Generals of the Army
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George Marshall died at Walter Reed Army Hospital on October 16, 1959, and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery. He was two months short of his seventy-ninth birthday. His life of public service spanned forty-nine of those years, during forty-three of which he wore the uniform of the United States Army. A model officer, dedicated professional, and true soldier-statesman, George C. Marshall left an indelible mark on the Army, the nation, and the world.
Notes
1. Larry I. Bland, ed., George C. Marshall: Interviews and Reminiscences for Forrest C. Pogue, Transcripts and Notes, 1956–57 (Lexington, Va.: George C. Marshall Research Foundation, 1986), 68.
2. Ibid., 25.
3. Ibid., 21.
4. Forrest C. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Education of a General, 1880–1939 (New York: Viking Press, 1963), 54.
5. Ibid., 66.
6. Ibid., 76–77.
7. Bland, George C. Marshall, 123.
8. Ibid., 131, 136.
9. Ibid., 129.
10. Ibid., 138.
11. Ibid., 131, 138.
12. Ibid., 135.
13. Ibid., 130, 138.
14. Ibid., 134.
15. Annual Report of the Commandant, U.S. Infantry and Cavalry School, U.S. Signal School, and Army Staff College, for the School Year Ending Aug. 31, 1907 (Fort Leavenworth, Kans.: Staff College Press, 1907). See also the Annual Reports for 1908, 1909, 1910, all in the archives of the Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, Kans.
16. Bland, George C. Marshall, 137.
17. Thomas M. Coffey, Hap: The Story of the U.S. Air Force and the Man Who Built It, General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold (New York: Viking Press, 1982), 80.
18. George C. Marshall, The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, vol. 1, “The Soldierly Spirit,” December 1880–June 1939, ed. Larry I. Bland and Sharon R. Ritenour (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981), 103n; emphasis in original.
19. Ibid., 150–51.
20. Bland, George C. Marshall, 175–76.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid., 228.
23. Ibid., 220.
24. Ibid., 226.
25. Ibid., 246.
26. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 1:241.
27. Ibid., 335.
28. Ibid., 335, 338.
29. Bland, George C. Marshall, 508.
30. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 1:320.
31. Ibid., 409–13.
32. Bland, George C. Marshall, 508.
33. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 1:320.
34. Ibid.
35. Mark A. Stoler, George C. Marshall: Soldier-Statesman of the American Century (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1989), 56.
36. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 1:392.
37. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Education, 227.
38. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 1:659.
39. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Education, 299.
40. Stoler, George C. Marshall: Soldier-Statesman, 63.
41. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 1:650–51.
42. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Education, 327.
43. Ibid., 328.
44. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 1:641–42.
45. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Education, 330.
46. George C. Marshall, The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, vol. 2, “We Cannot Delay,” July 1, 1939–December 6, 1941, ed. Larry I. Bland, Sharon R. Ritenour, and Clarence E. Wunderlin Jr. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986), 452n.
47. Ibid., 3.
48. Ibid., 195.
49. Bland, George C. Marshall, 183.
50. Eric Larrabee, Commander in Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants, and Their War (New York: Harper and Row, 1987), 62.
51. Bland, George C. Marshall, 271.
52. Ibid., 302.
53. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 2:133.
54. Stoler, George C. Marshall: Soldier-Statesman, 76.
55. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 2:231.
56. Mark S. Watson, Chief of Staff: Prewar Plans and Preparations (1950; repr., Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1985), 217.
57. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 2:274.
58. Bland, George C. Marshall, 279.
59. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 2:311.
60. Bland, George C. Marshall, 282.
61. Ibid., 477.
62. Ibid., 266.
63. Ibid., 283–84, 287, 400–401.
64. Ibid., 245.
65. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 2:30–31.
66. Bland, George C. Marshall, 237–38.
67. Ibid.
68. Ibid., 262.
69. Forrest C. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Ordeal and Hope, 1939–1942 (New York: Viking Press, 1965), 152–54.
70. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 2:606–10.
