WITH ALL THE HONOR A GRATEFUL NATION CAN BESTOW

DEATH OF GENERAL MAC

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) ) On April 5, 1964, Douglas MacArthur* died at the age of 84.  The Five Star General passed away at Walter Reed Hospital here in the Nation's Capital. 

President John F. Kennedy had pre-authorized a State Funeral and President Lyndon B. Johnson confirmed that action by ordering the General to be buried "with all the honor a grateful nation can bestow on a departed hero."

The General had also requested a week-long state funeral including his body lying in state at the 7th Regimental Armory in New York City, the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia and at the Capitol in Washington.

62,000 people passed by the General's casket in the rotunda of the MacArthur Memorial which would also be his final resting place.  Attending services for President Johnson were the Attorney-General and his wife, Mr. & Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy.

On March 12, 1962, Douglas MacArthur gave his acceptance speech for the Sylvanus Thayer Award to the cadets of West Point.  The General said...

"Duty, Honor Country:  Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be."


*Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) was born in Little Rock, Arkansas & graduated 1st in his class from the United States Military Academy in 1903. DM won 4 Silver Stars in WWI & the Distinguished Service Cross. 

DM fought in both world wars & was commander of Allied forces in the Pacific during WWII.  He commanded UN forces during the Korean Conflict.

SOURCES

"Douglas MacArthur", Biography, www.biography.com/

"General Douglas MacArthur, Sylvanus Thayer Award Acceptance Address," www.americanrhetoric.com/

"The Last Salute:  Civil and Military Funerals 1921-1969," www.history.army.mil/

MacArthur Memorial
Norfolk, Virginia
Photo by John White (2001)

MacArthur Memorial
Norfolk, Virginia
Photo by John White (2001)

DUTY HONOR COUNTRY

JFK+50:  Volume 5, No. 1910

GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR DIED 52 YEARS AGO

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty-two years ago today, April 5, 1964, General Douglas MacArthur* died at the age of 84.  The Five Star General, who passed away at Walter Reed General Hospital here in the Nation's Capital, had requested to be buried in Norfolk, Virginia rather than Arlington National Cemetery.

President John F. Kennedy pre-authorized a State Funeral and President Lyndon B. Johnson confirmed that action by ordering the General to be buried "with all the honor a grateful nation can bestow on a departed hero."

The General had also requested a week-long state funeral including his body lying in state at the 7th Regimental Armory in New York City, the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk and the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

62,000 people passed by the General's casket in the rotunda of the MacArthur Memorial which would also be his final resting place.  Attending services for President Johnson were the Attorney-General and his wife, Mr. & Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy.

General Maxwell Taylor said that President Kennedy's visit with General MacArthur had "made a hell of impression."  The General advised JFK that a US military effort in Southeast would be a disaster.

When he was urged to send combat troops, JFK told his military advisers...

 "You...convince General MacArthur, then I'll be convinced."

On March 12, 1962, Douglas MacArthur gave his acceptance speech for the Sylvanus Thayer Award to the cadets of West Point.  The General said...

"Duty, Honor Country:  Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be."


*Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) was born in Little Rock, Arkansas & graduated 1st in his class from the United States Military Academy in 1903. DM won 4 Silver Stars in WWI & the Distinguished Service Cross.  After the war he was Superintendent of the USMA and became the Army's youngest major general.

In WWII, DM was Field Marshall of the Philippine Army & after being forced to flee to Australia pledged "I Shall Return."  His army retook the Philippine Islands & he was awarded the Medal of Honor. 

DM served as commander of United Nations forces in the Korean Conflict & retired from the Army in 1951.


SOURCES

"General Douglas MacArthur, Sylvanus Thayer Award Acceptance Address," www.americanrhetoric.com/

"JFK's Refusal to Send Combat Troops to Vietnam:  McGeorge Bundy's evidence," www.williampfatt.com/

"Lessons In Disaster: McGeorge Bundy and the Path to War in Vietnam," by Gordon M. Goldstein, Holt.

"The Last Salute:  Civil and Military Funerals 1921-1969," www.history.army.mil/

MacArthur Memorial
Norfolk, Virginia

MACARTHUR MEETS HIROHITO

JFK+50:  Volume 5, No. 1726

MACARTHUR MET HIROHITO 70 YEARS AGO TODAY IN TOKYO

Tokyo, Japan (JFK+50) Seventy years ago today, September 27, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur met with Japanese Emperor Hirohito* at the Allied General Headquarters here in Tokyo.

MacArthur had arrived in Japan just two days earlier by order of President Harry S Truman to oversee the occupation of Japan following that nation's surrender ending World War II on September 2nd.

The General, accompanied only by an interpreter and photographer, met with the Emperor for about twenty minutes.  Since there was no written transcript made of this meeting, we do not know what was discussed.  The meeting took place in the Reception Room of Allied GHQ.

We do know that General MacArthur allowed three photographs to be taken of himself with the Emperor and that one of these was published the following day in Japanese newspapers and the New York Times.  Because the Emperor had been considered "divine," the publication in Japan served as a signal that MacArthur, not the Emperor, was now in charge.

During the six year occupation, MacArthur and Hirohito would meet less than a dozen more times, but the first meeting is the one that is remembered because of the iconic photograph of the two men which was taken by Lt. Gaetano Faillace, a member of the military camera corps.

The photo, shown below, shocked many people because of General MacArthur's nonchalant appearance.  Life Magazine wrote..."MacArthur did not trouble himself to put on a tie for the occasion."  Of the three images, the last was chosen as the one to be published because in the first MacArthur's eyes were closed, and in the second the Emperor's mouth was open.

According to Jim Zobel, assistant archivist at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia, the copy on file in his facility, signed by both men, may be worth up to "six figures."  The Memorial's Artifacts Series on this photograph may be seen via YouTube embedded below.

*Hirohito (1901-1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989, was born in Tokyo and attended Gakushuin Peers' School and an institute for the Crown Prince.  Hirohito assumed the throne on the death of his father on Dec 25, 1926.  His reign ended with his death due to complications of pancreatic cancer.  Hirohito's funeral was attended by President George H.W. Bush.

SOURCES

"Did Hirohito apologize to MacArthur?," www.quora.com/

"Emperor Hirohito Meets U.S. General Douglas MacArthur," www.worldwar2database.com/

MacArthur Memorial, Norfolk, Virginia, www.macarthurmemorial.org/

"When MacArthur Met the Emperor," Iconic Photos, September 28, 2012, www.iconicphotos.wordpress.com/

General MacArthur & Emperor Hirohito

Allied General HQ, Tokyo

September 27, 1945

Photo by Lt. Gaetano Faillace

US Army Image