Gen. Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964)
Famous Arkansan
General Douglas MacArthur was born in the Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal while his father was its commandant. He rose to become a five-star general in the U.S. Army and Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Pacific during World War II. He accepted the Japanese surrender in 1945. His accomplishments include: first in class at West Point; Superintendent of West Point; Army Chief of Staff; U.S. Far East Commander; Congressional Medal of Honor recipient; Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers; and first UN Commander. The building where the general was born, the Officer's Quarters, is located in downtown Little Rock’s MacArthur Park and now serves as home to the Arkansas Museum of Military History. He was the first Arkansas to appear on a U.S. postage stamp (January 26, 1971).
West Point
General MacArthur graduated from U.S. Military Academy at West Point, class of 1903.
Medal of Honor
He was awarded this during WWII, interestingly his father earned a Medal of Honor in the Civil War.
Later Life
In 1944, 1948, and 1952, conservative Republican groups tried in vain to obtain MacArthur’s nomination for the presidency. MacArthur accepted the board chairmanship of the Remington Rand Corporation in 1952; thereafter, except for these duties and rare public appearances, he lived in seclusion in New York City. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1964 and was buried at Norfolk, Virginia.
"The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."
– Douglas MacArthur