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ANNCR: Now, the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today Rich
Kleinfeldt and Sarah Long tell about one of the most unusual and successful
American military leaders, General Douglas MacArthur.
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VOICE ONE:
General Douglas MacArthur was a most unusual man. He was extremely intelligent
and very demanding. He expected his orders to be followed exactly. Yet he had
problems all his life following the orders of those who were his commanders.
Douglas MacArthur was very intelligent and could remember things that others
would easily forget. He could design battle plans that left the enemy no
choice other than surrender and defeat. His battle plans defeated the enemy
and saved as many of his own men as possible.
At other times, he would make simple mistakes that made him appear stupid. He
often said things that showed he felt important. Many people made jokes about
him. Some of his soldiers sang songs that made fun of him. Others believed he
was the best general ever to serve in the United States military.
General Douglas MacArthur was extremely brave in battle, sometimes almost
foolish. It often seemed as if he believed he could not be killed. He won
every medal and honor the United States can give a soldier. However, at the
end of his life, he rejected war and warned American political leaders to stay
away from armed conflict.
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VOICE TWO:
Douglas MacArthur was born to be a soldier. His father, Arthur MacArthur, was
a hero of the American Civil War and continued to serve in the army after the
war ended in eighteen sixty-five. He became the top officer of the army in
nineteen-oh-six.
Douglas was born on an Army base near the southern city of Little Rock,
Arkansas in January, eighteen eighty. He grew up on army bases where his
father served. He said the first sounds he could remember as a child were
those of the Army: the sounds of horns, drums and soldiers marching.
VOICE ONE:
There was never any question about what Douglas MacArthur would do with his
life. He would join the army. He wanted to enter the United States Military
Academy at West Point, New York. The Academy is a university that trains
officers for the United States Army. School officials rejected him two times
before he was accepted. He finished his four years at West Point as the best
student in his class.
VOICE TWO:
Douglas MacArthur began his service in the Army by traveling to several Asian
countries including Japan, and to the Philippines, then an American territory.
He also served at several small bases in the United States. He became a
colonel when World War One began. He led troops on very dangerous attacks
against the enemy. He won many honors for his bravery and leadership. After
that war, he served as head of the West Point Military Academy. He became a
general. During the nineteen thirties, President Herbert Hoover appointed him
Chief of Staff of the Army, one of the most important jobs in the American
military.
In nineteen-thirty-five, General MacArthur was appointed military advisor to
the Philippines. He was to help the government build an army for defense
purposes as the Philippines began planning for independence. He had retired
from the army. He was the chief military advisor to the Philippine military
forces when the United States entered World War Two in December, nineteen
forty-one.
VOICE ONE:
Japanese aggression in the Pacific developed very quickly. Japanese troops
began arriving in the Philippines on December eleventh, nineteen forty-one.
The fighting was extremely fierce.
President Roosevelt
The Japanese were defeating the Philippine and American forces. General
MacArthur had been recalled to active duty by President . President Roosevelt
ordered MacArthur to leave the Philippines to command American forces in the
South Pacific. General MacArthur finally agreed to leave for Australia before
the Philippines surrendered to Japan. But he made a promise to the Philippine
people. He said, "I shall return."
