Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur graduated top of his West Point class in 1903, the son of a Medal of Honor recipient, and by World War I had risen to brigadier general on the Western Front, collecting two Distinguished Service Crosses and seven Silver Stars. At 45 he became the Army's youngest major general; by 1930 he was Chief of Staff, a post he held through the Bonus Army expulsion and into 1935. Recalled to active duty in 1941 as Far East commander, he watched much of his air force destroyed at Clark Field, then retreated to Bataan before escaping to Australia in March 1942 with a promise to return. He did in October 1944, liberating the Philippines and earning his Medal of Honor and fifth star. After Japan's surrender in September 1945, MacArthur spent six years remaking the country - demilitarizing it, writing a new constitution, introducing land reform and women's rights - until the Korean War pulled him back to battle, where early UN successes collapsed after China intervened in late 1950. President Truman relieved him of command in April 1951, ending a half-century military career that had never quite separated brilliance from insubordination.