道格拉斯、麥克阿瑟Douglas MacArthur，誕生於一個軍人世家。他的父親小亞瑟Arthur Jr. 18歲時，以少尉副官的身份，加入南北戰爭的北軍，也曾參與美菲戰爭，官拜駐菲美軍司令。道格拉斯在家排行老三，1899年6月13日，19歲時入學西點軍校；20年後於1919年至1922年期間，出任西點軍校校長。任職中結識當時，華府最為亮麗的社交名流，露易絲·克倫威爾·布魯克斯Henrietta Louise Cromwell，兩人於於1922年2月14日，在佛羅里達州棕櫚灘的別墅結婚。據聞露易絲是當時，新就任美國陸軍參謀長潘興將軍General Pershing的情婦，因吃味麥克阿瑟的婚事，所以道格拉斯於1922年6月，被調離校長職務。10月被派往菲律賓，就任新設置的馬尼拉軍分區司令，露易絲和她與前夫所生的兩個孩子亦同行。
殷切盼望為子祈禱
露易絲或因不慣於在菲律賓，遠離華府社交圈的生活，於1925年1月，她帶著自己近半個船艙的行李，從菲律賓回美，最後兩人於1929年離婚。麥克阿瑟並沒有，因婚姻生活不協調而喪志；反而專注軍旅公職，於1924年還曾平定「菲律賓偵查軍叛變」。1929年3月，胡佛就任美國第31屆總統，麥克阿瑟的職業軍旅有了轉機，11月21日就任陸軍參謀長。1935年10月卸職後，在羅斯福總統的許可下，接手美國駐菲軍事顧問團的任務。與家人及助理等人在搭乘胡佛總統號郵輪，由舊金山錢往馬尼拉航行途中，邂逅瓊妮、瑪麗、費爾克洛斯Jean Marie Faircloth；兩人於1937年4月30日，在於美國紐約市政大樓結婚，於當年12月31日他正式從美國陸軍退役，結束其38年服役生涯。他們於1938年2月21日有了獨生子、亞瑟·麥克阿瑟四世Arthur MacArthur IV。亞瑟四世出生，麥克阿瑟時已年滿58歲，老年得子喜出望外、其望子順利成長之殷切可想而知。故而感恩之餘、在其子未出生前，於1937年7月間，就向他所信奉的主禱告，寫下了一篇發人深省的「為子祈禱文A Pray for Son」：
隨著投下兩顆原子彈後，太平洋戰區情況急轉直下，日本天皇於1945年8月15日宣布無條件投降；杜魯門亦於當天任命麥克阿瑟為「盟軍最高統帥」，負責主持和安排日本受降，並實施隨後的日本佔領工作。麥克阿瑟要求日本政府，派出軍方代表團，前往馬尼拉商討受降事宜。他於9月2日，在「密蘇里號」戰艦上，主持接受日本投降儀式，並於當天頒布杜魯門總統，事先批准的第一號軍事命令(General Order No.1)、第一條a)款：在中國（滿洲除外）、台灣及北緯十六度以北之法屬印度支那境內的日軍高階司令官及所有陸、海、空軍及輔助部隊應向蔣介石大元帥投降。依據該命令蔣介石、中華民國及其黨徒，開始在台灣的軍事佔領，至今仍未明文撤除。
142 years ago, on January 26, 1880, a man was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, and he would serve as the commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater of WWII, the supreme commander of the Allied Forces, and the prophet, one of only five five-star generals in the U.S. Army. He has published such well-known spiritual legacies as "Prayers for my Son", "I shall return" and "Old soldiers never die”. He was proud of his military career all his life. However, during the Korean War, he had a serious conflict with President Truman's strategy of whether to bump the CCP entered from the other side of the Yalu River, and was dismissed from his post, ending his 52-year military career. He once said: "Taiwan is an unsinkable aircraft carrier", "If you lose Taiwan, you will lose the Pacific". In the face of the moment when the situation in the Taiwan Strait has been triggered, and at the eve of his 142-year-old birthday, let us review this worthy, anti-communist five-star general who is admired by the world and Taiwanese.
