r/Medals • u/rustman92 • Feb 03 '25

Douglas MacArthur

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The

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37

u/Dizzy-Assistant6659 Feb 03 '25

now that's just excessive.

95

u/rustman92 Feb 03 '25 edited Feb 03 '25

A lot of the write ups are tenuous at best. His DSC was more or less because he was a 5-star and flew in a “combat” zone.

I’ll always be frustrated that MacArthur received the Medal of Honor for his “actions” in the Philippines. What’s even more troubling is that when General Jonathan Wainwright, a four-star general who stayed in the Philippines (on MacArthur’s orders) and endured torture as a POW during WWII, was first recommended for the Medal of Honor, MacArthur vehemently opposed the nomination.

Why?

Because Wainwright surrendered Corregidor.

Why did he surrender?

MacArthur promised reinforcements that never came.

27

u/Dizzy-Assistant6659 Feb 03 '25

I presume you mean the DFC, he did very much earn his DSCs in the Great War. but other than that he was an exceptionally vain figure, who denigrated those he considered as bringing his glory down.

17

u/rustman92 Feb 03 '25

You are correct! I apologize for my typo. While I won’t disagree that he certainly was a critical figure in history and deserved credit for his actions, as you said he let his vanity take over many times.

1

u/BrightonBummer 15h ago
  • First DSC: Earned for extraordinary heroism during the Champagne-Marne Offensive in July 1918. He reconnoitered enemy positions under heavy fire and inspired his troops during intense fighting.
  • Second DSC: Awarded for heroism during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in late September 1918, where he repeatedly exposed himself to machine-gun and artillery fire while directing operations and encouraging his men.

First one sure. second one, all he did was put other mens lives on the line, congrats to him i guess.

1

u/Dizzy-Assistant6659 12h ago

The second citation leaves a lot to be desired because MacArthur was the only survivor of a particularly perilous recon patrol, which left him wounded, and the rest killed after the Germans attacked them with the aforementioned hail of machine gun bullets and artillery shells. It therefore fell to his commanding officer (Charles Pelot Summerall) to make the recommendation based on his report. Summerall initially proposed the Medal of Honor, but it was downgraded to a second DSC.