Eisenhower and MacArthur

[navrocky]

Like a lot of you, I have read my share of WW II history books and have seen countless documentaries on this subject, a constant quest we continue to explore.

 

But in my perusing and exploring history, I can't recall having come across a time or event when Eisenhower and MacArthur actually met, and/or exchanged pleasantries let alone confer on exchanging war strategies and/or even uttering a word about the other. In 1951 when MacArthur was relieved of command by President Truman (sound familiar?), I cannot recall if Eisenhower even spoke up or editorialized on the subject, either in his defense or in a repimand. I know future events defined the fact Eisenhower had little regard for Truman when the two men changed places in the White House.

 

Can anyone out there recall a reference or recorded history where these two generals ever came together? Or what there relationship was? Or if they had ever met?

 

Thanks.

[Salvage Sailor]

They knew each other very well & also loathed each other. There's a famous MacArthur quip. When asked what he thought of Ike being elected President of the USA. He said Eisenhower was the best clerk he ever had. On another occasion, Ike said he studied dramatics under MacArthur.

 

Here's a synopsis of when they served together in Washington DC and Manila

 

From the Eisenhower Centennial on army.mil

Eisenhower Centennial

 

In 1930 he became special assistant to General Douglas MacArthur, then Chief of Staff. During those Depression years the Chief of Staff faced an uphill struggle to justify the Army's budget to a Congress intent on slashing military appropriations, while trying to allocate scarce resources to a service with a great many pressing needs. Through that period, Eisenhower drafted MacArthur's speeches, lobbied Congress, and helped to prepare Chief of Staff annual reports that have since been called models of their kind. Eisenhower's confidential work for MacArthur included careful studies of mobilization and the relationship of military power to the industrial capacity of the nation. Other papers considered mechanization, mobilization, and the development of air power in relation to ground battle.

 

MacArthur recognized his subordinate's talents and considered him the best staff officer in the Army, remarking that his principal strength was an ability to look at problems from the point of view of the high command. When MacArthur went to the Philippines as military adviser to the government of that commonwealth in 1935, he took Eisenhower along as his assistant. For the next four years, his duties in helping to create the defenses of those islands were as much diplomatic as they were military, inasmuch as they involved frequent coordination with the American High Commissioner and with the government of the Philippines.

 

Eisenhower returned to the United States at the end of 1939.

[Sabrejet]

It's a classic case of an irresistable force meeting an immoveable object!

 

Sabrejet :pinch:

[grokett]

It's a classic case of an irresistable force meeting an immoveable object!

 

Sabrejet :pinch:

American Caesar by William Manchester puts MacArthur in perspective more than any other book I've read on him. I highly recommend it to anyone who really wants to know what MacArthur was like. Manchester said afterward that he didn't go into the book liking or disliking MacArthur, and he didn't finish the book liking or disliking MacArthur--but he had a hell of a lot of respect for the man. :thumbsup:

[brad k]

there is a photo of ike as he is recieving the news about macarthur being relieved, I'm pretty sure I also remember seeing one taken of them together during the bonus march.

[Lancer21]

See picters attached...

[stickhauler]

If I remember right, while Ike was working on special projects for MacArthur, he participated in a cross-country convoy of Army vehicles to see if there was a possibility that troops could be moved overland with trucks if the need came about. That experience, and seeing the Autobahn in Germany after the end of the war persuaded Ike to advocate for the Interstate Highway System when he was President.

[cutiger83]

Recently, I read two WWII personal account books. In both books, the authors stated that they along with others did not like MacArthur. I found it interesting to read the same thing in two totally unrelated books.

 

Was MacArthur disliked by so many of his own troops?

 

I think Ike was liked a lot more than MacArthur.

 

When my Dad was in the Navy during the Korean War, he met Ike and Mamie. He tells the story all of the time.

 

...Kat

[MPage]

I very often hear people state that their grandfather or uncle, etc., served in the army in the Pacific, usually as an enlisted man, and that the relative disliked MacArthur. This very often is stated but there's no accompanying reason as to why this is.

[grokett]

Very subjective subject, indeed. In my view, as a career military man, for whatever it's worth, I'd prefer a legitimate war hero to a politician in uniform any day. One of my uncles, who I was particularly close to, served under MacArthur in the 127th Infantry, 32nd Division, and he had tremendous admiration for him. I know of others who did not. Unfortunately, people enjoy bashing MacArthur today, but he was a brilliant commander with a magnificent military record overall. He did make mistakes, of course, but so did Eisenhower, Marshall, Bradley, Patton, and any other commander worth his salt.

[patches]

Food for the old thought. Considering the major problem, the horrifying unfathomable prospect on the Korean Peninsular this very day, was MacArthur right after all!

[grokett]

I believe he was, patches. The U.S. has created this no-win concept of war since WWII ended, and it doesn't work. MacArthur believed that everything should be done to avert war, but once war is decided upon, the objective should be indisputable victory. History will prove MacArthur right regarding Korea, but what good will that be when the nukes start flying?