Philippines Disaster 12/8/41 Vol 1

He was a Mama's Boy! Every time an emotional issue arose, he consulted his mother, especially while he attended West Point, and later, his wife, who soothed him. They were his close advisors on nearly every subject, military or diplomatic. This officer, earned and was given the Medal of Honor for events in France in World War One. Many WW I veterans bitterly remembered his actions as Army Chief of Staff during the Veterans 'Rebellion' in the 20's around the Nation's Capital. In 1935, as he was in the process of retiring, the soon-to-be President of the Philippine government, learned that General Douglas Arthur MacArthur, might be interested in building the Philippines Armed Forces. Future Present Queson feared the Japanese would pounce on a peaceful, non-armed country and claim it for the Japanese Empire. Negotiations included the War Department and Congress. General MacArthur was granted his Army retirement pay, plus whatever the Philippine government would pay in gold. The new Army Chief of Staff, General Marshall, stabbed MarArthur in the back, sending him across the Pacific as a Lieutenant General, not a four-star general. LtGen Douglas MacArthur had with him on the ship, his wife and child, and his inner staff advisors, including Major Dwight D. Eisenhower as his Chief of Staff. After a round of 'welcome to the Philippines' where his father had preceded him, he began the earnest task of building the Philippine Army. Many serious problems ensued. MacArthur had this internal problem: if he wasn't right or correct, the problem either did not exist or it was someone else's problem. The corollary was that if something went the way it was supposed or better, it was because of his greats leadership. And then, World War Two broke out in the Pacific.