General MacArthur

What an "old soldier" did for South-East Asia and why everyone should learn from him?

I will not bring the full biography of the general here, as other sources, including Wikipedia, will do a better job.

But I want to tell a story of what he had actually done and why he is important for that particular corner of the world.

When forced to leave Philippines during WWII he told on the beach "I shall return". He did regain Philippines although easier way to Japan was possibly through Taiwan. But MacArthur kept his promise and regained islands bit by bit reclaiming territory and bringing freedom to the nation. Till present day he is a national hero of Philippines and his memory is brought up till present day via celebrations, school performances, street names, statues and others.

He won the war with Japan in the Pacific and he also made sure Soviet Union has nothing to say regarding Japan, although they tried to claim some territories by declaring the war on Pacific on...8th August 1945. Yes, 2 days after Hiroshima, and just when Japan had actually surrendered.

After merciless war with Japan MacArthur happened to be responsible for stabilizing the situation in the country after surrender. He opposed any idea of economic persecution, to the contrary he helped to gain funds to rebuild the country. He ruled Japan for 6 years, written constitution which is valid till present day, and laid foundation for modern Japan state. During his rule worst Japanese war criminals faced trials and had been executed.

During the outbreak of Korean War MacArthur successfully helped the South Korea to defeat the North and started march towards China, when their troops allied with North Korea and joined the war. 

President Truman wanted to negotiate, when MacArthur had seen the possibility of complete victory over China and sent them his own ultimatum. Truman was afraid of Soviet nuclear potential and forced MacArthur to step down.

First Soviet nuclear bomb was tested in 1953. After all, MacArthur was right. if he successfully made the raid on China, there would be just one unified and free Korea now.