Apropos of the Arthur Herman biography of MacArthur we've been reading, not to mention the work we've done on Mac with the Rainbows in the Great War, here are some thoughts on man:
-His father, General Arthur MacArthur, won the Philippine Insurgency, we knew this. We did not now how famous and revered he was afterwards.
-MacArthur is often thought of as a Mama's Boy, but he also worshiped his father who won a medal of honor for commanding the 24th Wisconsin at Missionary Ridge.
-At West Point MacArthur was an academic standout, perhaps the greatest student the academy ever had, and a sports enthusiast. He loved baseball and football.
-After the war MacArthur was the commandant at West Point, which the Great War nearly wrecked. He was fought at every step by the board and only partially successful. He detested hazing and tried to get rid of it.
-He chaired the 1928 US Olympic Committee, being intimately involved in training, and brought home 24 Gold Medals.
-The Bonus Army fiasco was not really his fault. The controversy at the time centered around removing the marcher's main camp on the Anacostia Flats. Hoover ordered the army not to cross the river, but MacArthur never received the order. The only persons killed during the imbroglio died at the hands of the DC police.
-MacArthur more or less ran the CCC when he was army chief of staff. It gave the army something to do and he felt the quasi military training would benefit the working age men in the CCC.
-MacArthur and President Roosevelt knew each other from Roosevelt's days in the Navy Department during the Great War and got on quite well.
-MacArthur was almost certainly a virgin when he married a wealthy socialite at the age of 41. When that marriage broke up he conducted a fiery affair with a Filipino actress, aged 18. His love letters to her range from erotic to downright pornographic.
-As Chief of Staff, MacArthur lay the very early groundwork for the army in WWII, fighting to retain a trained officer corps and selecting the M-1 Rifle to replace the Springfield 1903.
-MacArthur's s 2nd wife Jean lived till 2001. Their son is still alive and lives in NYC under an assumed name. He never served in the military.
What would of happened if Truman consented to using nukes in China in 51? Too broad of a question? I know Turtledove has a series, but hes not really a military science writer.
ReplyDelete