Review of Douglas MacArthur: American Warrior by Arthur Herman
“Sometimes it is the order one disobeys that makes one famous.” – Douglas MacArthur
In the preface, Herman starts off by saying that there are more than 25 biographies of MacArthur, with some being overly critical and others showering him with overwhelming praise. From my reading, it appears that Herman supports MacArthur, but does not hesitate to point out his flaws and mistakes. Although scholars may disagree with the credit that MacArthur deserves, one thing is for sure and that is he was always at odds with authority. After WWI, where MacArthur was a newly crowned brigadier general, there aren’t a lot of people with a higher rank. He thought he was the hot shot, blessed by God. He picked fights with FDR. In one particular exchange which was serious at the time but now could make for a humorous anecdote:
"When we lose the next war, and an American boy, lying in the mud with an enemy bayonet through his belly and an enemy foot on his dying throat, spat out his last curse, I wanted the name not to be MacArthur, but Roosevelt,” to which FDR replied “You must not talk that way to the President of the United States!” And MacArthur realized he screwed up and resigned. FDR rejected the resignation, and MacArthur vomited outside the White House.
FDR respected MacArthur as a skilled general, but had to stay reserved around him. This is only more plausible when Roosevelt sent him to the Philippines, several thousand miles away, far enough to not stir up more trouble or be a potential political rival.
His time in the Philippines would be some of the bleakest times. The bombing of Pearl Harbor and his flight to Corregidor and eventual relocation to Australia earned him the derogatory nickname “Dugout Doug,” reminiscent of a coward hiding in a tunnel while his men were in danger. However, it seems that in the larger picture, this is not representative of MacArthur as a whole. After all, it was MacArthur on the front lines in WWI, and the same MacArthur that would liberate the Philippines and take back the Pacific.
Also some interesting trivia: During his time in the Philippines, President Quezon awarded MacArthur $500,000 for his service. This was mentioned briefly in the book, and it intrigued me enough to look up the original “Executive Order No 1,” where the award was decreed.
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1942/01/03/executive-order-no-1-s-1942/
And that’s a wrap on my first book review. Hope I didn’t disappoint.