Principal of West Point Military Academy
Douglas MacArthur was born in a military family. Father, Arthur Jr. at age of 18, as a second lieutenant, he joined the Northern Army in the Civil War. Douglas was the third son in the family. On June 13, 1899, he entered West Point Military Academy at the age of 19; 20 years later, from 1919 to 1922, he served as the principal of the West Point Military Academy. During his tenure, he met the most beautiful socialite in Washington at the time, Henrietta Louise Cromwell, and the two married on February 14, 1922, at their villa in Palm Beach, Florida. It is said that Louise was the mistress of General Pershing, the newly appointed U.S. Army Chief of Staff at the time. Douglas was transferred from the position of principal in June 1922 because of the taste of MacArthur's marriage. In October, she was dispatched to the Philippines to take up the post of commander of the newly established Manila Military Division, along with Louise and her two children from her ex-husband.
Eagerly looking forward to praying for his son
Louise may not be accustomed to living in the Philippines where far from the social circle of Washington. In January 1925, she returned to the US from the Philippines with nearly half cabin load of her luggage. The two divorced in 1929. MacArthur did not lose heart because of the incongruity of his marriage life; instead, he focused on military and public service, and in 1924 he even quelled the "Philippine Scout Rebellion". In March 1929, Hoover took office as the 31st President of the US, and MacArthur's career in the military had a turnaround. On November 21, he took office as the Army Chief of Staff. After resigning in October 1935, with the permission of President Roosevelt, he took over the task of the US military advisory group in the Philippines. On the way from San Francisco to Manila on the cruise ship President Hoover with family members and assistants, he met Jean Marie Faircloth; the two married on April 30, 1937, in the city of New York, USA. On December 31 of that year, he officially retired from the U.S. Army, ending his 38-year service career. They had their only son, Arthur MacArthur IV, on February 21, 1938. When Arthur IV was born, MacArthur was 58 years old already, and he was overjoyed at the old age, and you could imagine of his ardent hope that his son would grow up smoothly. Therefore, in addition to being grateful, before his son was born, in July 1937, he prayed to the Lord he believed in, and wrote a thought-provoking "A Prayer for Son":
Build me a son, oh Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee and that to know Thee is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.
Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.
Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain.”
Japanese bombing of Subic Bay
On July 26, 1941, due to the deterioration of Japan-U.S. relations, Roosevelt announced that the Philippine Army would be incorporated into the U.S. military command system, recalled MacArthur, who had retired, and returned to active duty with the rank of major general as the commander of the "U.S. Far Eastern Army". On December 8, 1941, at 3:30 local time in the Philippines, MacArthur's chief of staff, Richard K. Sutherland, received the news that Pearl Harbor had been bombed by the Japanese and immediately informed MacArthur. At 5:30, U.S. Army Chief of Staff George Catlett Marshall ordered MacArthur to launch the "Rainbow 5" war plan, which was to defend the sea lines of communication with the U.S. Pacific Fleet and insist on 4 to 6 months later, many reinforcements would be transported by the Pacific Fleet to fight the Japanese decisively. However, at 12:30 local time, Clark Airport, where many main military aircraft are parked, and the neighboring fighter base IBA Airport, was bombed by the Japanese 11th Air Fleet, and the U.S. Far East Air Force lost 18 of 35 B-17 bombers, 53 of 107 P-40 fighters, and more than 25 other aircraft of various types, mostly was bombed on the ground. The airport was also severely damaged, and 80 people were killed and 150 injured. In February 1942, the Japanese army had gradually tightened the encirclement, and MacArthur stated in a letter to Roosevelt on February 11 that he would "live and die" with the defenders.
