Macarthur Memorial Podcast

On April 11, 1951, General MacArthur was relieved of his command by President Truman, ending his 52 year military career. Both men had been increasingly at odds with each other since August 1945 - almost from the day Truman chose MacArthur to accept the Japanese surrender and oversee the occupation. It was during the Korean War however that their divergent views on U.S. foreign policy and Communist China brought them into open conflict. This month's podcast reviews the final events that led to MacArthur's relief.

In March 1942, General MacArthur, his wife Jean, his son Arthur, and select members of his staff quietly boarded PT 41 in the Philippines. They were embarking on a dangerous escape attempt. Against all odds, the escape was successful, and from the safety of Australia MacArthur would utter the famous promise: “I shall return.” For the next two and a half years however, those left behind on Bataan and Corregidor knew only captivity, horror, and death. This month’s podcast examines the escape and MacArthur’s thoughts on leaving.

On January 14, 1951, right in the middle of the Korean War, Thurgood Marshall arrived in Japan as a special representative of the NAACP. He had been sent to meet with General MacArthur and to conduct an investigation into irregularities in the courts martial of thirty nine black soldiers. This podcast examines MacArthur and integration during the Korean War through the lens of the issues that brought Thurgood Marshall to Japan and Korea.

Today, few people are aware of General Douglas MacArthur’s contributions to football. As a player, a devoted fan, and an advocate of the sport, MacArthur’s interest in football was both personal and professional. A competitor at heart, he just loved the game. As a leader, he recognized the practical benefit of football on leadership and citizenship. Summing up his feelings about football, MacArthur once explained: “In war and peace, I have found football men to be my greatest reliance.”

On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack against the United States of America at Pearl Harbor. While December 7th is a date etched in the minds of many Americans, few are aware that a similar attack on American forces took place in the Philippines on December 8, 1941. At the time, General MacArthur was commander of US forces in the Philippines. This month we are going to examine MacArthur’s response to the attacks – something that has bewildered scholars for decades.

Decades before Douglas MacArthur became a household name during World War II and the Korean War, his father Arthur MacArthur, Jr. achieved almost equal military fame during the Civil War. Although he was initially ridiculed by the men of his command at the beginning of his military career in 1862, by the time the Civil War ended he was a recognized war hero and a 20 year old Colonel, affectionately known as the “Boy Colonel.” Arthur MacArthur’s Civil War service would have a major impact on his son Douglas, who was driven throughout his own career to emulate if not surpass his father’s success.

On October 15, 1950, President Harry S. Truman and General Douglas MacArthur met on Wake Island. Five and a half years into Truman’s presidency, it was their first meeting. Given the extreme differences that ultimately emerged between both men, many look to the meeting at Wake Island for hints of the drama to come. This month’s podcast will address why the meeting took place and what actually happened there.

The amphibious invasion at Inchon in September of 1950 was General MacArthur’s greatest battlefield triumph. It completely surprised the North Korean forces and altered the momentum of the Korean War. Although the invasion was ultimately successful, in the beginning there was little support for it and many were convinced that Inchon would be a disaster. This month, we take a look at how MacArthur ultimately packaged and sold the idea of landing at Inchon to its critics.

On the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we take a look at MacArthur and the atomic bomb – how and when he found out about the bomb, what he knew about the potential targets, and how he reacted to its use on both cities. As with many things about MacArthur, his thoughts on the bomb were complex.

This month, we take a look at the Bonus March of 1932 and MacArthur’s actions and decision making during this controversial event. In popular culture, MacArthur has played the role of villain of the Bonus March – he did after all help to evict homeless and jobless World War I veterans from Washington, D.C. where they had been pressing Congress for benefits. But is there more to the story?