A Brief History
On October 20, 1944, Army and Naval forces of the United States landed on the Philippine island of Leyte in an amphibious assault to reclaim the islands from the Japanese who had taken the Philippines from the US and Philippine forces led by General Douglas MacArthur in 1942. MacArthur watched the landings from the deck of the cruiser USS Nashville and later that afternoon before conveniently located movie cameras the great man (just ask him!) waded ashore, keeping his famous “I shall return” promise when he fled the Philippines prior to his forces surrendering to the Japanese.
Digging Deeper
Ever the egomaniac, not only did MacArthur claim “I shall return” instead of “We shall return” meaning US forces, he promptly made a radio transmitted speech to Philippine islanders that included the line “I have returned!”
MacArthur had been awarded a Medal of Honor for his service in losing the Philippines to the Japanese in 1942, making him a great American hero to all except the men he left behind to be captured by the barbaric Japanese (Bataan Death March and all that). Not only that, but in December of 1944 he was awarded a promotion to 5 Star General (General of the Army), ranking only below General George Marshall among US military officers.
MacArthur went on to represent the US in the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay in 1945 and to rule occupied Japan after the war. In this he did a commendable job, and when the Korean War broke out in 1950 Mac was there to take command of US and UN forces. Unfortunately, he ended up getting fired by President Truman in April of 1951. MacArthur had become insubordinate of Truman and was disliked by US European allies that feared another massive war would be started by MacArthur with the Chinese and possibly the Soviets (which indeed MacArthur wanted, at least with the Chinese).
MacArthur’s long military career was over, but he remained largely an American hero to most people, and his death in 1964 was celebrated as the passing of a hero. A polarizing person, MacArthur has rabid fans that worship him and detractors that claim he was an egomaniac, vain, stubborn, and kind of nasty guy. Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think? Feel free to weigh in on your opinion of this iconic American warrior in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Leary, William M. We Shall Return!: Macarthur’s Commanders and the Defeat of Japan, 1942-1945. Univ Pr of Kentucky, 1988.
WAR STORIES WITH OLIVER NORTH: RETAKING THE PHILIPPINES. Fox News, 2010. DVD.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="14811 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=14811">54 Comments
Great article explaining how the United States lost the Philippines to the Japanese, but fought for it back an regained the country.
I think it’s great that McArthur openly stated to the Philippines that he was going to take it back from the Japanese and that’s exactly what he did.
I think all great men and women are usually egomaniacs. I believe you have to have a bit of a God complex to do things that other people would not be strong enough to do.
I think this article was great, I never learned about Macarthur and it is good to hear of his accomplishments during the war.
I think regardless of his likability, he was a man of many accomplishments and should be recognized.
I find it funny how we won the Philippians, lost it, and then regained it back later. This proves that America never lets things be taken from them.
It is hard to believe that he was still rewarded with a Metal of Honor after abandoning his troops. Besides that it seemed like he had a very successful military career.
The following sentence: “MacArthur had been awarded a Medal of Honor for his service in losing the Philippines to the Japanese in 1942, making him a great American hero to all except the men he left behind to be captured by the barbaric Japanese” did not make sense to me at all. How could he be a hero when he left so many men with the Japanese?
Even though MacArthur ended up winning the medal of honor, I do not like the quote where he states, “I shall return, rather than, “we shall return.” To me, this is very narcissistic and shows that he was in the battle for himself rather than his men.
I was also confused as to why MacArthur won a medal of honor. Did he actually win a medal of honor for losing?
This article does not make sense to me.
I am guessing he won the Medal of Honor for just making it out alive?? Not sure though. He does sound like an egomaniac. He was probably very good at his job but sounds like he was more worried about the glory.
I think he sounds a little selfish, but sometimes selfishness can lead to successful events. MacArthur had some success, but if one man is hated so much that it could result in another war, Truman made the right decision to fire him.
MacArthur made the hard choices to save lives, never gave up on the men who he left only to save those who he could. we all make sacrifices but generals have the hardest choices because the are sacrificing others.
I do not think that MacArthur should have received the medal of honor as he was very selfish and focused more on himself rather than him and his team. He seemed to care more about the glory and ego boost that he would receive rather than the actions and helping others which it actually honored.
According to the article, MacArthur was a selfish general. A good leader should pay more attention to the overall situation rather than the personal glory and the personal reputations.
