PRIMARY DOCUMENTS
Schedule for Welcoming of General Mac Arthur, undated; Korea-MacArthur-Foreign Policy, Box 64, Subject File, 1916-1995, GMEP, HSTPL.
Having been relieved of command, General Douglas MacArthur returned to his homeland for the first time in nearly fifteen years. Though perhaps not the “heaven-born general” that William Pitt had once called Robert Clive, MacArthur performed the role so distinctively that he was almost a parody and, to this day, is often regarded as the quintessential American general. Whether he was dressed in his conspicuously understated army uniform, holding a corncob pipe between his teeth, or wearing now-famous aviator sunglasses, MacArthur’s granite features, hawkish nose, and aristocratic bearing looked like they’d been ordered specially from Central Casting. The Hollywood general touched down in San Francisco on April 18, 1950, and his homecoming became so rapturous that some commentators dubbed it “The Second Coming of Douglas MacArthur.” To prepare for the general’s triumph in Washington, President Truman’s advisors began circulating a sardonic itinerary which, despite its mocking humor, reflected their genuine concerns about MacArthur’s popularity and vanity, his resistance to the President’s oversight, and his commitment to overwhelming force, regardless of the costs.