By Porter Blakemore
DOUGLAS MacArthur is one of the most famous American military officers of the first half of the 20th century. As a young brigadier general in 1918, he was poised for a distinguished future that held great promise.
Yet his potential produced enigmatic success and failure in the career that followed. Today, while some historians consider him one of the great captains of history, others disparage his accomplishments.
The truth falls somewhere in the middle.
Born at the Little Rock Barracks in 1880, the son of a Civil War hero and future general, the young MacArthur followed his fatherâs military path, entering West Point in 1899. He graduated with distinction in 1903, accruing an academic record that ranked third highest in Academy history, and first gained distinction during the Great War.