71. Christopher R. Gabel, The U.S. Army GHQ Maneuvers of 1941 (Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, 1992), 187.
72. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 2:487.
73. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Ordeal and Hope, 204–18.
74. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 2:687–88n.
75. George C. Marshall, The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, vol. 3, “The Right Man for the Job,” December 7, 1941–May 31, 1943, ed. Larry I. Bland and Sharon Ritenour Stevens (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 128.
76. Bland, George C. Marshall, 504.
77. Robert R. Palmer, Bell I. Wiley, and William R. Keast, The Procurement and Training of Ground Combat Troops (Washington, D.C.: Historical Division, United States Army, 1948), 37.
78. Bland, George C. Marshall, 422–23.
79. Ibid., 463–64.
80. Ibid., 465.
81. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 3:99.
82. Ibid., 152–53.
83. Christopher R. Gabel and Matthew C. Gabel, “A Matter of Age: Division Command in the U.S. Army of World War II,” Global War Studies 8.1 (2011): 57–73.
84. Bland, George C. Marshall, 498.
85. Ibid., 441–43.
86. Ibid., 327–28.
87. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 3:249.
88. Ibid., 2:517.
89. Bland, George C. Marshall, 572.
90. Ibid., 379–80.
91. Larrabee, Commander in Chief, 138–39.
92. Bland, George C. Marshall, 586.
93. Ibid., 578.
94. Ibid., 549.
95. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 3:553–54.
96. Bland, George C. Marshall, 339.
97. Ibid., 573.
98. Ibid., 221.
99. Ibid., 381.
100. Ibid., 388–89.
101. Ibid., 580.
102. Stoler, George C. Marshall: Soldier-Statesman, 108.
103. Bland, George C. Marshall, 303.
104. Marshall, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 3:257–58.
105. Bland, George C. Marshall, 446.
106. Ibid., 494.
107. Stoler, George C. Marshall: Soldier-Statesman, 130.
108. Forrest C. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Statesman, 1945–1959 (New York: Viking Penguin, 1987), 1.
109. Bland, George C. Marshall, 520–21.
References
Bland, Larry I., ed. George C. Marshall: Interviews and Reminiscences for Forrest C. Pogue, Transcripts and Notes, 1956–57. Lexington, Va.: George C. Marshall Research Foundation, 1986.
Cray, Ed. General of the Army George C. Marshall: Soldier and Statesman. New York: W. W. Norton, 1990.
Larrabee, Eric. Commander in Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants, and Their War. New York: Harper and Row, 1987.
Marshall, George C. The Papers of George Catlett Marshall. 5 vols. Edited by Larry I. Bland, Sharon Ritenour Stevens, and Clarence E. Wun
derlin Jr. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981–2003.
Palmer, Robert R., Bell I. Wiley, and William R. Keast. The Procurement and Training of Ground Combat Troops. Washington, D.C.: Historical Division, United States Army, 1948.
Pogue, Forrest C. George C. Marshall: Education of a General, 1880–1939. New York: Viking Press, 1963.
———. George C. Marshall: Ordeal and Hope, 1939–1942. New York: Viking Press, 1965.
———. George C. Marshall: Organizer of Victory, 1943–1945. New York: Viking Press, 1973.
———. George C. Marshall: Statesman, 1945–1959. New York: Viking Penguin, 1987.
Stoler, Mark A. George C. Marshall: Soldier-Statesman of the American Century. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1989.
Watson, Mark S. Chief of Staff: Prewar Plans and Preparations. 1950. Reprint, Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1985.
3
Douglas MacArthur
Tony R. Mullis
Douglas MacArthur was undoubtedly the most polarizing of America’s five-star generals. General George C. Kenney, MacArthur’s World War II air commander, remarked: “Very few people really know Douglas MacArthur. Those who do, or think they do, either admire him or dislike him. They are never neutral on the subject.” General George E. Stratemeyer was an admirer. He described MacArthur as “the greatest leader, the greatest commander, the greatest hero in American history.” General Robert L. Eichelberger, MacArthur’s Eighth Army commander, was less flattering. “We have difficulty in following the satellites of MacArthur,” Eichelberger concluded, “for like those of Jupiter, we cannot see the moons on account of the brilliance of the planet…. Even the gods were alleged to have their weaknesses.”1 Regardless of how MacArthur’s subordinates, peers, and superiors saw him, his significant accomplishments over a fifty-two-year military career justify his presence in the pantheon of outstanding American military leaders and strategists.
