A giant of a man

[<RonaldS842@aol.com>]

Hi all-

   How many times have you heard General Douglas MacArtur called "a giant of 
a man". How many times have you seen him towering above subordinates.
   MacArthur (1880-1964) was a brilliant and controversial figure. During WWI 
he was Chief of Staff, a brigade leader and commander of the 42nd Rainbow 
Division of the Allied Expeditionary Force in France, where he distinguished 
himself and was wounded  He was a brilliant superintendent at West Point 
(1919-1922) where he broadened the curriculum, raised academic standards and 
reorganized the athletic program. He held two Philippine commands and two 
corps area commands and in 1928 headed the US Olympic Committee. He became a 
full General in 1930.
    He retired from the Army in 1937 and returned to active duty in 1941 and 
for his actions in the Philippines was awarded the Medal of Honor.
   As director of the Allied occupation of Japan he governed from 1945-51 
autocratically but progressively. He introduced land reform redistribution, 
disarmament and the inauguration of a liberal constitution. Those of us who 
were there know that the Japanese, and a lot of us, worshiped him as a God.
   When North Korean troops INVADED South Korea in June 1950, MacArthur was 
named supreme United Nations commander and although his troops were few in 
number and poorly trained he checked the enemy advance near Pusan. In 
September he conducted a masterfull amphibious landing at Inchon and rolled 
the shattered foe back toward the Manchurian border. He was charged with 
insubordination by President Harry S. Truman and relieved of his command 
April 11, 1951.
   Korea would have been an entirely different war with MacArthur and the 
world would have been an entirely diffent place.
   General MacArthur had the 'book" on the Chinese and was convinced that we 
could have subdued that country in a matter of days. Occupation had nothing 
to do with it and was not in his plans. He was interested in taking out the 
Chinese bases that we have talked about in Manchuria.
   But the rest of the story... General Douglas MacArthur... the giant of a 
man, was 5' 6" in his stocking feet. Closer to Napolean Bonaparte and George 
McClelland than to, say, Abraham Lincoln. But I, 6' 4" ,for one was proud to 
have served under him

Ron