Apropos of the Arthur Herman biography of MacArthur we've been reading, not to mention the work we've done on Mac with the Rainbows in the Great War, here are some thoughts on man:
-His father, General Arthur MacArthur, won the Philippine Insurgency, we knew this. We did not now how famous and revered he was afterwards.
-MacArthur is often thought of as a Mama's Boy, but he also worshiped his father who won a medal of honor for commanding the 24th Wisconsin at Missionary Ridge.
-At West Point MacArthur was an academic standout, perhaps the greatest student the academy ever had, and a sports enthusiast. He loved baseball and football.
-After the war MacArthur was the commandant at West Point, which the Great War nearly wrecked. He was fought at every step by the board and only partially successful. He detested hazing and tried to get rid of it.
-He chaired the 1928 US Olympic Committee, being intimately involved in training, and brought home 24 Gold Medals.
-The Bonus Army fiasco was not really his fault. The controversy at the time centered around removing the marcher's main camp on the Anacostia Flats. Hoover ordered the army not to cross the river, but MacArthur never received the order. The only persons killed during the imbroglio died at the hands of the DC police.
-MacArthur more or less ran the CCC when he was army chief of staff. It gave the army something to do and he felt the quasi military training would benefit the working age men in the CCC.
-MacArthur and President Roosevelt knew each other from Roosevelt's days in the Navy Department during the Great War and got on quite well.
-MacArthur was almost certainly a virgin when he married a wealthy socialite at the age of 41. When that marriage broke up he conducted a fiery affair with a Filipino actress, aged 18. His love letters to her range from erotic to downright pornographic.
-As Chief of Staff, MacArthur lay the very early groundwork for the army in WWII, fighting to retain a trained officer corps and selecting the M-1 Rifle to replace the Springfield 1903.
-MacArthur's s 2nd wife Jean lived till 2001. Their son is still alive and lives in NYC under an assumed name. He never served in the military.
William Stroock (as in Stroock's Books)
Showing posts with label Douglas MacArthur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Douglas MacArthur. Show all posts
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Tuesday Tally
Douglas MacArthur Edition
General MacArthur's top five deeds and acts:
1-Going on the Offensive: Rather than sit back and defend, MacArthur decided to fight for Australia in New Guinea.
2-The New Guinea Campaign: After the bloodbath at Buna, which I should note gets mention in A March Through Hell, MacArthur realized that the best way to fight the Japs was to bypass their strongholds. In A March Through Hell, Sgt. Sam Sparta has a lot of choice words for 'that son-of-bitch, MacArthur.
3- Liberating the Philippines: To hell with his ego. MacArthur was absolutely right. By going to the Philippines America showed Asians that we would fight and stick. He liberated thousands of POWs and millions of people who had been under America's sovereignty.
4- The Reconstruction of Japan: MacArthur rebuilt the country without alienating the populace and turned it into an American ally. He handled the situation with the emperor perfectly.
5-Inchon: Rather obvious, but still, he executed an amphibious landing far to the north of the front and virtually destroyed the North Korean Army.
*MacArthur was no HQ general. He visited the front often. Heck, in the Meuse-Argonne he went forward to find out what was wrong with his own 42 Division's advance only to be 'captured' by a patrol from the 1st Division, which mistook MacArthur for a Kraut.
General MacArthur's top five deeds and acts:
1-Going on the Offensive: Rather than sit back and defend, MacArthur decided to fight for Australia in New Guinea.
2-The New Guinea Campaign: After the bloodbath at Buna, which I should note gets mention in A March Through Hell, MacArthur realized that the best way to fight the Japs was to bypass their strongholds. In A March Through Hell, Sgt. Sam Sparta has a lot of choice words for 'that son-of-bitch, MacArthur.
3- Liberating the Philippines: To hell with his ego. MacArthur was absolutely right. By going to the Philippines America showed Asians that we would fight and stick. He liberated thousands of POWs and millions of people who had been under America's sovereignty.
4- The Reconstruction of Japan: MacArthur rebuilt the country without alienating the populace and turned it into an American ally. He handled the situation with the emperor perfectly.
5-Inchon: Rather obvious, but still, he executed an amphibious landing far to the north of the front and virtually destroyed the North Korean Army.
*MacArthur was no HQ general. He visited the front often. Heck, in the Meuse-Argonne he went forward to find out what was wrong with his own 42 Division's advance only to be 'captured' by a patrol from the 1st Division, which mistook MacArthur for a Kraut.
MacArthur!
General Douglas MacArthur is a subject we've written about before. We are extremely critical of his actions in the Philippines. His conduct of the rest of the war is exemplary, though.
On a whim yesterday I watched MacArthur, the 1977 film staring Gregory Peck. I'd not seen it in something like 30 years.
This was Universal's answer to Patton, a movie we once loved (in 1992, when we played Captain Bracket in South Pacific, we modeled our monologue on Patton's),but have trashed in this space. As a drama and historical document MacArthur is a better film.
MacArthur is no hagiography. This movie pulls no punches and is at times very critical of MacArthur, showing his ego and his obsession with the press. His speech upon landing at Leyte is melodramatic in the extreme and we found it hard to watch.
That said MacArthur's words and actions during the surrender ceremony were perfect and well portrayed in this film. The general is also given credit for bypassing Japanese strongholds and avoiding casualties.
A note on the specs. They filmed MacArthur in technicolor using Panavision camera lenses. The effect is sooooo 1970's. It almost looks like an extended episode of Black Sheep Squadron. I found the intro scene on Corregidor utterly convincing. This too is true also when MacArthur tours a liberated prison camp. In another scene MacArthur reunites with General Wainwright and it is heartbreaking.
The film also does an excellent job showing MacArthur's reconstruction of Japan, a supreme act of statesmanship for which he does not get enough credit.
While one can't quite forget that one is watching Gregory Peck, he does give a fine performance of the man, capturing perfectly his ego and most importantly his mysticism. Peck does bear a striking resemblance to MacArthur.
If one is curious about the man and his campaigns, MacArthur is a good place to start.
On a whim yesterday I watched MacArthur, the 1977 film staring Gregory Peck. I'd not seen it in something like 30 years.
This was Universal's answer to Patton, a movie we once loved (in 1992, when we played Captain Bracket in South Pacific, we modeled our monologue on Patton's),but have trashed in this space. As a drama and historical document MacArthur is a better film.
MacArthur is no hagiography. This movie pulls no punches and is at times very critical of MacArthur, showing his ego and his obsession with the press. His speech upon landing at Leyte is melodramatic in the extreme and we found it hard to watch.
That said MacArthur's words and actions during the surrender ceremony were perfect and well portrayed in this film. The general is also given credit for bypassing Japanese strongholds and avoiding casualties.
A note on the specs. They filmed MacArthur in technicolor using Panavision camera lenses. The effect is sooooo 1970's. It almost looks like an extended episode of Black Sheep Squadron. I found the intro scene on Corregidor utterly convincing. This too is true also when MacArthur tours a liberated prison camp. In another scene MacArthur reunites with General Wainwright and it is heartbreaking.
The film also does an excellent job showing MacArthur's reconstruction of Japan, a supreme act of statesmanship for which he does not get enough credit.
While one can't quite forget that one is watching Gregory Peck, he does give a fine performance of the man, capturing perfectly his ego and most importantly his mysticism. Peck does bear a striking resemblance to MacArthur.
If one is curious about the man and his campaigns, MacArthur is a good place to start.
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