Arthur was overwhelmed by his father`s fame, changed his name and has devoted his life to music. Jean and the general had a son, Arthur, named after the general`s father. He was married twice, to Louise from 1922 until 1929 and to Jean from 1937, when he was 57, until his death. The documentary comes up short in only one area, MacArthur`s personal life.

Still, MacArthur came home in triumph, hurting Truman`s popularity. He also defied President Harry S Truman, who relieved him of his command before MacArthur could resign. Though MacArthur did not, as is popularly supposed, invade North Korea at his own volition after the military miracle of Inchon, he did misjudge the intentions of the Chinese, who came into the war and forced him into his first retreat. When conflict erupted in Korea, MacArthur was called to battle, moving from postwar Japan where he reigned as an absolute monarch over the demoralized feudal state he personally had transformed into a vibrant democracy. It was his lack of respect for authority that led to his downfall. To those who fretted at his monumental arrogance, World War II correspondent William Dunn says in one of the interviews, ''How would you like to go into battle behind a general with an inferiority complex?'' ''It`s the orders you disobey that make you famous,'' he once told an aide who worried about his insubordination. Eisenhower, asked if he knew MacArthur, once quipped, ''Yes, I studied dramatics under him.''Īlways, MacArthur was his own man, flouting orders from Washington, a habit that eventually ended his career. He was at once protean and vain, rising to heights of eloquence and inspiration, while decking himself out in an almost ridiculous costume including a crushed hat, leather jacket, sun glasses and a foot-long corncob pipe. He was serenely confident, yet childishly unable to take criticism.

MacArthur could be charming and arrogant. And at 54, as a four-star general serving as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff before the war, he paid off a mistress in terror that his mother might learn of his liaison with her.

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