MacArthur declared I shall return
On February 23, 1942, MacArthur received a telegram from Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff, instructing Roosevelt to order him to immediately go to Mindanao, and then from there to Australia to take up the new post of commander-in-chief of the "US-British-Dutch-Australian Command". On the night of March 12, MacArthur, his wife and children, Chief of Staff Sutherland and other staff left Bataan by torpedo boat and successfully arrived at Delmon Airport in Mindanao, where they boarded a B-17 bomber and flew to Australia. On March 21, MacArthur arrived in Melbourne by train. On the way, MacArthur delivered a speech at Troy Railway Station in South Australia: "The U.S. government ordered me to break through the Japanese defense line and come to Australia from Corregidor. According to my understanding, my trip was to organize the U.S. against Japan. Counter-offensive, the most important goal of which is to rescue the Philippines. I am here now, but I shall return.”
Cut off supplies to the Japanese army
In January 1943, the US and the UK decided at the Casablanca meeting to decide the strategy for the new year of the war. The Pacific strategy was to ensure that New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, but also to recover the Aleutian Islands and attack the Japanese in the Caroline and Marshall Islands. base. By the end of 1943, it controlled most of Bougainville Island. At the beginning of 1944, the New Zealand 3rd Division captured Green Island, and on March 20, the Haier Sai Division captured Kavieng, northwest of Rabaul, and blocked its right flank. In mid-March, MacArthur captured the New British Isles and completed the left-wing blockade of Rabaul. After that, MacArthur withdrew the American troops, leaving only the Australian troops to contain Rabaul. So far, Rabaul, an important town in the South Pacific of the Japanese army, has been under attack from the east and west, and 135,000 Japanese troops have been besieged. Rabaul's sea and air reinforcements and supplies to the surrounding Japanese troops have also been cut off. The line of defense was breached by the Allies.
Debate over attacking of the Philippines or Taiwan first
In 1944, in the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, there were different strategic disputes about "circling the Philippines to attack Taiwan and then Japan" or "first attacking the Philippines then Taiwan and Japan". In late July, Roosevelt held a meeting at Pearl Harbor. In addition to the president himself, there were MacArthur, Nimitz, and the president's chief of staff, William D. Lehigh. At the meeting, Nimitz said from a naval point of view that the Allies should bypass the Philippine Islands and directly take Taiwan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and other islands. MacArthur immediately objected to Nimitz's plan, because not only was the Philippine Island strategically the hub of the Japanese line of communication in the south, but if the Allies bypassed and attacked Taiwan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the losses would be much greater than those of occupying these islands. The benefits brought by the outpost islands could not dampen Japan's will to resist. In contrast, the Allied forces had to pay a much smaller price to retake the Philippines, and psychologically, they were more able to strike Japan than Taiwan.
People of the Philippines: I have returned
MacArthur also made a political cut, saying that the 17 million Filipinos were still loyal to the US, and there would be no strong guerrilla support for attacking Taiwan, and that "the Filipinos thought they were betrayed in 1942", so it was necessary to lead a large army to counterattack, Otherwise, the national prestige of the US will be damaged. If the Philippine Island is bypassed and ignored, the blocked Japanese army will surely seize the food of the people on the island, causing the civilians to suffer misery and starvation. In addition, since the spring of 1944, the Japanese army launched "Operation No. 1" in China, which resulted in the capture of all airports and ports in East China, thus reducing the strategic significance of attacking Taiwan. Together with the political factors advocated by MacArthur, the Joint Participation Conference was finally held on October 3. Issued a resolution to attack Luzon and shelved the case of attacking Taiwan (finally abandoned). On October 20, 1944, Kruger led the 6th Corps to land on Reyte Island, while MacArthur supervised the operation from the light cruiser "Nashville". After landed the Philippines he made a speech: People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood of our two peoples. We have come dedicated and committed to the task of destroying every vestige of enemy control over your daily lives, and of restoring upon a foundation of indestructible strength, the liberties of your people.
