What if right now in the United States everyone was speaking German and lived under Nazi control? As crazy as that sounds, we were not far off from this becoming a reality during World War II. If Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany were victorious in WWII, we could have been learning German as a primary language in the United States. Thankfully though, the United States and its allies pulled through and were victorious with the help of amazing military leaders like General Douglas MacArthur.
There were many important leaders in World War I and II fighting for the United States, but none had as much influence on the outcome of the wars as General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur was born on January 26, 1880 to Mary and Arthur MacArthur of Little Rock Arkansas. MacArthur’s family had a strong military history.
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MacArthur continued to excel at West Point where he graduated top of his class with a 98.14, which was the 3rd highest score ever at West Point. His first military assignment was supervisor of a wharf in Iloilo, an island neighboring the Philippines in 1903. MacArthur faced his first brush with death when he was ambushed by two Filipino guerrillas on a surveying mission. He used his pistol to kill them both. For the next few years, MacArthur continued to jump around in his assignments until in 1914 he joined the Veracruz expedition. He realized they would need to use the railroad to advance from Veracruz, but they had no locomotives. He headed to Alvarado to try to find some locomotives. Eventually his group found some, but on the way back they were chased by armed men. MacArthur ended up shooting two men they could not outrun. A little later, they were again attacked by around 15 horsemen. He received three bullet holes in his clothing, before shooting 4 of the attackers. After all of this, Woodrow Wilson nominated him for a Medal of Honor, but the board rejected it because he ignored his
Michael C. C. Adams' book, The Best War Ever: America and World War II, attempts to dispel the numerous misconceptions of the Second World War. As the title suggests, Americans came out of the war with a positive view of the preceding five turbulent years. This myth was born from several factors. Due to the overseas setting of both theaters of the war, intense government propaganda, Hollywood's glamorization, and widespread economic prosperity, Americans were largely sheltered form the brutal truth of World War II. Even to this day, the generation of World War II is viewed as being superior in morality and unity. The popular illusion held that 'there were no ethnic or gender problems, families were happy and united, and children worked hard in school and read a great number of books.' (115)
Throughout MacArthur’s service to the United States, he went through various situations which tested him as a man, but because he had formed such a strong opinion of duty, honor, and country, he was able to overcome the troubling situations which led to his receiving of the Thayer Award. MacArthur’s ability to overcome dilemmas is one of the reasons he was the powerful leader he was, and to fully grasp the importance of his speech that shaped the future, one must know his past. At the age of twenty-three, MacArthur graduated from West Point with the highest grades the academy had seen in twenty-five years showing his determination to succeed. After moving
Born in New York City on October 27 1858, Theodore Roosevelt was a very bright person. In his early life, Roosevelt was businessman that had many goals. Theodore,
The Korean War changed the face of American Cold War diplomacy forever. In the midst of all the political conflict and speculation worldwide, the nation had to choose between two proposed solutions, each one hoping to ensure that communism didn?t sweep across the globe and destroy American ideals of capitalism and democracy. General Douglas MacArthur takes the pro-active stance and says that, assuming it has the capability, the U.S. should attack communism everywhere. President Harry Truman, on the other hand, believed that containing the Soviet communists from Western Europe was the best and most important course of action, and that eliminating communism in Asia was not a priority.
Operational leaders see how the individual components of an organization fit together and use those individuals work to make a larger outcome. When they focus on a problem, they think of what works best within the process and systems to make an impact on the situation. These types of leaders play a big part in making sure that things get done in an effective and functioning manner. According to the Army Doctrine ADP 6-0, the Army over time has strayed away from operational leaders and adapted Mission Command, which gives leaders the ability at the lowest level the capability to exercise disciplined initiative in an act of carrying out the larger mission . Mission Command is made up of the following six steps: Understanding, Visualize, Describe, Direct, Lead and Assess, in which a commander is responsible for. General Patton understood the intent of the Battle of the Bulge on different levels, he was able to form a mental image for the course of actions for the allies, enemies and lead his Army into combat while guiding his officers and soldiers to succeed in meeting his intent. The Battle of the Bulge is where General Patton gained one of his greatest military achievements by using his tactical leadership and logistical genius, which in return helped him turn around the main forces and forced the Germans to drive back in their final counter-offensive. General Patton strongly exercised Mission Command by understanding, visualizing, leading, and commanding what was known as the largest and bloodiest battle during World War II.
Benedict Arnold was born on January 14th, 1741 in Norwich, Connecticut. His father was a businessman and anticipated that his son would be equally as successful. Three of Arnold’s siblings died from diphtheria, so his father began drinking heavily and lost his job. The family fell on hard financial times (Benedict).
