MacArthur Memorial Podcast

During the Spanish American War (1898), Philippine Revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo declared the Philippines independent of Spain. After Spain’s defeat, the Filipinos expected independence. Instead, as part of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the US took over the Philippines. In response, on January 5, 1899, Aguinaldo declared the Philippines independent from the US. Philippine newspaper La Independ...

During World War II, the Nisei, first generation Americans whose parents were immigrants from Japan, fought in the Pacific theater. Their language skills and other intelligence contributions saved lives and shortened the war. And yet, as they served with great distinction, their families back home in America were held in government internment camps under U.S. Executive Order 9066. To discuss the N...

As part of the commemoration of the 143rd anniversary of General MacArthur’s birthday, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams sat down for a virtual discussion of the 1945 drive to Manila in the context of MacArthur’s 65th birthday. Did MacArthur try to rush to Manila to celebrate his birthday there? Was a birthday parade planned?  Those questions and more will be answered! Ha...

In this latest episode, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams answer questions posed by MacArthur Memorial Podcast listeners.  Why did he not like President Truman? Was there ever a serious attempt to become POTUS?  What world leaders visited him in retirement? What if MacArthur had been the ETO commander during WWII? What did he plan to do in China during the Korean War?  Wh...

In 1925, the court-martial of Billy Mitchell captured national attention. At the center of the controversy was Billy Mitchell, a man who is today recognized as the father of the United States Air Force. Then Major General Douglas MacArthur, who later described the order to sit on Mitchell's court-martial as "one of the most distasteful orders” he ever received, was the youngest judge on...

When most people think about December 7, 1941, they think about Pearl Harbor. They think about the USS Arizona. They think about Battleship Row. But can you name a Medal of Honor recipient from that action? To explore the story of these men, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted Colonel Charles A. Jones USMCR (Retired), an expert on the Medal of Honor and the Medal of Honor recipients of December...

On August 18. 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, giving American women the right to vote. When the Occupation of Japan began in 1945, the Nineteenth Amendment was a mere 25 years old but already so well ingrained in U.S. national identity that the thought of women’s suffrage wasn’t revolutionary to General Douglas MacArthur, who led the Occupation as the Supreme...

In his autobiography, General MacArthur summed up the WWII island hopping strategy with a quote from baseball legend Willie Keeler: “hit ‘em where they ain’t.” It wasn’t just a convenient, pithy quote. Football may have been MacArthur’s favorite sport, but baseball was a close runner-up. From playing in the first Army/Navy baseball game as a young cadet to holding special American and National Lea...

The MacArthur Memorial has a collection of 31 works of art by John Cullen Murphy as well as an additional 2 works on loan to the museum. Why? While Murphy is famous for his work as the illustrator for the comics Big Ben Bolt and Prince Valiant , he was also a veteran of the Pacific War and an aide to one of MacArthur’s generals. People often refer to MacArthur’s staff as his “court.” We’ve talked...

Just after midnight on March 10, 1945, nearly three hundred American B-29s rained incendiary bombs down on the Japanese capital of Tokyo. The bombs created a nearly 2,800-degree inferno that killed more than 100,000 people and left a part of the city about the size of Manhattan nothing but ash. The attack was so horrifyingly effective that Major General Curtis LeMay, who directed the mission, said...

When discussing General Douglas MacArthur’s tenure as Philippine military advisor in the 1930s, nearly all of MacArthur’s biographers describe MacArthur as being excited to accept the rank of Philippine field marshal – even in a nearly non-existent force. They also relate a story that he designed a pompous new uniform for his new rank. This uniform is frequently cited as proof that MacArthur was o...

On September 2, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur accepted Japan’s surrender in a carefully choreographed ceremony aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Many people think that MacArthur landed in Japan after the ceremony and then began the Occupation. In fact, MacArthur had already been living in Japan for several days prior to the surrender. What was he doing during that time? How did it influence...

