Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. His father was a Civil War hero. MacArthur graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1903. He served the next ten years as an aide and junior officer. During World War I, MacArthur commanded the 42nd Division in France. Promoted to brigadier general, he became superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy in 1919. He served in the Philippines from 1922 to 1925. In 1930 he became army chief of staff. During the Great Depression, he was criticized for sending troops to remove Bonus Army members from Washington, D.C. MacArthur retired in 1937 but returned to active duty in 1941 to fight in World War II. He led U.S. forces in the Pacific theater. As supreme commander, he accepted the Japanese surrender in September 1945. After the war, MacArthur supervised the occupation of Japan. In 1950 he was chosen to command the United Nations forces in the Korean War. After pushing North Korea back at Inchon, President Harry S Truman asked MacArthur to scale back American involvement in Korea. When MacArthur refused, Truman relieved him of his command, effectively forcing his final retirement in 1951.