Few could equal Douglas MacArthur’s contributions to American military history. He served in key leadership positions during both world wars and the Korean War. His peacetime assignments were equally significant. As a junior officer, he was an aide to his father, General Arthur MacArthur, and to President Theodore Roosevelt. Following World War I, he returned to West Point as its superintendent. He also held key commands in the Philippines and headed the IV Corps area in Atlanta, the III Corps area in Baltimore, and the IX Corps area in San Francisco during the 1920s. He became the Army’s chief of staff in 1930. MacArthur returned to the Philippines in 1935 and retired in 1937. He became the military adviser to the Philippines and held the rank of field marshal in the Filipino military. He was recalled to active duty in 1941 as commander of the U.S. Army Forces Far East. After Japan’s surrender, he held the position of supreme commander of the Allied Powers and oversaw Japan’s occupation. When the Korean War began in 1950, MacArthur became the commander in chief of the United Nations Command. His brilliant amphibious envelopment at Inchon in September 1950 highlighted his strategic genius, but his relief for insubordination in April terminated his long and distinguished career. Despite this abrupt end, MacArthur’s contributions to American history and his legacy as an exceptional leader and strategist are without comparison.
Before Douglas MacArthur made a name for himself, he lived in the shadow of his famous father and grandfather. Both elder MacArthurs were accomplished individuals. His grandfather, Arthur MacArthur, emigrated from Scotland in 1825. He established a law practice in Springfield, Massachusetts. His first son, Arthur Jr., was born in 1845. He moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1849 and became the city attorney two years later. He was elected lieutenant governor, and in 1856, he served five days as governor during an electoral controversy. He completed his term as lieutenant governor in 1857. After he won two terms as a judge for the Second Judicial District, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed MacArthur to the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia in 1870.2 His appointment and access to Washington society allowed the senior MacArthur to influence the careers of both his son Arthur and his grandson Douglas.
Arthur MacArthur Jr. had a tremendous influence on Douglas. A Civil War hero and Medal of Honor recipient, he established a high standard of military accomplishment for his sons to emulate. Although he was only sixteen when the Civil War began, Arthur MacArthur Jr. volunteered to fight with the 24th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. West Point had accepted him for the class beginning in 1862, but he volunteered and became the regiment’s adjutant in August. He received a brevet to captain after the battle of Perryville in October 1862. MacArthur’s bravery and leadership at Missionary Ridge in November 1863 garnered the Medal of Honor and made him famous. He received a brevet promotion to colonel in 1864 at age nineteen, which earned him a nickname: “the Boy Colonel.”3 His speedy rise through the ranks foreshadowed his son’s rapid advance.
Following the Civil War, Arthur MacArthur Jr. practiced law, but the military was his passion. He received a Regular Army commission as a lieutenant in 1866 and was soon elevated to captain because of his extraordinary Civil War accomplishments. He remained a captain for the next twenty-three years. MacArthur spent most of his early career in the West. While posted at Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, he met Mary Pinkney “Pinky” Hardy of Norfolk, Virginia. They fell in love and married in 1875. Their first son, Arthur III, was born in 1876; he was followed by a second son, named Malcolm, in 1878. Douglas, the couple’s third son, was born at Arsenal Barracks in Little Rock, Arkansas, on January 26, 1880. Malcolm died of measles in 1883 and Arthur III would die prematurely of appendicitis in 1923.4
As a youth, Douglas MacArthur flourished in the American West. Assigned to Fort Wingate and Fort Selden, New Mexico, and other small frontier outposts, Arthur MacArthur Jr. participated in Native American pacification campaigns. Douglas MacArthur developed his own passion for the military during these formative years. Like most frontier youth, MacArthur learned to ride and shoot before he could read or write.5
In 1886 Arthur MacArthur Jr. and his young family transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The move allowed young Douglas to attend formal public schooling for the first time. This initial Leavenworth experience shaped the youngest MacArthur’s views of himself and his future. Although he was a poor student, the pomp and ceremony of the drill field mesmerized him. At one point during his time at Leavenworth, his father went to Oklahoma and young Douglas wanted to go with him. Arthur insisted that he stay behind and focus on his education.6 Douglas later learned the value of education as his father earned promotions and relocated to new assignments.
