Douglas MacArthur's escape from the Philippines
On 11 March 1942, during World War II, General Douglas MacArthur and members of his family and staff left the Philippine island of Corregidor and his forces, which were surrounded by the Japanese. They traveled in PT boats through stormy seas patrolled by Japanese warships and reached Mindanao two days later. From there, MacArthur and his party flew to Australia in a pair of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, ultimately arriving in Melbourne by train on 21 March. In Australia, he declared, "I came through and I shall return".
PT-32, one of the four PT-20 class motor torpedo boats involved in the first part of the journey
MacArthur, as the focus of U.S. war propaganda, became a symbol of Allied resistance to the Japanese
The Chief of Staff of the United States Army, George C. Marshall (left) confers with the Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, in January 1942
Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley (left) at the helm of a PT boat
Douglas MacArthur was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He served with distinction in World War I, was Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. MacArthur was nominated for the Medal of Honor three times, and received it for his service in the Philippines campaign. This made him along with his father Arthur MacArthur Jr. the first father and son to be awarded the medal. He was one of only five men to rise to the rank of General of the Army in the U.S. Army, and the only one conferred the rank of field marshal in the Philippine Army.
MacArthur in 1945
MacArthur as a student at West Texas Military Academy in the late 1890s
MacArthur was an engineer for the first 14 years of his military career. He received these golden castle pins as a gift upon graduation. He carried these pins with him for over 40 years and in 1945 gave them to Major General Leif J. Sverdrup, whom he thought more deserving to wear them. Sverdrup gave them to the Chief of Engineers in 1975. Every Chief of Engineers since then has worn MacArthur's pins.
Brigadier General MacArthur holding a riding crop at a French château, September 1918