It almost happened twice and is long overdue. It was time for General Douglas MacArthur to be awarded the rank of General of the Armies of the United States.
Though not an actual Six Star General, the General of the Armies rates higher than the Five Star General of the Army.
To date, only three American military officers have been awarded the rank of General of the Armies: George Washington for his services in the American Revolution, John J. Pershing for his services in the First World War, and most recently, Ulysses S. Grant in 2022 for his services in the American Civil War. The Five Star Generals were George C. Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, Hap Arnold, Omar Bradley, and Douglas MacArthur.
In 1976, legislation awarding Washington the rank of General of the Armies was passed, making it clear that no American Soldier would ever outrank the man known as “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countryman.”
MacArthur did not achieve distinction in just one war but in the three largest wars in which the United States was involved: World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Each of his assignments was significant, and when taken together, they can only be counted as monumental.
General MacArthur served as Army Chief of Staff in the 1930s after he had served as Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He was later Field Marshal of the Philippines and restored the path to independence for that nation as Commander in Chief of the Pacific theatre in World War II. As his father had, MacArthur received the Medal of Honor. MacArthur also earned three Distinguished Service Crosses and seven Silver Stars.
Yet, his career did not end there. MacArthur saved the nation of Korea twice. The first was in his leading the American occupation of that nation concurrently with the Occupation of Japan, which led to the founding of South Korea in 1948. The second time he saved Korea was as Commander of United Nations forces in the Korean War. The daring operation at Inchon in 1950, considered impossible by most and coming shortly after General Bradley said there would never be a large-scale amphibious landing again, saved South Korea and the American/Allied Forces pinned down at the Pusan Perimeter. General MacArthur received the highest military award, the Order of Merit (First Class), from the South Korean government for what he did for that nation.
At a time when there was a common belief in the Western World that the white race was superior, MacArthur treated the people of Asia, as seen in the Philippines, Korea, and even the subjugated nation of Japan, as equals. Simply put, Japan would not be the key American ally and open society that it is today without Douglas MacArthur, who, as ruler of Japan from 1945-1951, gave that nation a new constitution, land reform, and free elections. Against many American military and civilian officials who disagreed, MacArthur spared the life of the Japanese Emperor and allowed Hirohito to continue on the throne, albeit in a severely diminished role as time went on. Proving he was as great as Civil Affairs as he was in direct combat, the Japanese people adored General MacArthur as no other Westerner.
Douglas MacArthur’s military career was longer than most, save a few others, such as General Scott and Admiral Rickover. Yet, no one had the breadth and depth of his academic, warfighting, and civil affairs experience.
In 1955, a resolution was introduced in Congress to promote MacArthur to General of the Armies, but the Department of Defense thought, with most of the other Five Star Generals still living, that this would create controversy. There was also a pending proposal in Congress for the same at the time of General MacArthur’s death in 1964.
The last Five Star Generals passed with Omar Bradley’s death in 1981. To coincide with the 200th Anniversary of Ulysses S. Grant’s birth, Congress passed legislation authorizing the President to promote Grant to General of the Armies. Very few Generals deserve to be in the same category as Washington, Pershing and Grant. Douglas MacArthur is one of them. With the 60th anniversary of General MacArthur’s death this week, Congress should right this wrong and authorize the promotion of this great American to the rank of General of the Armies.
*Views in this article are those of the author and not any government agency.