General Dwight Eisen hower wrote, “I hope he can do the miracles expected and predicted we could use a few right now.” As commander of the Southwest Pacific,MacArthur performed great deeds in reversing Japanese conquests. The American people thought the general was a hero for defiantly fighting the Japanese against overwhelming odds. MacArthur boldly promised the Filipinos,“I shall return!” when he finally obeyed the president’s order and departed in March for the safety of Australia. By February,knowing he could not afford to have General MacArthur captured as the Japanese took possession of the Philippines, President Franklin Roosevelt was forced to order MacArthur to abandon his soldiers, thousands of whom died in the Bataan Death March. Even though MacArthur bravely endured air attacks on the island fortress of Corregidor, his men satirized him as “Dugout Doug.”American losses continued in the Philippines as the Japanese seized Manila in January. General MacArthur had attempted to prepare the Philippines for an attack, but within a few weeks the Japanese army routed his overwhelmed forces all the way to the Bataan Peninsula. On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines,American Midway, Wake and Guam Islands, British Hong Kong, Malaya, and other Pacific targets.This was an important step in Japan’s strategy to rapidly build a large Pacific empire. On the other hand, he could be vain and arrogant, believing only he was right and seeking public adulation for his accomplishments.His hubris, or excessive pride or arrogance, led Mac Arthur to challenge the authority of the president and threaten the republican principle of military deference to the civilian government. Consequently, he was a highly-decorated soldier and became a hero to millions of Americans during World War II and the Korean War. He loved serving his country in the military and usually did so brilliantly and courageously. General Douglas MacArthur always stirred up controversy because of conflicting virtues and vices in his character.

Heroes and generals japan