Five star Generals Program

Why wasn't Ike also put on a gold commemorative?

 

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Plated maybe . I found a 1972 on eBay .

 

Why they chose MacArthur I'll never know. He'd be my last choice......

 

Why do you say that?

 

Uh.....he was our Chief Commander in the Pacific and signed the Japanese surrnder on the USS Missouri.

 

Before you go too far with the trashing of MacArthur, you need to look at what he accomplished. Here the MacArthur portion of an article I wrote on these coins in 2013.

Douglas MacArthur (1880 - 1964) - Appears on the Five Dollar Gold Piece.

Douglas MacArthur was born into a distinguished military family. His father, Arthur MacArthur, like his son won the Congressional Medal of Honor. They are one of two father and son combinations who have received that honor. The other was Theodore Roosevelt and his son, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

After graduating at the top of his West Point class in 1903 MacArthur rose to a major leadership role in World War I when he became the brigade commander of the 42nd Division. Upon returning home in 1919 he was appointed to be the head of the West Point Military Academy. This was followed by an appointment to be Army Chief of Staff from 1930 to '35. During this period MacArthur fought to maintain the strength of the Army during The Great Depression.

After his term as the Army Chief of Staff MacArthur was stationed in the Philippines. In mid 1941 as the situation with Japan grew worse, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed him commander of U.S. Army forces in the Pacific theater. After the Japanese forced MacArthur and his forces out of the Philippines, the general moved his center of operations to Australia. Vowing to return and liberate the Philippines, MacArthur kept his promise in 1944. After the atomic bomb quickly ended Japanese resistance, MacArthur accepted their surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri. From there MacArthur began a very successful occupation of Japan during which he initiated reforms that transformed the country politically and economically.

The Philippine Government Issued this MacArthur Peso and a 50 centavo piece for good reason.



On June 25, 1950 the North Koreans initiated an unprovoked attack on South Korea as they crossed the 38th parallel which marked the border between the two nations. The North quickly overwhelmed the South and gained control of almost all of the peninsula. The last stronghold was Pusan, a region in the southwest corner of the country. Despite a seemingly overwhelming victory, MacArthur noted that the North Korean supply lines were stretched and vulnerable. Rolling the dice MacArthur landed a force at Inchon, a port well north of the communist position. Within a month's time the North Koreans were forced out the South and driven to the North Korean border, the Yalu River. At that point the Chinese Communists intervened in the war and drove MacArthur's forces to a point south of the 38th parallel. MacArthur requested that he be allowed to bomb the bridges over the Yalu River. When his request was denied he took his objections public which led President Harry Truman to relieve him of his command.

MacArthur's removal was highly controversial. He added flames to the debate in a moving speech before the U.S. Congress during which he made his most famous quote, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away." Later he lent his support to senator Robert Taft, in his unsuccessful attempt to prevent Dwight Eisenhower from gaining the 1952 Republican presidential nomination. Following that MacArthur retired from public life.

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MacArthur was egotistical and in the end insubordinate. Truman was correct when he relieved him of his command. BUT his military contributions and his handling of converting Japan from an imperial empire to a democracy can't be ignored.

Eisenhower had already been honored with a made for circulation dollar, and a commemorative silver dollar in 1990. Perhaps Congress thought that it was time to recognize his counterpart in the Pacific War.

 

Here is an interesting set that the mint issued in 2013 of the five-star general coins.



The mint placed this bronze strike of the gold medal that Congress awarded to MacArthur in 1964 instead of the $5 gold piece, which kept the price of the set down.

 

Don't forget the Philippines gold coin.

Don't forget that even today, he is honored and a hero in South Korea, and his actions on behalf of South Korea are taught in school.

It is the same in the Philippines.

The important aspect of the Inchon landing is not because of the defense line at the time of the landing. It is that it was the most difficult high/low tide change in the world for an invasion, and the entire U.S. Military Chiefs of Staff and POTUS did not expect success, and many senior officers were not in agreement with the plan. While the U.S. Navy landing analysts thought there may be a chance, and assisted in preparing invasion plans, General MacArthur relied heavily on (and trusted) the local South Korean fishermen and villages, who also took part by supplying manned fishing vessels of every type to ferry military forces if required, and to serve as messengers. Those local fishermen? They were right.

 

My grandmother bought these decorative plates shortly after World War II:


Five-star admirals and generals, and President Roosevelt to make eight.

From top left to bottom right:
Admiral King
Admiral Leahy
Admiral Nimitz
General Arnold
General Eisenhower
General MacArthur
General Marshall
President Roosevelt

Why didn't the five-star admirals make it onto coins?

 

It all depends on who has the political clout in Congress.

 

Why did the Philippines coin a Mac Arthur piece before the US Mint did?

 

And he left his men holding the bag on Corregidor.......

 

As an Army man I won't even begin to answer that last question...but too bad they didn't use Omar Bradley instead of FDR...all 8 plates of 5-stars...maybe offer FDR on an optional serving bowl or platter. Oh, well.

 

That is a lot of lack of accurate knowledge of history, right there.

 

Which piece are you referring to,?

 

General Bradley was not a 5 star until 1950, would be my guess as to why not?

 

Yes, I know. He was know as "dug out Doug" in some circles.

But let's look at the alternative. He stays there to serve no purpose. When Corregidor fell, he would have been captured or killed. Would you care to name who would have replaced him during World War II and perhaps beyond?

He was reporting or serving under Eisenhower during World War II. How many five star generals did you need?

 

In what context are you asking the question? I was responding to the comment of why he was not depicted on the dishes with the other 5 star officers, and the timing of the manufacture of the dishes. He would not have been a 5 star at the time. As to how many, as many a POTUS and Congress decides are needed.

 

I prefer Ike,

 

The dug out Doug comment....yes, he was, however, that is not the history as written by the participants.

At the time of the imminent Japanese entrapment and takeover of Corregidor, General MacArthur had put up a spirited defense and wanted to stay. His wife and child were in theater, yet he did not consider this as a reason to not continue to defy the Japanese, and he informed POTUS of his intent. MacArthur was viewed as the public persona of resistance of the Japanese in the Pacific. POTUS was worried his capture and inevitable propaganda tool that would happen if he was captured by the Japanese, would be very demoralizing to allied countries and specifically Americans. POTUS ordered him to leave. The nickname is due to visiting his forces on Bataan only once, while troops were constantly exposed. MacArthur often foolishly exposed himself to danger, in a crazed defiance and sense of presenting a figure that could not be caught. This same craziness was in play in his escape. He and his family and staff were sent a submarine to be able to evade the Japanese blockade .He declined, and ordered that the escape be by PT boat, and the staff he picked to accompany him became known as the Bataan Gang, and would be the staff that planned and executed the eventual defeat of the Japanese in the Pacific.

It is easy to forget that the Japanese invasion of the Philippines was a completely unexpected surprise, and didn't just happen a few days before MacArthur was ordered to leave. He did everything he could have done.

At the time, the allied forces did not have any commander of the talent and level of understanding of the Pacific theater, or of the countries and governments that would need to be coordinated if there was to be an eventual defeat of Japan. Commanders of that ability and knowledge just didn't exist.

The point: he was ordered by POTUS to leave. This order was long after his 1 visit to the troops, which was the beginning of the nickname, and while it dogged him the rest of his career, was completely an incorrect and undeserved criticism.