U.S. General Douglas MacArthur was born in Arkansas in 1880, the third son of Army Captain Arthur MacArthur and grandson of Judge Arthur McArthur. He was the namesake of General Douglas MacArthur, another highly decorated member of this military family. General Douglas Mac Arthur devoted to his to the service of his country.

In 1930, MacArthur received his promotion to general, a post which he held until 1935; MacArthur, general, is one of the five men ever granted the rank of five star general in American history. In 1935, General Douglas was sent to the Philippines by President Franklin D. Roosevelt with the orders to organize and train a military operation for the newly created Philippine Commonwealth. General Douglas MacArthur retired from military service in 1937 after almost thirty-five years of active service.

As war spread in Europe during 1941, President Roosevelt recalled General Douglas Mac Arthur to active service as commander of the just-formed U.S. Army Forces-Far East. As part of the same action, President Roosevelt ordered that the Philippine army join forces with the U.S. forces under the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Despite a massive buildup of forces and air power and a superb strategy, General MacArthur's troops were unable to match the ground, air and naval attacks by the Japanese, and became trapped on the Bataan Peninsula. President Roosevelt ordered General Douglas MacArthur to leave the Philippines and move to Australia. Upon his arrival in Australia, Gen. Douglas MacArthur made this statement:

The President of the United States ordered me to break through the Japanese lines and proceed

from Corregidor to Australia for the purpose, as I understand it, of organizing the American offensive

against Japan, a primary objective of which is the relief of the Philippines. I came through and I shall

return

For his brave defense of the Philippines, General MacArthur was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, almost eighty years after his father had been awarded the same medal in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Between 1942 and 1944, Gen. Douglas MacArthur led the Southwest Pacific Command through New Guinea and various other locations, finally landing in Leyte, central Philippines. In January, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur marched into Manila and Bataan, fulfilling MacArthur's "I will return" promise of 1942.

On September 2, 1945, Douglas MacArthur, the general, accepted the surrender of Japan. Following the war, MacArthur, as the "ruler" of Japan, oversaw the occupation of Japan. He is credited with massive changes in the political, social and economic landscapes that occurred during his service there. In 1949, General Douglas handed over control of the country to the Japanese government.

June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea beginning the Korean War. The United Nations authorized a UN force to assist South Korea and prevent a takeover by the communists. As part of the declaration, the UN authorized the U.S. to take assume command of such forces; the Joint Chiefs of Staff selected General Douglas MacArthur to become Commander-in-Chief of the U. N. Command, which included all the military forces of South Korea, as well.

When it became obvious that China was playing a huge role in the war by supporting North Korea, General MacArthur asked for permission to bomb China, which President Harry Truman denied. When General Douglas MacArthur made the president's decision public, President Truman removed MacArthur from his command on April 11, 1951. MacArthur, general and war hero, returned to the U.S. with his wife and son, where he remained until his death in 1964.