macarthur, douglas

A general of the twentieth century, who commanded the forces of the Allies in the Pacific region in World War II. When Japanese forces were about to conquer the Philippines, MacArthur was forced to leave, but vowed, “I shall return.” He did return two years later and drove out the Japanese. After the final defeat of Japan, he supervised the occupation of that country by the Allies and helped revise the Japanese constitution. During the Korean War, he commanded troops of the United Nations but was removed as commander by President Harry S. Truman. (See Truman-MacArthur controversy.)