MacArthur was always think about himself rather than paying attention on the whole situation, that why he lose Philippines to Japan, he didn’t deserve to the medal of honor
MacArthur used his huge ego and story telling abilities to win people over. I am conflicted with the hero status and why he truly deserves it.
Leaders should not be as selfish as MacArthur was. They should care more about their situations and the people they are with. I don’t know how I feel about him having a hero status.
I do not think that MacArthur should have received the medal of honor because he used his ego to win the people over.
MacArthur did not deserve to receive this award and the people shouldn’t have been so gullible.
I believe to be a good military leader you have to be somewhat cocky and think your better to make some of the hard decisions and battles they have to send their men into.
In order to be a good and reliable leader in the military, that person needs to have a bit of cockiness about them, but MacArthur did not deserve to receive this award.
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. He definitely returned to the Philippines but after WW2 I think he lost it a little.
sounds like fleeing the scene, cowardly , rather come back or not you stand up and fight for your beliefs.
I think it would be wrong to claim either he was a horrible guy or a good person. Why can’t he be both? He had his moments where he showed he was an egomaniac like when he said “I shall return.” He also had his moments where he did his job well when he defended the Philippians.
I think that even though he eventually returned and helped the people of the Philippians he still abandoned them at the beginning of the US’s involvement in the war.
There is a difference between people who have good communication skills and is very persuasive then someone that is actually about his word. No leader should ever say I, they are representing everyone under them.
Although MacArthur had good intentions, he was arrogant. I find it shocking people worship someone who says I instead of we.
A leader of men, even if he lost a great deal of them, he fulfilled his promise.
Always keep your word.
I am glad that Macarthur was awarded a medal of honor. He was a man of his word and he kept it. He should be honored.
He was a smart general who enjoyed the game of war. I am glad he deserved his honors and I am glad we terminated his actions before entering another world war.
I think it is clear now, and most people are on the same page, that MacArthur should not have received this award.
Wow, MacArthur was a pretty selfish guy.
There are certain professions that one must be “kind of a nasty guy” to be truly successful. War just happens to be one of those professions.
MacArthur was a narcissist. He should not have been awarded anything, you never leave men behind.
Taking credit for what your troops do is a total slap in their faces. Grab a gun and lead by example.
I’m torn between him being a heroic leader and a coward. Leadership is action, not a position.
I think that someone who is a hero can also be person who is somewhat cocky because they are in a leadership role. Someone in a leadership role should never forget about the people who are there serving with you though.
Don’t make a promise you can’t keep. Thats all I’m gonna say.
General MacArthur was vital to U.S. forces in the Pacific War. I’m glad he was able to escape the Philippines to return and take it back, but I don’t think he deserved the Medal of Honor for losing the islands and abandoning his troops that were trapped.
As a General he should have never received the medal of honor because he lefts his troops to die. You never leave a man no matter what the consequences, I believe he was a coward.
I have mixed feeling about General MacArthur. First I think that any man or woman that has spent time in the service should be awarded. Then I think this man is selfish, he only wanted to return to the Philippines for his own vendetta and he left his troops to die. This man should not have been given an award.
After reading about MacArthur well before now, he has always struck me as an egomaniac. Whenever everything was going right in the war, it was a credit to him. And when they failed, it was someone else’s fault.
It sounds like MacArthur was charismatic when he was trying to convince others to lean his way, or when he was getting his way. But if you didn’t agree with him, he would leave you in the dust. I also feel that he viewed soldiers as expendable.
It sounds like he rose to his position by being selfish.
Macarthur seems like everything was about him and credit to him as long as it was going well. He was a very selfish man who only thought about the benefits of himself returning to the Philippians was for his own selfish reasons.
It seems MacArthur had his own agenda and it did not matter what another had to say. Did he have accomplishments, yes, but at what degree did those cost and were they for the right reasons? Like him, this is on going argument and in his selfish ways, he would be right.
It seems like MacArthur knew what he wanted. However, to give a personal opinion of him after reading such a short article would not do him, nor I, justice.
I had no idea that MacArthur wanted a war between the United States and China, good thing Truman fired him.
I’m glad Truman decided to fire him before things started escalating.
When I saw this article, I was very impression
MacArthur’s was hero spend a long time in the war finally end with his military career.