Douglas A. MacArthur (1880—1964) retired from the US Army in 1937 after a long and distinguished career. With war tensions swirling in the Pacific, he was recalled to active duty in 1941, and named commander of US Army Forces in the Far East. He established his headquarters in the Philippines where he had long enjoyed a close bond with the Filipino people.

In 1942, with Japanese invasion forces overwhelming his underequipped troops, MacArthur was ordered to evacuate the Philippines. His famous declaration after arriving in Australia—“I shall return”—would have great bearing on Allied strategy once the United States began turning the tide in the Pacific.

MacArthur was appointed to lead Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific Area, and from his base in Australia, MacArthur deftly assembled great masses of men and materiel for a counteroffensive in the Pacific. Within months, his armies were pushing the Japanese back in New Guinea and across other jungle islands. By the middle of 1944, MacArthur was poised to fulfill his promise and reclaim the Philippines.

Though his wartime record was a mix of success and failure, MacArthur presided over the final Japanese surrender aboard the battleship USS Missouri. He later commanded American occupation forces in Tokyo, and after North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, MacArthur was appointed head of all United Nations forces in the region. His record there, too, was mixed, and his repeated clashes with President Harry S. Truman over strategy led to his controversial removal in 1951. MacArthur died in 1964 at the age of 84.