Gen of the Army, U.S. Army — World War II
Douglas MacArthur was born on January 26, 1880, at Little Rock Barracks, Arkansas, the son of Arthur MacArthur Jr., who had won the Medal of Honor as a young Union officer at Missionary Ridge during the Civil War. Raised on frontier Army posts in the American West, Douglas graduated first in his class from West Point in 1903. He served with distinction in World War I, rising to brigadier general, and later served as Superintendent of West Point and, from 1930 to 1935, as Chief of Staff of the Army. After retiring in 1937, he remained in Manila as military advisor and field marshal of the Philippine Commonwealth.
Recalled to active duty in July 1941 to command U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, MacArthur faced the Japanese invasion of the Philippines that December. His outnumbered American and Filipino troops fought a stubborn delaying campaign down the Bataan Peninsula and onto the island fortress of Corregidor. Ordered out by President Roosevelt, he escaped by PT boat and aircraft to Australia in March 1942, vowing, “I shall return.”
MacArthur received the Medal of Honor for his leadership of that defense — for, in the words of his citation, “conspicuous leadership in preparing the Philippine Islands to resist conquest” and for the “heroic conduct of defensive and offensive operations on the Bataan Peninsula,” exposing himself to heavy fire and aerial bombardment as he inspired his troops. He and his father became the first father-and-son pair ever to hold the Medal of Honor. The medal was presented to him in Melbourne, Australia, on June 30, 1942.
As Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area, MacArthur directed the long advance through New Guinea and, in October 1944, kept his promise by leading the campaign that liberated the Philippines. Promoted to General of the Army that December, he accepted Japan’s surrender aboard USS Missouri on September 2, 1945, and then directed the Allied occupation and democratization of Japan. He led United Nations forces in the Korean War until President Harry S. Truman relieved him in April 1951. MacArthur died on April 5, 1964, in Washington, D.C., and rests at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia — one of only five officers ever to hold the five-star rank of General of the Army.
Sources: Wikipedia · Congressional Medal of Honor Society