MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur was born on January 26,1880 on an Army base in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was raised in a family that had a military background history. He was grown up on that Army base until 1893 when his family moved to San Antonio, Texas where he attended the West Texas Military Academy. Later when he graduated from high school, he attended a military academy in West Point. In 1903, graduated from West Point with honors. After graduation, he was commissioned at Army Corps of Engineers as a junior officer. He spent 10 years fulfilling many duties. He was later had a number of promotions and led to posts in countries all over the world. He fought in wars that included World War I, World War II, and in he Korean War. He died on April 5, 1967 at Washington D.C. He was later buried at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia.
MacArthur and the Korean War
At the end of World War II in 1945, President Harry Truman appointed General Douglas MacArthur supreme Allied commander. He was placed being charge of the formal surrender in Tokyo and he remained in Japan to oversee the rebuilding of the country and to command the forces. In 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea. MacArthur was in charge of the American-lead alliance of United Nation troops. That fall he lead his troops to repel the North Koreans back towards the Chinese border. Later MacArthur had a meeting with Truman that feared that communist government of People's Republic of China will view the invasion as an hostile and intervene in the conflict. MacArthur reassured the Truman that the chances that China will get involved is unlikely.
In November and December of 1950, a massive army from China crossed to North Korea and attacked the U.S. troops ans caused the U.S. troops to retreat back to South Korea. MacArthur asked Truman if they could bomb China. However, Truman refused MacArthur request because he feared that it would turn into another World war. The two men had a public disagreement about the issue. On April 11, 1951, Truman fired MacArthur.
In November and December of 1950, a massive army from China crossed to North Korea and attacked the U.S. troops ans caused the U.S. troops to retreat back to South Korea. MacArthur asked Truman if they could bomb China. However, Truman refused MacArthur request because he feared that it would turn into another World war. The two men had a public disagreement about the issue. On April 11, 1951, Truman fired MacArthur.
The Effects of MacArthur Involvement
The effects of MacArthur's involvement was that after he was fired, he went back to Washington D.C. and people greeted him as a hero. However, President Truman criticized him of his actions and MacArthur defended his actions in Korea. The North Koreans feared that the U.S. would use nuclear weapons. In 1951, the U.S. took it to consideration that they would drop an atomic bomb on them. Later in 1952, MacArthur met with Dwight Eisenhower and told him a way to end the war was to drop the atomic bomb but the request was denied.
Implication
The implications I can draw about MacArthur's role in the Korean War is that MacArthur's lead during the Korean War, helped the South Koreans be able to have an equal match against the North Koreans. I think MacArthur was a good general because he believed in going to any military circumstances to win the war. However, Truman was right that if they bombed China it may lead to another war and it would get harder to fight and it would last for a longer period of time. I think MacArthur's strategies to capture parts of North Korea helped and I think if China did not intervene into the conflict, North Korea would have been destroyed and South Korea would have won.