the United States Army , he took many famous images including MacArthur wading ashore during the landing on Leyte , MacArthur with Emperor Hirohito , and the cover photo for MacArthur ' s book " Reminiscences of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur " . Early life . Gaetano Faillace was born September 17 , 1904 , in New York City to Marcello and Francesca ( Sciacca ) Faillace . MacArthur ' s photographer . Rank . When photographers were assigned to highly ranked individuals like General MacArthur , they had to be officers , as they would be present alongside many other highly ranked men . Faillace was a sergeant before being promoted to captain when assigned to the general . After he left MacArthur ' s service he went back to the rank of sergeant but his war commission had progressed during the war and when he retired he jumped ranks to major . Landing at 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 craft grounded in knee - deep water , MacArthur requested a landing craft , but the beachmaster was too busy to grant his request and MacArthur was compelled to wade ashore . It has often been claimed that the picture is posed but William J . Dunn who was present during the landing ( the only one in the picture not wearing a helmet or hat ) says that rumor " is one of the most ludicrous misconceptions to come out of that war . " After landing on the beach , MacArthur gave his prepared speech , saying : MacArthur and the Emperor . After the surrender of Japan on September 2 , 1945 , America occupied the home islands of Japan . As MacArthur took residence in Tokyo , he decided on a strategy of continuity for the Japanese people . Even though many Japanese and most of America wanted the Emperor put on trial ( 70 % of Americans wanted him hanged ) MacArthur thought that keeping the Emperor in his position would offer a symbol for the Japanese people to rally around . If the Japanese people could rally around Hirohito and he could be controlled by the Americans , then fewer troops would be required to keep the peace in Japan . MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito ' s staff set up a meeting for 10 am on September 27 , 1945 , to discuss how to save the Emperor ' s throne . When the Emperor and his entourage arrived , American officers offered to take his hat . This seemed to alarm Hirohito , as he was the God Emperor and his normal Japanese staff never took things from him . As the Emperor handed over his hat , MacArthur burst into the room , saying " You are very , very welcome , sir ! " For the officers present , it was the first time they heard the general call anyone " sir " . MacArthur then moved to shake his hand , and Hirohito bowed so deeply that because of the Emperor ' s small stature the handshake took place above his head . During the meeting Gaetano Faillace took three photos of the two men . One was ruined from MacArthur closing his eyes and another from the Emperor ' s mouth gaping open , and the final one was approved and published in Japanese and international papers . When the picture was published in Japanese papers , the Japanese censors were horrified at the image , which showed a towering and informal MacArthur and a small and very formal Emperor Hirohito . To the Japanese , the God Emperor should always be the most prominent person in a picture , and to have an American standing in his company with an air of power went against all their training . The Americans , however , who had forced the Japanese censors to publish the photo , were very pleased as the picture seemed to encapsulate the change that their occupation of Japan represented . Retirement and death . In 1983 Faillace released a Japanese book with photographs he took from the occupation . On December 31 , 1991 he died from complications of cancer in Fayetteville , North Carolina . At the time of his death he had family throughout America including a brother , Joseph Faillace , in Seattle , sisters Grace Mauro of Miami , Florida and Angela Buscemi of Fort Lauderdale , Florida . His children , including his daughters Dr . Deon Faillace , Denise Danaher , and Donna Faillace and his son , Douglas Faillace , lived in Detroit . He also had two grandchildren .