Douglas MacArthur was born on January 26, 1880. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. His father, Arthur MacArthur Jr., was a Lieutenant General and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. When his father was moved to San Antonio, Texas, Douglas attended West Texas Military Academy (T.M.I.). He was an excellent student here. After T.M.I. he went to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was an excellent student and came in first in his class. He was given the role of second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

After his studies at West Point, Douglas MacArthur served as an aide-de-camp to his father during the Russo-Japanese War. After this he did the same to Theodore Roosevelt. During the Vera Cruz expedition he showed braveness is many ways. He was nominated for the Medal of Honor but was denied. Right before World War 1, MacArthur was pushed up two ranks to a full colonel.

At the start of WW1, Douglas MacArthur was sent to France. He was the chief of staff of 42nd Division. Later on he was promoted to Brigadier General. Towards the end of the war he was promoted to Brigade General. During this war, along with the promotions, he was given many awards. These were two Distinguished Service Crosses, seven Silver Stars, one Distinguished Service Medal and two Purple Hearts.

After the war, Douglas MacArthur had some problems. He returned to the US Military Academy. There he became the commanding officer of the school and saw much was wrong. He modernized the curriculum and changed the tactics taught there. After leaving the school in October of 1922 he got married to his wife, Louis Cornwell Brooks. After he got married he was sent to the Philippines for two rounds of duty. After finishing his rounds he was appointed Chief of Staff of the US army. He kept this position for 5 years. Two years after he came back Douglas divorced his wife. In 1932 Douglas aroused some controversy while make a speech to a mass of veteran soldier. It was a speech to demand early pay for their bonus army work.

The Second World War started off badly for Douglas MacArthur as he was stationed in the Philippines. He got word, after Pearl Harbor, of a possible Japanese attack. MacArthur did nothing to prepare. When they attacked he took no defensive or offensive action. His fortunes changed after this instance. He and his army won many critical battles including one in the Philippines, forcing Japan to surrender the Filipino land.

Douglas MacArthur also fought in the Korean War. He was pronounced commander of United Nations forces. During the war he took his army up to the Chinese-Korean border. Here he had an intervention with the Chinese Army. After this mishap he requested President Truman to extend to war into China. When President had enough in April of 1951 MacArthur was relieved of his duties. This ended his military career.

Douglas MacArthur was a amazingly talented soldier. He received awards like the World War 1 and 2 Victory Medal. Also he received Medals of Honor and Purple Hearts. He also received many international awards. On April 5th, 1964 this military idol was laid to rest.

Bibliography

Ø Douglas MacArthur – Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_MacArthur

Ø Service summary of Douglas MacArthur– Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Service_summary_of_Douglas_MacArthur

Ø Douglas MacArthur Biography | Encyclopedia of World Biography Biography

www.bookrags.com/biography/douglas-macarthur/

Ø Douglas MacArthur

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/douglas_macarthur.htm