Douglas MacArthur was born in Arkansas on 26 January 1880, the son of Army Captain Arthur MacArthur. Graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1903, over the next decade and a half he was assigned to Army posts in the U.S., the Philippines and Panama, served at the War Department and participated in the occupation of Vera Cruz, Mexico. During First World War combat in France MacArthur commanded the 42nd ("Rainbow") Division with the temporary rank of Brigadier General. Following the war he was Superintendent of the Military Academy and had two tours of duty in the Philippines.
Appointed Chief of Staff of the Army in 1930, with the rank of General, MacArthur remained in that post until 1935. He then went back to the Philipines, charged with creating an army for that soon-to-be independent island nation. General MacArthur retired from the U.S. Army in 1937 and was appointed to the rank of Field Marshall in the Philippine Army. As the threat of war with Japan grew, in July 1941 he was recalled to U.S. service as commander of U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, initially in the rank of Lieutenant General. After Japan began hostilities in December 1941 he was responsible for U.S. and Philippines forces in their unsuccessful fight against the conquering enemy, later receiving the Medal of Honor in recognition of his efforts.
At the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, General MacArthur was evacuated from the Philippines in March 1942. Given command of Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific area, he directed the successful defense of southeastern New Guinea, and beginning later in 1942, the counteroffensive that ultimately swept the Japanese from the region, leading to his return to the Philippines with the October 1944 invasion of Leyte. Promoted to General of the Army shortly before the end of 1944, MacArthur subsequently oversaw the liberation of the rest of the Philippines. After Japan capitulated in August 1945 General MacArthur presided over the formal surrender ceremonies and, during the next five years, was responsible for demilitarizing the defeated nation and reforming its political and economic life.
Beginning late June 1950, when North Korea began the Korean War, MacArthur was in charge of the United Nations' fight to repel and defeat the aggressor. This successful campaign was followed, in November 1950, by a vigorous Chinese intervention, which was also largely contained by the spring of 1951. However, by that time General MacArthur's outspoken views had made him unacceptable to the Truman Administration. In April 1951 he was relieved of his commands and recalled to the United States, where he received a hero's welcome. After an abortive run for the Presidency in 1951-1952, he spent the rest of his life as an elder statesman for conservative and nationalist causes. After a life of great achievement, and equally great controversy, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur died on 5 April 1964.
This page features selected views concerning General Douglas MacArthur taken through September 1944, and provides links to images of later date.
For other pictures related to Douglas MacArthur, see:
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Photo #: NH 62439 General Douglas MacArthur, U.S. Army Portrait photograph, taken circa 1943 or 1944. The original print is inscribed: "To Admiral Nimitz. With regard and admiration. Douglas MacArthur". Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 84KB; 590 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: SC 128885 Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur, U.S. Army, Commanding General Far Eastern Army (front) Accepting command of Philippine Army troops in induction ceremonies of the Philippine Army Air Corps, at Zabalan Field, Camp Murphy, Rizal, Philippine Islands, 15 August 1941. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 109KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: SC 265357 General Douglas MacArthur (center) With his Chief of Staff, Major General Richard Sutherland, in the Headquarters tunnel on Corregidor, Philippines, 1 March 1942. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 103KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: SC 183951 Lieutenant General Walter Krueger Commanding General, U.S. Sixth Army (left) General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Allied Forces, Southwest Pacific Area, and General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (right) At a field headquarters in the Southwest Pacific Area, late 1943. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 72KB; 740 x 580 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: SC 188839 Admiralties Invasion, 1944 Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid (left center) with General Douglas MacArthur (center) on the flag bridge of USS Phoenix (CL-46) during the pre-invasion bombardment of Los Negros Island, at the east end of Manus Island, 28 February 1944. At right is Colonel Lloyd Labrbas, acting aide to General MacArthur. Note 40mm quad gun mount in the background. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 96KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: SC 187355 General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Allied Forces, Southwest Pacific Area (center) Views the results of the heavy naval bombardment which prepared the way for the invasion of Los Negros Island, Admiralty Group, 29 February 1944. With Gen. MacArthur is his acting aide, Colonel Lloyd Lehrabas. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 102KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: SC 190409 General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Allied Forces, Southwest Pacific Area, and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief, Pacific Discuss Pacific war strategy at General MacArthur's headquarters, Brisbane, Australia, 27 March 1944. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 104KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-241479 General Douglas MacArthur, U.S. Army (left); President Franklin D. Roosevelt (center); and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN (right) On board USS Baltimore (CA-68), at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 26 July 1944. Admiral William D. Leahy, the President's Chief of Staff, is standing in the left background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 106KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-257967 Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey, Commander Amphibious Force, Seventh Fleet (left), and General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Allied Forces, Southwest Pacific Area (center) Inspect the invasion beaches at Morotai Island, Netherlands East Indies, on the first day of landings there, 15 September 1944. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 97KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Medal of Honor citation of General Douglas MacArthur (as printed in the 1964 congressional publication "Medal of Honor Recipients--1863-1963", page 175): |
For other pictures related to Douglas MacArthur, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 16 November 2003