MacArthur’s General Order No.1
With the dropping of two atomic bombs, the situation in the Pacific Theater took a turn for the worse. The Emperor of Japan announced an unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945; Truman also appointed MacArthur as "Allied Commander-in-Chief" on the same day, responsible for presiding over and arranging for Japan's surrender, and implementing the subsequent of the Japanese occupation work. MacArthur asked the Japanese government to send a military delegation to Manila to discuss the surrender. On September 2, on the USS Missouri, he presided over the acceptance ceremony of Japan's surrender, and on the same day issued President Truman's pre-approved General Order No.1: a. The senior Japanese commanders and all ground, sea, air, and auxiliary forces within China (excluding Manchuria), Formosa and French Indo-China north of 16 north latitude shall surrender to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.
MacArthur visited Taiwan planning to strike CCP
On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army invaded South Korea and the Korean War broke out. On July 8, MacArthur was appointed as the "Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations". All South Korean troops are under his command. On July 30, the commander-in-chief of the Far Eastern Army also flew to Taipei from Tokyo to exchange views on the current situation with Chiang Kai-shek. It is not known exactly what he talked about, but he did suggest afterwards that the KMT army that had retreated to Taiwan should be thrown into the Korean battlefield. But the Joint Chiefs of Staff and MacArthur have different views on whether to cut off the North Korean supply extension line. MacArthur advocated the complete disintegration and annihilation of North Korea with the advanced military superiority of the US. On September 15, the 1st U.S. Marine Division successfully landed in Inchon. Only 21 people were killed that day. The Inchon landing was considered a major victory for MacArthur. However, on September 30, Kim Il-sung attended a reception for the first anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, where he asked China to send troops into the DPRK. After several deliberation, Mao Zedong decided to send troops. To avoid a full-scale war with the US, he sent a unit named "Volunteer Army", that is, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Together with the North Korean troops, it was commanded by Peng Dehuai. On October 16, 1950, the vanguard of the Volunteer Army had secretly entered North Korea from Ji'an. On the evening of the 19th, the CCP entered the DPRK through the Yalu River, undeclared war, and its scale overwhelmed the UN army: the ratio of the two sides was 5:1. The United States has about 300,000 troops and China 1.9 million. On October 25, 1950, the Volunteer Army launched an attack on the 2nd Army of the Republic of Korea. The three divisions of the Korean Army lost all equipment and fled, while the gap between the 8th Army and the 10th Army of the United Nations Army in the process of advancing north expanded with the border, located in the 8th Army. While the Han army on the right flank collapsed, the volunteers also attacked the flank of the regiment, which was severely damaged. From October 25, 1950, to June 10, 1951, the two sides had five large-scale battles.
Urging airstrike but was fired
MacArthur believed that China had fully participated in the war, advocated a massive increase in troops, and publicly advocated the expansion of the war, and advocated large-scale bombing of Northeast China, including nuclear weapons, but Truman and his supporters believed that this would not end the war, and Once the Soviet Union intervenes in the Korean battlefield, the US military will inevitably bomb Vladivostok, the war will expand, and Japan will also be retaliated by the Soviet Union. Thanks to Ridgway’s efforts, the UN army regained its combat power and launched "Operation Thunderbolt" on January 26, 1951, successfully reversing the offensive and defensive state of both sides. MacArthur once again reiterated the all-out war against China, advocating that to prevent a breakthrough by the United Nations forces, China's coast should be blocked, China's war industry should be destroyed with artillery and air strikes, and the national army that had retreated to Taiwan should be thrown into the Korean battlefield. Truman's policy, however, was to escalate the war only if China attacked U.S. forces outside North Korea. On April 11, 1951, Truman drafted an order to MacArthur, signed and issued by Bradley: " I deeply regret that it becomes my duty as President and Commander-in-Chief of the United States military forces to replace you as Supreme Commander, Allied Powers; Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command; Commander-in-Chief, Far East; and Commanding General, U.S. Army, Far East. You will turn over your commands, effective at once, to Lt. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway. You are authorized to have issued such orders as are necessary to complete desired travel to such place as you select. My reasons for your replacement, will be made public concurrently with the delivery to you of the foregoing order, and are contained in the next following message.”
