General Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) was one of the most decorated and controversial military leaders in American history. Graduating top of his class at West Point in 1903, MacArthur commanded the 42nd 'Rainbow' Division in World War I with legendary personal bravado, served as Superintendent of West Point, and was US Army Chief of Staff in the 1930s.

Appointed Commander of US Army Forces in the Far East in 1941, MacArthur was ordered to evacuate Corregidor in 1942, famously promising: 'I shall return.' Pioneering the 'island hopping' strategy in the Southwest Pacific, he bypassed heavily fortified Japanese bastions to fulfill his vow, wading ashore at Leyte in October 1944. On September 2, 1945, as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, he accepted Japan's formal surrender aboard USS Missouri and guided Japan's peaceful postwar democratic constitution. In 1950, during the Korean War, he orchestrated the amphibious masterpiece at Inchon.