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Date: 7-8-01
PEOPLE IN AMERICA #1829 - Douglas MacArthur
By Paul ThompsonANNCR:
Now, the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today Rich Kleinfeldt and Sarah Long tell about one of the most unusual and successful American military leaders, General Douglas MacArthur.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
General Douglas MacArthur was a most unusual man. He was
extremely intelligent and very demanding. He expected his orders
to be followed exactly. Yet he had problems all his life
following the orders of those who were his commanders.
Douglas MacArthur was very intelligent and could remember things
that others would easily forget. He could design battle plans
that left the enemy no choice other than surrender and defeat.
His battle plans defeated the enemy and saved as many of his own
men as possible.
At other times, he would make simple mistakes that made him
appear stupid. He often said things that showed he felt
important. Many people made jokes about him. Some of his
soldiers sang songs that made fun of him. Others believed he was
the best general ever to serve in the United States military.
General Douglas MacArthur was extremely brave in battle, some
times almost foolish. It often seemed as if he believed he could
not be killed. He won him every medal and honor the United
States can give a soldier. However, at the end of his life, he
rejected war and warned American political leaders to stay away
from armed conflict.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
Douglas MacArthur was born to be a soldier. His father, Arthur
MacArthur, was a hero of the American Civil War and continued to
serve in the army after the war ended in Eighteen-Sixty-Five. He
became the top officer of the army in Nineteen-Oh-Six.
Douglas was born on an Army base near the southern city of Little
Rock, Arkansas in January, Eighteen-Eighty. He grew up on army
bases where his father served. He said the first sounds he could
remember as a child were those of the Army . . . the sounds of
horns, drums and soldiers marching.
VOICE ONE:
There was never been any question about what Douglas MacArthur
would do with his life. He would join the army. He wanted to
enter the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
The Academy is a university that trains officers for the United
States Army. School officials rejected him two times before he
was accepted. He finished his four years at West Point as the
best student in his class.
VOICE TWO:
Douglas MacArthur began his service in the Army by traveling to
several Asian countries including Japan, and to the Philippines,
then an American territory. He also served at several small
bases in the United States. He became a colonel when World War
One began. He led troops on very dangerous attacks against the
enemy. He won many honors for his bravery and leadership. After
that war, he served as head of the West Point Military Academy.
He became a general. During the Nineteen-Thirties, President
Herbert Hoover appointed him Chief of Staff of the Army, one of
the most important jobs in the American military.
In Nineteen-Thirty-Five, General MacArthur was appointed military
advisor to the Philippines. He was to help the government build
an army for defense purposes as the Philippines began planning
for independence. He had retired from the army. He was the
chief military advisor to the Philippine military forces when the
United States entered World War Two in December,
Nineteen-Forty-One.
VOICE ONE:
Japanese aggression in the Pacific developed very quickly.
Japanese troops began arriving in the Philippines on December
Eleventh, Nineteen-Forty-One. The fighting was extremely fierce.
The Japanese were defeating the Philippine and American forces.
General MacArthur had been recalled to active duty by President
Franklin Roosevelt. President Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to
leave the Philippines to command American forces in the South
Pacific. General MacArthur finally agreed to leave for Australia
before the Philippines surrendered to Japan. But he made a
promise to the Philippine people. He said, "I shall return."
VOICE TWO:
Military history experts continue to study General MacArthur's
decisions during World War Two. He won battle after battle in
the South Pacific area. Often, he would pass islands with strong
enemy forces, cut off their supplies and leave them with no
chance to fight. In Nineteen-Forty-Four, he returned to the
Philippines . . . with an army that defeated the Japanese.
VOICE ONE:
MacArthur was chosen to accept the Japanese surrender in
September, Nineteen-Forty-Five. He was appointed Supreme
Commander of the Allied Powers, the leader of the occupation
forces that would rule Japan. As an American soldier, he had to
follow the orders of the government in Washington. But in Japan,
General MacArthur ruled like a dictator.
VOICE TWO:
The Japanese expected severe punishment. They saw MacArthur as a very conservative ruler who would make Japan suffer.
MacArthur did charge some Japanese leaders with war crimes. But
he did not try to punish the Japanese people.
General MacArthur told the Japanese they must change, both
politically and socially. He began with education. Before the
war, female children in Japan received little if any education.
MacArthur said education would be for everyone, including girls
and women.
He said women must have the right to vote in elections, and be
permitted to hold political office. He said Japanese women would
now have the same legal rights as men. And he said that every
person had the same legal protection under the law.
VOICE ONE:
General MacArthur told the Japanese people they were now free to
form political parties. And he ended the idea of an official
government religion. Religion would be a matter of individual
choice. He also said the Japanese government would no longer be
controlled by a few powerful people.
MacArthur told Japan it would now be ruled by a parliament that
was freely elected by the people. He helped the people of Japan
write a new constitution for a democratic form of government.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
On June Twenty-Fifth, Nineteen-Fifty, North Korean troops invaded
South Korea. Within two days, the United States decided to send
armed forces to aid South Korea.
Douglas MacArthur was appointed commander of the United Nations forces in South Korea. As the weeks passed, the North Korean army forced the South Korean Army and its allies to retreat to the southern city of Pusan.
Many military experts said South Korea was lost. General
MacArthur did not agree. He wanted to attack from the sea, deep
behind the enemy troops at the city of Inchon. MacArthur said
the enemy would not be prepared. Most other military leaders
believed this would be extremely dangerous. American Marines did
attack Inchon September Fifteenth. It was a complete success.
MacArthur had been right.
VOICE ONE:
General MacArthur often disagreed with political leaders.
President Truman warned him several times not to disagree with
government policy. General MacArthur continued to disagree and
told reporters when he did. He often gave orders that were not
approved by the president.
MacArthur called for a total victory in Korea. He wanted to
defeat communism in East Asia. He wanted to bomb Chinese bases
in Manchuria and block Chinese ports. President Truman and his
military advisers were concerned World War Three would start.
In April, Nineteen-Fifty-One President Truman replaced MacArthur
as head of the U. N. forces in Korea. Douglas MacArthur went home
to the United States. It was the first time he had been there in
more than fifteen years. He was honored as a returning hero. He
was invited to speak before Congress. There was a huge parade to
honor him in New York City.
VOICE TWO:
General MacArthur retired again. Some political leaders wanted
him to compete for some political office, perhaps for president.
Instead, he lived a quiet life with his wife and son. He died at
the age of eighty-four on April fifth, Nineteen-Sixty-Four.
Today, many Americans have forgotten Douglas MacArthur. However, the people of the Philippines built a statue to honor him for
keeping his promise to return. And, many Japanese visitors go to
General MacArthur's burial place in Norfolk, Virginia to remember
what he did for Japan.
((THEME))
ANNCR:
This Special English program was written and produced by Paul
Thompson. Your narrators were Rich Kleinfeldt and Sarah Long. I'm Shirley Griffith. Listen again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.
Source: www.voa.gov/special/