Old soldiers never die they just fade away
The news of the relief was broadcast to Tokyo through commercial radio, and MacArthur was entertaining guests at a luncheon at the American embassy when he received the news. MacArthur was expressionless after hearing the news, only telling his wife beside him that "We two can finally go home." On April 12, MacArthur left the US embassy in Japan and drove to take a constellation plane that had been renamed the "Bataan". About 250,000 Japanese people said goodbye to MacArthur along the road leading to the airport. On April 19, MacArthur delivered a farewell speech to a joint session of Congress. This was his last official appearance. MacArthur spoke about his differences with Truman on the Korean War and defended his position. The speech was also applauded. After 50 interruptions with applause, he finally said: I am closing my 52 years of military service. When I joined the Army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all my boyish hopes and dreams. The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that "old soldiers never die; they just fade away." And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye.
General obeyed the Order
MacArthur could have requested a public court martial like that of Billy Mitchell in the 1920s. The outcome of such a trial was uncertain, and it might well have found him not guilty and ordered his reinstatement. But he chose not to challenge his boss Truman who disagreed with him, he immediately obeyed when he received the relief order. This is the true nature of a conscientious soldier. But 70 years have passed. When the world looks back on this history today, if the United States had annihilated North Korea and the CCP in one fell swoop, as MacArthur planned, I believe the world situation would have changed for a long time. MacArthur, who was proud and proud of his military life all his life, was finally dismissed in the battlefield where he was best at, the Korean War. What a shame!
Nationality changes after military withdrawal
At the end of a war, the withdrawal of troops and overseas compatriots is a necessary process. After the Sino-Japanese War ended in 1895, Article 5 of the Treaty of Shimonoseki clearly stipulated, to give Taiwan residents a two-year relocation period; it depends on whether they want to return to China as Manchus or stay as Japanese. In the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951, Japan only announced to renounce the governance rights, property rights and creditor's rights of Penghu, Taiwan, and did not give Taiwanese who were naturalized in Japan at the time the right of abode to choose. There is no doubt that the military occupation of the WWII has ended. Some time ago, the withdrawal of troops and overseas compatriots after the end of the Afghan war seemed to let people see the shadow of Taiwan after WWII.
Who does the ROC represent?
On December 10, 1949, Chiang Kai-shek, and his KMT army, after their defeat in the China civil war, evacuated and fled to Taiwan with the assistance of the US. At that time, he had been retired and had no official position at all, but he returned to office on March 1, 1950, which was obviously unconstitutional without any legal basis. And on July 30, 1950, it was blessed by MacArthur's visit. I just don't know, who is the ROC that has been used in Taiwan until now, who is it going to represent, China or Taiwan? If it is China, who does the PRC represent? To represent Taiwan, there is no legal source. The international community simply does not recognize that the ROC today is a sovereign country. What they want to defend and protect is Taiwan, not the ROC.
Tension cover Taiwan Strait
At this moment, unprecedented pressure and tension are brewing over Taiwan and the Strait. To plan, at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping is gearing up for his coronation without a term of office. He is ready to invade Taiwan as scapegoat of his greedy, and he will act to annex Taiwan at any time. After being cast aside by most voters in Taiwan one after another, the blue-team led by the KMT are also hesitating and painic, not knowing whether to bring their guns back to their hometown to defect to China, or to reform their past wrongs and integrate into Taiwan as new home. There is also a group of wall-riding chameleons who think they have great ability and can turn clouds and rains. Wearing red coats with white linings, they are taking big strides to capture the power territory vacated by the blue team. In Taiwan, it is indeed a severe challenge to maintain the strength to contend with the CCP's evil neighbors. Biden's unruly withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan is even more chilling; fortunately, the power of the international community's anti-Communist consciousness is awakening day by day. I hope we can all remember the warning that MacArthur sued 70 years ago: "If you lose Taiwan, you will lose the Pacific." Let us take Taiwan's survival as our own responsibility and join hands to defend Taiwan. It will not only become a genuine unsinkable aircraft carrier, but also a beacon of freedom that illuminates the international world. Come on, Taiwan!
