This was the only time in history that a Medal of Honor was awarded for a dishonorable act, MacArthurs well-documented ineptitude and cowardice at Corregidor.
His own men mocked the old asshole, saying "I Shall Return" whenever they went to the latrine to take a dump, showing open contempt for this monumental prick . . .
Dugout Doug MacArthur: Portrait of an Asshole
You have to be a monumental jerk to have your only son change his name (Arthur MacArthur IV and hide out in Greenwich Village under an assumed name.
BTW, Arthur is still alive and he is the only man alive who can say that he had a Grandpa who won the Medal of Honor in the Civil War!
Stolen Valor: MacArthur's DFC
I visited MacArthurs tomb in Norfolk Virginia and was shocked that this medal-grabbing asswipe managed to get awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross at 71 years old!
How the hell do you win a DFC at 71 years old?
See my notes here on how General MacArthur stole his valor. BTW, MacArthur also gave LBJ a Silver Star that he did not deserve, a man without one iota of personal integrity . . .
Well, I finally found out “Big Mac” stole his DFC.
From the book “Anything, Anywhere, Anytime: Combat Cargo of the Korean War” on page 9 we see who an old man 5-star Army general got the Distinguished Flying Cross as a party favor from one of his underlings, two generals kissing each other’s asses:
“MacArthur modestly took credit for what he considered a brilliant tactical maneuver that would complete the destruction of the North Korean Army. To MacArthur’s surprise and pleasure, Stratemeyer presented him (General Douglas MacArthur) with the Distinguished Flying Cross for his “outstanding heroism and extraordinary achievement” while participating in aerial flights to Korea. MacArthur, in turn, awarded Tunner the Distinguished Service Cross.”
This stolen valor theft is personal to me since my own father Louis F. Burleson won the Distinguished Flying Cross (twice) for real, nearly getting his ass killed, while MacArthur grabs one as a party souvenir.
MacArthur spat in the face of all real DFC winners
Lessons in Personal Integrity
Not everyone takes “freebie” medals. As a lesson in personal integrity, my father was not so much proud of his own heroism as much as he was about turning down General Stratemeyer.
General Stratemwyer recommended my Dad for the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, one of the Air Force’s top honors. Unlike MacArthur, my father had the personal integrity to turn it down.
Like many real-deal war heros, my father never once wore his medals in public. I fished them out of a dresser drawer after he died and mounted them as wall plaque:
The thing he was most proud of was turning down a medal that he felt he did not deserve, a lesson that General MacArthur never learned . . .
One of the reasons that I'm successful in business is that I demand personal intergity from all of my employees, and I have zero tolerance for dishonesty . . .