From the book the admirals I picked up a lot of knowledge and interesting facts that I was unaware of before I had read it. The Admirals takes place before, during and after World War II which goes on to explain how four different men who were enlisted in the navy were promoted to become the only Five-Star Fleet Admirals in American history. These four men were perhaps one of the biggest, if not the biggest reason that the Allied forces had won the war. The four men that received the honor and rank of Five-Star Fleet Admiral were “William D. Leahy, Ernest J. King, Chester W. Nimitz, and William F. Halsey”.
Ulysses S. Grant was an American general and 18th president of the United States. Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, on April 27, 1822, the son of Hannah Simpson and Jesse Grant, the owner of a tannery. Taken to nearby Georgetown at the age of one, he was educated in local and boarding schools. In 1839, under the name of Ulysses Simpson instead of his original Hiram Ulysses, he was appointed to West Point. Graduating 21st in a class of 39 in 1843, he was assigned to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. There he met Julia Dent, a local planter's daughter, whom he married after the Mexican War.
John MacArthur is a well-known and sometimes controversial pastor that holds a strong conservative viewpoint of the Scriptures. As a graduate of Talbot Theological Seminary, MacArthur’s ministry has covered a wide spectrum of Christian fields including pastor, author and radio host. MacArthur currently serves as the Pastor of Grace Community Church in Sunny Valley, California. For over 45 years his pastoral ministry at Grace Community Church has given evidence of a deep abiding love for the exposition of the Scriptures. Beyond his role as pastor, MacArthur serves as the president of the Master’s College and Seminary, which functions to train men to work in various areas of Christian ministry. As a successful author, MacArthur continues to write many books ranging from culturally and theological relevant issues to New Testament expositional commentaries and study guides. Macarthur also serves as the lead teacher of Grace to You, an everyday radio and television ministry, which centers on verse by verse exposition of Scripture. MacArthur is not known for shying away from controversial topics that Christianity struggles with. He seeks to use scripture to help modern Christians think through these topics.
If these loyalties or interests I should say hadn’t changed, what would the effect on the world be today? Would you or I be speaking some other language? French perhaps?
Another important person would be Major General George Sykes. He was born on October 9th, 1822 in Dover, Delaware. He graduated from West Point with the Class of 1842 and from there he went to Florida to join in on the second Seminole war. Governor William Burton served in many states during the Civil War, like New Mexico and Texas. He was considered one of the best officers in the Army. In the regular army he was known as “Tardy George.” General George Sykes died while he was in the army on active duty in Texas as the 20th
Douglas Macarthur was born on January 26th, 1880 in Little Rock, Arkansas (Kelley 35). His parents were Arthur and Mary MacArthur. As a young man, Douglas MacArthur was moved around frequently to different parts of the United States where his father was stationed. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point where he received his commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the United States Army. He was valedictorian of his class of 93 at West Point (Kelley 39). He was promoted very quickly through the next few years and had a great deal of combat experience in several different conflicts, including World War I. Douglas served in the Philippines as major general, commanded the Department of the Philippines, and served in the U.S. as chief of staff of the Army (Wikipedia). In 1942 he was made the supreme commander of Allied forces in the southwest Pacific and by 1945 had liberated the Philippines on the way to invading Japan. MacArthur accepted the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, then led the occupation forces in the reconstruction of Japan (Wikipedia). After North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, MacArthur was put in charge of United Nations forces and successfully drove the invaders back (Wikipedia). General MacArthur wanted to push the enemy back and go into China to do so but was relieved of his command by President Truman before he could do so.
MacArthur, Douglas. “Duty, Honor, Country.” Sylvanus Thayer Award Acceptance. West Point, NY. 12 May, 1962.
WWII could have been completely different if American soldiers could have gotten permission to attack the Nazis earlier. If the war could have been stopped a month earlier or even a year earlier; there could have been
Ronald Reagan was born February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. His father was John Edward “Jack” Reagan, and his mother was Nelle Wilson Reagan. He was born into a happy, well-disciplined family, and had a very happy childhood. Before Reagan held office, Reagan was a radio announcer, and became the voice of Major League Baseball in 1932. Reagan also had a 7-year contract with Warner Brothers, and made about fifty movies. Reagan then put all the fun and games aside, and joined the Army Reserve and was called to active duty shortly after Pearl Harbor. “ He was in the Army from 1942-45 rising to the level of Captain. However, he never took part in combat and stated stateside. He narrated training films and was in the Army Air Force First Motion Picture Unit.” (Martin Kelly, n...