DOUGLAS MACARTHUR
Politics
Born: January 26, 1880
Little Rock, Arkansas
Died: April 5, 1964

"Only those are fit to live who are not afraid to die."

General MacArthur was a West Point man down to the bone. He first won acclaim during World War I when he helped organize the famous Rainbow Division. He became superintendent of West Point in 1919 and modernized the academy's standards. In 1925 he was promoted to general and in 1930, at the age of 50, he was the youngest man ever to be appointed chief of staff. In July 1941, the retired general was called back to duty to head up the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East to deter Japanese aggression. On December 7, 1941 Japan began the Pacific war by attacking Pearl Harbor. MacArthur's success in New Guinea was one of the first steps toward victory in the region. In 1945, at age 65, MacArthur began a new career as commander of the occupation of Japan, and in 1950 President Harry Truman ordered the 70-year old general to take command of the United Nations international task force during the war in Korea, only later to fire him for insubordination. Following that, and MacArthur's pronouncement to Congress that "Old Soldiers never die, they just fade away," he tried, unsuccessfully, to run for president.