MacArthur. My brother, David was born in 1942 and my parents named him after MacArthur. Gave him the middle name of Douglas.
MacArthur. When was evacuated, his famous words, "I came through and I shall return" were spoken; the government asked him to amend it to "We shall return". What got me when learning about him is that he refused to amend those words and took it personal. And the best part is he did return, with corn cob pipe in mouth and photographer by his side.
From the coin program, I choose Hap Arnold as my entry. He was tough as nails, yet competent enough to be an effective leader of the armed forces. But he was also a pragmatist who understood the need to develop new technology, designs, strategies, etc. to keep up with what he witnessed what other countries were doing with airplanes, like France in particular, during the interwar period. Without Hap's foresight, the US Air Corps (and by extension a future, free Europe) might not have had the benefit of such iconic planes as the B-17 at their disposal to fight in two expansive theaters of WWII. PS - If you were to ask my favorite 5-star General, without the coin program to choose from, it'd actually be a 6-star General/General of the Armies. And that man would be George Washington, ftw.
General Douglas MacArthur - because my grandmother named my now 16 years old doggy after him. He was my grandmother's favourite general.
MacArthur! Reason? There are many, but he served 52 years in the Army! Of course you can only serve at most 35 years nowdays, so the competition is artificially limited, but there aren't but a few people who have shown that kind of dedication to our country.
Douglas McArthur, since he was the main reason we defeated the Japanese. His very statement, "I shall return" was a display of his resolve to complete the task ahead.
I will go against the flow and say Omar Bradley. He was the quintessential soldier's general. He knew the importance of taking care of troops, and never risked anyone's life unless truly necessary. The troops knew this and loved him for it.
I believe I'm an Eisenhower as well.. although that MacArthur picture is pretty awesome. i love this forum, I hope I can find a bunch of cool coins so I can do a contest and pay you guys back for all the help when I was a mere lurker devan
Dwight Eisenhower -- for his contribution to the fight against the spread of communism in South-East Asia post- WWII. :thumb:
Omar N Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893 – April 8, 1981) was a senior U.S. Army field commander in North Africa and Europe during World War II, and a General of the Army in the United States Army. From the Normandy landings through the end of the war in Europe, Bradley had command of all U.S. ground forces invading Germany from the west; he ultimately commanded forty-three divisions and 1.3 million men, the largest body of American soldiers ever to serve under a U.S. field commander. After the war, Bradley headed the Veterans Administration and became Chief of Staff of the United States Army. In 1949, he was appointed the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the following year oversaw the policy-making for the Korean War, before retiring from active service in 1953. General Bradley was the last of only nine people to hold five-star rank in the United States Armed Forces. The reason I choose Bradley he was the last to be chosen as a 5 star general...however Bradley Played a major part in alot of WWl II Battles. He was never given the notoriety of the other WW II Generals even thro he was just as important and support of the other more noted Generals. In North Africa he was sent to be Eisenhower's front-line troubleshooter.Bradley command the Second Corps in the invasion of Sicily.Bradley's command took the initial brunt of what would become the Battle of the buldge! Bradley sent in three infantry divisions—the 9th, 4th and 30th—to move in close behind the bombing. The infantry succeeded in cracking the German defenses, opening the way for advances by armored forces commanded by General Patton to sweep around the German lines. Command style Unlike some of the more colorful generals of World War II, Bradley was polite and courteous in his public appearances. A reticent man, Bradley was first favorably brought to public attention by war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who was urged by General Eisenhower to "go and discover Bradley".[SUP][[/SUP] Pyle subsequently wrote several dispatches in which he referred to Bradley as the GI's general, a title that would stay with Bradley throughout his remaining career.[SUP][[/SUP] Will Lang Jr. of Life magazine said "The thing I most admire about Omar Bradley is his gentleness. He was never known to issue an order to anybody of any rank without saying 'Please' first." For these and many other reasons I find the General Bradley was the tool that made the other WWII Generals as famous as they were....or are....all the while he just did his job without the lime light that the others basked in. If you ask any WW II Vet whom servered under him they will tell you Bradley was a Honor and a pleasure to serve under Him. He is just about forgotten as he stands in the shadows of those he helped obtain their glory.
