General Douglas Macarthur: Military Leaders In World War I And II

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What if right now in the United States everyone was speaking German and lived under Nazi control? As crazy as that sounds, we were not far off from this becoming a reality during World War II. If Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany were victorious in WWII, we could have been learning German as a primary language in the United States. Thankfully though, the United States and its allies pulled through and were victorious with the help of amazing military leaders like General Douglas MacArthur.
There were many important leaders in World War I and II fighting for the United States, but none had as much influence on the outcome of the wars as General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur was born on January 26, 1880 to Mary and Arthur MacArthur of Little Rock Arkansas. MacArthur’s family had a strong military history. …show more content…

MacArthur continued to excel at West Point where he graduated top of his class with a 98.14, which was the 3rd highest score ever at West Point. His first military assignment was supervisor of a wharf in Iloilo, an island neighboring the Philippines in 1903. MacArthur faced his first brush with death when he was ambushed by two Filipino guerrillas on a surveying mission. He used his pistol to kill them both. For the next few years, MacArthur continued to jump around in his assignments until in 1914 he joined the Veracruz expedition. He realized they would need to use the railroad to advance from Veracruz, but they had no locomotives. He headed to Alvarado to try to find some locomotives. Eventually his group found some, but on the way back they were chased by armed men. MacArthur ended up shooting two men they could not outrun. A little later, they were again attacked by around 15 horsemen. He received three bullet holes in his clothing, before shooting 4 of the attackers. After all of this, Woodrow Wilson nominated him for a Medal of Honor, but the board rejected it because he ignored his

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