[ti:PEOPLE IN AMERICA] [ar:Voice of America] [al:VOA Special English] [by:WWW.51VOA.COM] [00:00.00]51VOA.COM [00:20.21]Now,the VOA Special English program [00:23.57]PEOPLE IN AMERICA. [00:25.82]Today Rich Kleinfeldt and Sarah Long [00:30.31]tell about one of the most unusual [00:33.68]and successful American military leaders, [00:37.56]General Douglas MacArthur. [00:40.53](MUSIC) [01:05.57]General Douglas MacArthur [01:07.30]was a most unusual man. [01:09.49]He was extremely intelligent and very demanding. [01:14.54]He expected his orders to be followed exactly. [01:19.00]Yet he had problems all his life [01:22.79]following the orders of those [01:24.91]who were his commanders. [01:27.52]Douglas MacArthur was very intelligent [01:31.43]and could remember things [01:33.17]that others would easily forget. [01:35.78]He could design battle plans [01:39.25]that left the enemy no choice [01:41.50]other than surrender and defeat. [01:44.31]His battle plans defeated the enemy [01:48.49]and saved as many of his own men as possible. [01:53.05]At other times, [01:56.07]he would make simple mistakes [01:58.50]that made him appear stupid. [02:00.81]He often said things [02:03.82]that showed he felt important. [02:06.31]Many people made jokes about him. [02:10.42]Some of his soldiers sang songs [02:14.44]that made fun of him. [02:15.89]Others believed he was the best general ever [02:20.93]to serve in the United States military. [02:23.69]General Douglas MacArthur [02:27.42]was extremely brave in battle, [02:29.97]sometimes almost foolish. [02:33.50]It often seemed as if he believed [02:37.03]he could not be killed. [02:38.91]He won every medal and honor the United States [02:44.07]can give a soldier. [02:45.39]However,at the end of his life, [02:49.54]he rejected war [02:51.77]and warned American political leaders [02:54.73]to stay away from armed conflict. [02:57.73](MUSIC) [03:12.54]Douglas MacArthur was born to be a soldier. [03:16.12]His father,Arthur MacArthur, [03:19.04]was a hero of the American Civil War [03:22.26]and continued to serve in the army [03:25.14]after the war ended in eighteen sixty-five. [03:28.94]He became the top officer of the army [03:32.30]in nineteen-oh-six. [03:34.51]Douglas was born on an Army base [03:38.63]near the southern city of Little Rock, [03:41.74]Arkansas in January,eighteen eighty. [03:45.60]He grew up on army bases where his father served. [03:50.46]He said the first sounds he could remember [03:54.38]as a child were those of the Army: [03:57.29]the sounds of horns, [03:59.68]drums and soldiers marching. [04:03.16]There was never any question about [04:07.52]what Douglas MacArthur would do with his life. [04:10.47]He would join the army. [04:12.75]He wanted to enter [04:15.21]the United States Military Academy [04:17.57]at West Point,New York. [04:19.49]The Academy is a university [04:22.85]that trains officers [04:24.10]for the United States Army. [04:25.93]School officials rejected him two times [04:31.18]before he was accepted. [04:33.04]He finished his four years at West Point [04:37.20]as the best student in his class. [04:40.27]Douglas MacArthur began his service in the Army [04:45.46]by traveling to several Asian countries [04:49.12]including Japan,and to the Philippines, [04:52.27]then an American territory. [04:54.94]He also served at several small bases [04:59.16]in the United States. [05:00.84]He became a colonel when World War One began. [05:05.81]He led troops on very dangerous attacks [05:09.96]against the enemy. [05:11.53]He won many honors for his bravery [05:15.27]and leadership. [05:16.99]After that war,he served as head [05:21.36]of the West Point Military Academy. [05:24.08]He became a general. [05:26.49]During the nineteen thirties, [05:29.77]President Herbert Hoover [05:31.81]appointed him chief of staff of the Army, [05:34.93]one of the most important jobs [05:37.94] in the American military. [05:39.92]In nineteen thirty-five, [05:43.88]General MacArthur [05:45.50]was appointed military advisor [05:47.98]to the Philippines. [05:49.54]He was to help the government build an army [05:53.25]for defense purposes [05:55.19]as the Philippines began planning [05:57.98]for independence. [05:59.35]He had retired from the army. [06:02.56]He was the chief military advisor [06:06.13]to the Philippine military forces [06:08.81]when the United States entered World War Two [06:12.27]in December,nineteen forty-one. [06:15.93]Japanese aggression in the Pacific [06:19.94]developed very quickly. [06:21.61]Japanese troops began arriving [06:25.36]in the Philippines [06:26.47]on December eleventh,nineteen forty-one. [06:29.86]The fighting was extremely fierce. [06:33.80]The Japanese were defeating the Philippine [06:38.23]and American forces. [06:39.87]General MacArthur had been recalled [06:43.52]to active duty by President Franklin Roosevelt. [06:46.95]President Roosevelt ordered MacArthur [06:50.89]to leave the Philippines [06:52.43]to command American forces [06:54.72]in the South Pacific. [06:56.18]General MacArthur finally [06:59.50]agreed to leave for Australia [07:01.45]before the Philippines surrendered to Japan. [07:05.04]But he made a promise to the Philippine people. [07:09.13]He said,"I shall return." [07:12.73]Military history experts continue to study [07:18.24]General MacArthur's decisions [07:20.41]during World War Two. [07:22.41]He won battle after battle [07:25.47]in the South Pacific area. [07:27.36]Often,he would pass islands [07:30.96]with