Major Arthur MacArthur moved to Washington, D.C., in 1889 to become an assistant adjutant general. His father’s assignment exposed Douglas to a completely new world. He attended Force Public School on Massachusetts Avenue. Young Douglas saw firsthand the “whirlpool of glitter and pomp … of statesmanship and intrigue.” The allure of Washington would never really appeal to MacArthur. He preferred the openness of the frontier. After four years in Washington, Major MacArthur relocated to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. While there, young Douglas developed a deep appreciation of and commitment to learning. As a student at the West Texas Military Academy, MacArthur found purpose and meaning in education. “My studies enveloped me,” MacArthur recalled, “my marks went higher, and many of the school medals came my way. But I also learned how little such honors mean after one wins them.” MacArthur also developed a passion for sports. He possessed limited athletic abilities, but his lust for success on the playing field overcame many of his physical and talent limitations. His four years in San Antonio were MacArthur’s happiest.7
In 1896 Lieutenant Colonel Arthur MacArthur moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. The family, however, went to Milwaukee. By this point young Douglas had decided to seek an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. His father and grandfather unsuccessfully sought a presidential appointment from Presidents Grover Cleveland and William McKinley. Unable to get a presidential
appointment, MacArthur continued his studies at West Side High School in Milwaukee and sought an appointment from Milwaukee’s fourth congressional district. During these preparatory years, he learned a valuable life lesson. Pinky told her son that he could win at anything if he did not lose his nerve: “You must believe in yourself, my son, or no one else will believe in you. Be confident, self-reliant, and even if you don’t make it, you will know you have done your best. Now, go to it.” MacArthur did. He scored a 93.9 on his entrance exam. “Preparedness,” MacArthur learned, is “the key to success and victory.”8
Douglas MacArthur entered West Point on June 13, 1899. As a cadet, MacArthur “worked hard and played hard.” While her husband was off fighting the Spanish-American War, Pinky moved to a hotel near the military academy to be close to her son. Her timely advice and motivation kept MacArthur focused. She was not the only famous mother to go to West Point. Ulysses S. Grant III’s mother stayed at the same hotel, and the two mothers seemed to compete for power and influence as much as their famous sons did.9
MacArthur’s peers scrutinized him more than they scrutinized the average cadet because of his famous father. Nonetheless, he not only withstood this intense attention; he excelled. Cadet MacArthur thrived under the rigid discipline system, and he relished the challenge of the academy’s athletic program. As a cadet leader, he became a senior corporal as a yearling, first sergeant as a second classman, and the first captain of the corps as a first classman. Moreover, he achieved a higher scholastic record than anyone else had in twenty-five years. On the sports field “Dauntless Doug” was extremely proud of his contributions to the Academy’s baseball and football teams. Throughout the remainder of his life, he wore his varsity letter “A” on his bathrobe with pride.10
His greatest test as a cadet brought him before a congressional committee in January 1901. The committee summoned MacArthur to appear as a “so-called victim” of hazing in response to the death of a cadet who had resigned. MacArthur refused to divulge the names of any cadet alleged to have committed hazing against him. He risked his military future if he did not cooperate fully. His parents had taught MacArthur never to lie, but they had also emphasized that he should never tattle, either. Fortunately for MacArthur, the committee gathered the names it needed without forcing MacArthur to make the difficult choice of adhering to his principles or “ratting” on his comrades.11