George Kenney has been described as a “complete airman” and as one of Hap Arnold’s “best-kept secrets.” He wasn’t well known outside of aviation circles in the pre-WWII period and never made a name for himself like Jimmy Doolittle or Carl Spaatz, but he was one of MacArthur’s greatest assets during World War II. Without Kenney, it's arguable that MacArthur’s vision of Island Hopping would nev...

It is no secret that Douglas MacArthur’s relationship with the US Navy and the USMC was complicated in WWII – but what about during the Korean War? The Korean War was a very different war – but just as in WWII, the USN and the USMC would play a major role in MacArthur’s operations. In this latest episode, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams discuss some of those operations...

Interservice rivalry between the US Navy and the US Army was a major factor in the Pacific Theatre during World War II.  While such rivalry is common in all militaries because each service has to compete for funding and stake out a unique identity and mission, some scholars argue that in the case of the Pacific Theatre, the rivalry was so problematic that it led to inefficiencies in the conduct of...

It is often said that General Douglas MacArthur didn’t have a staff, he had a court. While there were certainly a few courtiers on his staff, there were also some incredibly gifted men around him – men whose talents helped make MacArthur’s vision for the war in the Pacific a success during World War II, and men whose talents might have led to a different Korean War. General Walter Krueger was one...

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declarations of war against Japan, Germany and Italy, the Roosevelt Administration had to figure out what to do with hundreds of Axis diplomats in the United States. Repatriation was the goal but working that out between the warring powers would take time. While this was worked out, the detainees, their families, and staffs would have to be held...

When most people think of the USN admirals in the Pacific during WWII, Nimitz, Halsey, Kinkaid, and Spruance come easily to mind. Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee is less well known. A career naval officer and a seven-time Olympic medalist, during World War II he played a key role in the Pacific as one of the USN’s top combat admirals. To shed some light on Lee’s career and legacy, the MacArthur Memoria...

The MacArthur Memorial is located in Norfolk, VA – the hometown of General Douglas MacArthur’s mother – Mary Hardy. MacArthur himself was born in Little Rock, AR and as the child of a career Army officer, he spent most of his youth moving from post to post. So what place was most like a hometown for him? Was it Norfolk (as he sometimes claimed)? Was it Little Rock? Was it a military fort in the Am...

On the MacArthur Memorial's WWI History Podcast, Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams discussed the relationship between Douglas MacArthur and George Marshall during WWI. While both men were certainly aware of each other during that war, contrary to what some MacArthur biographers suggest, there were no seeds of antagonism between them during that war. By WWII and the Korean War, both were still ser...

In January 1944, a small group of sixteen enlisted men gathered at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois to begin an accelerated course that would turn them into the US Navy's first African American officers on active duty. They all knew that if they failed, their failure would continue to justify US Navy policy that prohibited African American officers. Against all odds, all the...

Similar to World War I, World War II had a profound effect on the European wine industry.  From labor shortages to Nazi looting, it was a very difficult time for the industry - but it was also a period that produced some standout war year vintages. To discuss  wine and World War II, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast recently hosted Walter Wolf III—a lawyer, military historian, and wine expert. The co...

Douglas MacArthur was born on January 26, 1880 in Little Rock, Arkansas. While little is known of his birthdays prior to World War II, as a senior leader during World War II and the occupation of Japan, his birthday took on more diplomatic significance. Following his return to the United States, an annual birthday dinner/SWPA reunion was held in the dining room of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel where h...

During WWII, Allied POWs in the Pacific Theatre – whether combatant or civilian – faced physical and psychological hardships. Captivity is difficult. It is particularly difficult when access to food is irregular or insufficient because food is often associated with a sense of security, comfort, health, and memory.  For many of the civilian POWs held at Santo Tomas internment camp in Manila, recipe...

During World War II, about 16 million people from all walks of life served in the U.S. military. This number included many of the top celebrities of the day – so much so that historians often refer to the period as a time when “Hollywood went to war.” Stars like Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart famously joined the military – as did many others in the entertainment industry. Some fought on the front l...