strong enemy forces, [07:33.05]cut off their supplies [07:35.29]and leave them with no chance to fight. [07:38.58]In nineteen forty-four, [07:41.62]he returned to the Philippines with an army [07:45.21]that defeated the Japanese. [07:47.57]MacArthur was chosen to accept [07:51.58]the Japanese surrender in September, [07:54.23]nineteen forty-five. [07:55.83]He was appointed Supreme Commander [07:59.25]of the Allied Powers, [08:00.86]the leader of the occupation forces [08:03.92]that would rule Japan. [08:05.58]As an American soldier, [08:08.79]he had to follow the orders of the government [08:12.23]in Washington. [08:13.47]But in Japan, [08:15.53]General MacArthur ruled like a dictator. [08:19.45]The Japanese expected severe punishment. [08:24.97]They saw MacArthur as a very conservative ruler [08:29.54]who would make Japan suffer. [08:32.01]MacArthur did charge some Japanese leaders [08:36.68]with war crimes. [08:38.08]But he did not try to punish the Japanese people. [08:42.56]General MacArthur told the Japanese [08:46.58]they must change, [08:48.77]both politically and socially. [08:51.74]He began with education. [08:54.64]Before the war, [08:56.98]female children in Japan received little [09:00.78]if any education. [09:02.43]MacArthur said education [09:05.32]would be for everyone, [09:06.78]including girls and women. [09:09.47]He said women must have the right to vote [09:13.55]in elections, [09:14.40]and be permitted to hold political office. [09:18.22]He said Japanese women would now [09:22.16]have the same legal rights as men. [09:25.31]And he said that every person [09:28.48]had the same legal protection under the law. [09:31.98]General MacArthur told the Japanese people [09:37.50]they were now free to form political parties. [09:41.07]And he ended the idea [09:44.05]of an official government religion. [09:46.62]Religion would be a matter [09:49.60]of individual choice. [09:51.46]He also said the Japanese government [09:55.50]would no longer be controlled [09:57.62]by a few powerful people. [09:59.65]MacArthur told Japan it would now be ruled [10:04.65]by a parliament that was freely elected [10:07.73]by the people. [10:08.66]He helped the people of Japan [10:11.94]write a new constitution [10:13.89]for a democratic form of government. [10:16.68](MUSIC) [10:32.04]On June twenty-fifth,nineteen fifty, [10:35.36]North Korean troops invaded South Korea. [10:39.26]Within two days, [10:41.59]the United States decided to send armed forces [10:45.81]to aid South Korea. [10:47.74]Douglas MacArthur was appointed commander [10:51.74]of the United Nations forces in South Korea. [10:55.32]As the weeks passed,the North Korean army [11:00.53]forced the South Korean army [11:03.07]and its allies to retreat [11:05.74]to the southern city of Pusan. [11:08.58]Many military experts said South Korea was lost. [11:14.91]General MacArthur did not agree. [11:18.23]He wanted to attack from the sea, [11:21.86]deep behind the enemy troops [11:24.69]at the city of Inchon. [11:26.81]MacArthur said the enemy would not be prepared. [11:31.69]Most other military leaders [11:34.75]believed this would be extremely dangerous. [11:38.00]American Marines did attack Inchon [11:42.28]September fifteenth. [11:44.08]It was a complete success. [11:47.03]MacArthur had been right. [11:49.57]General MacArthur often disagreed [11:53.95]with political leaders. [11:55.59]President Truman warned him several times [11:59.86]not to disagree with government policy. [12:02.82]General MacArthur continued to disagree [12:07.38]and told reporters when he did. [12:10.11]He often gave orders [12:13.10]that were not approved by the president. [12:15.55]MacArthur called for a total victory in Korea. [12:20.91]He wanted to defeat communism in East Asia. [12:25.41]He wanted to bomb Chinese bases in Manchuria [12:30.46]and block Chinese ports. [12:33.26]President Truman and his military advisers [12:37.58]were concerned World War Three would start. [12:41.37]In April,nineteen fifty-one, [12:46.14]President Truman replaced MacArthur [12:49.03]as head of the U.N.forces in Korea. [12:52.64]Douglas MacArthur went home [12:56.19]to the United States. [12:57.76]It was the first time he had been there [13:01.67]in more than fifteen years. [13:03.94]He was honored as a returning hero. [13:07.76]He was invited to speak before Congress. [13:11.96]There was a huge parade to honor him [13:15.63]in New York City. [13:17.41]General MacArthur retired again. [13:21.49]Some political leaders wanted him to compete [13:25.92]for some political office, [13:28.12]perhaps for president. [13:30.15]Instead,he lived a quiet life [13:33.76]with his wife and son. [13:35.56]He died at the age of eighty-four [13:38.84]on April fifth,nineteen sixty-four. [13:42.40]Today,many Americans [13:46.04]have forgotten Douglas MacArthur. [13:48.22]However,the people of the Philippines [13:51.58]built a statue to honor him [13:54.44]for keeping his promise to return. [13:56.56]And,many Japanese visitors [13:59.99]go to General MacArthur's burial place [14:03.37]in Norfolk,Virginia [14:04.88]to remember what he did for Japan. [14:07.80](MUSIC) [14:27.59]This Special English program [14:29.55]was written by Paul Thompson. [14:31.98]Your narrators were Rich Kleinfeldt [14:35.43]and Sarah Long. [14:36.77]I'm Shirley Griffith. [14:38.74]Listen again next week [14:41.24]for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program [14:44.53]on the Voice of America. [14:47.13] [14:49.80]51VOA.COM