The Occupation of Japan after World War II is often considered a masterclass in civil affairs. It was not perfect, but it was successful. General Douglas MacArthur’s primary mission was to demilitarize Japan. Before he even arrived in Japan however, he was convinced that a sustainable peace would require significant legal and social changes – particularly in terms of the status of Japanese women. The MacArthur Memorial Podcast has covered MacArthur’s role in mandating and supporting these reforms in a previous podcast, but we have never focused on any of the staff members in his HQ who drafted these new policies. One of those staff members was a young woman named Beate Sirota. Her daughter, Professor Nicole Gordon, joined the MacArthur Memorial Podcast to discuss Beate Sirota's work during the Occupation. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
On September 11, 1940, the SS Quanza arrived in Norfolk, VA. She was carrying a number of Jewish refugees who were fleeing the Nazi war machine. While they would ultimately find safety through the efforts of the Jewish community in Hampton Roads, this small humanitarian victory would be the catalyst for the virtual elimination of similar opportunities for future refugees. To discuss the story of the SS Quanza, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted Wendy Juren, a member of the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.On May 9, 2024, at 7:00PM, the MacArthur Memorial and the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater will host a FREE screening of Nobody Wants Us - a documentary film about the refugees aboard the SS Quanza. Register here: Form Center • Nobody Wants Us Film Screening (macarthurmemorial.org) Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
In April 1944, General Douglas MacArthur’s forces made a 580-mile amphibious leap to seize airfields at Hollandia and Aitape in New Guinea. It was a bold plan that meant making two simultaneous amphibious landings deep in enemy territory and it was the first time Admiral Chester Nimitz’s aircraft carriers supported a MacArthur assault. Join MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams for a discussion of these operations and the logistics involved. The April 2024 issue of the MacArthur Report will feature maps/pictures related to this podcast and the previous episode on the Admiralty Islands. You can find that issue here after April 30, 2024: The MacArthur Report | MacArthur Memorial, VA - Official WebsiteSign up for the quarterly MacArthur Report: Signup Form (constantcontactpages.com) Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
Part II of a two part interview.From 1942-1945, Ernie Pyle was the most famous American war correspondent. In 1942, his columns were featured in 42 newspapers. By 1945, they were featured in 400 daily and 300 weekly newspapers. He covered the war from the Blitz to North Africa, to Italy, to Normandy, and then the Pacific. The American public found his writing human and accessible. Those in combat found him a particular ally – someone who understood suffering, someone who could explain a little bit of what they were experiencing to those back home. To learn more about Pyle, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast spoke with David Chrisinger, author of The Soldier’s Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of World War II. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
General MacArthur's multi-city state funeral concluded in Norfolk, VA on April 11, 1964. Join MacArthur Memorial historians Amanda Williams and Jim Zobel for a discussion of the events and logistics associated with this final salute to General MacArthur. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
From 1942-1945, Ernie Pyle was the most famous American war correspondent. In 1942, his columns were featured in 42 newspapers. By 1945, they were featured in 400 daily and 300 weekly newspapers. He covered the war from the Blitz to North Africa, to Italy, to Normandy, and then the Pacific. The American public found his writing human and accessible. Those in combat found him a particular ally – someone who understood suffering, someone who could explain a little bit of what they were experiencing to those back home. To learn more about Pyle, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast spoke with David Chrisinger, author of The Soldier’s Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of World War II. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
In February 2024, the MacArthur Memorial hosted an event to mark the 125th anniversary of the Philippine American War. This event was in partnership with the Hampton Roads chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society and the Council of United Filipino Organizations of Tidewater. The event featured presentations by several scholars on different aspects of the war. This episode features a lecture on the capture of Emilio Aguinaldo by Dwight Sullivan, author of Capturing Aguinaldo: The Daring Raid to Seize the Philippine President at the Dawn of the American Century. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
In February 2024, the MacArthur Memorial hosted an event to mark the 125th anniversary of the Philippine American War. This event was in partnership with the Hampton Roads chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society and the Council of United Filipino Organizations of Tidewater. The event featured presentations by several scholars on different aspects of the war. This episode features a lecture by Dr. David O. Lozada III, a history professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, on The Philippine-American War from the Filipino perspective. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
In February 2024, the MacArthur Memorial hosted an event to mark the 125th anniversary of the Philippine American War. This event was in partnership with the Hampton Roads Chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society and the Council of United Filipino Organizations of Tidewater. The event featured presentations by several scholars on different aspects of the war. Dr. Brian Linn, author of The U.S. Army and Counterinsurgency in the Philippine War, 1899-1902, presented a lecture entitled: The US Army and the Philippine-American War. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
From February 29 – May 18, 1944, a thousand troopers of the First Cavalry Division, a few United States Navy destroyers and a handful of “Fighting Seabees” defied the odds and seized the Admiralty Islands, making it possible for General MacArthur to keep his promise to return to the Philippines. The Admiralty Island Campaign was the boldest action of MacArthur’s forces in World War II. Some contemporaries called it reckless, others brilliant. MacArthur Memorial historians Amanda Williams and Jim Zobel break down the operation and discuss MacArthur's decision to accelerate a planned invasion of the islands. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
Former paratrooper, James M. Fenelon, author of Angels Against the Sun: A WWII Saga of Grunts, Grit, and Brotherhood, joined the MacArthur Memorial Podcast to discuss the story of the 11th Airborne and the liberation of the Philippines during World War II. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
The Philippine-American War (1899-1902) was a controversial war. Many Americans did not support it, including anti-imperialists like Mark Twain. Others did. In response to the war, the English writer Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem The White Man’s Burden, in which he encouraged the United States to “take up the White Man’s burden” to maintain colonial control of the Philippines as a way to bring progress to the Filipino people. The great irony of this phrase though was that African American troops – the Buffalo Soldiers – made up part of the force used to “take up the White Man’s burden.” To discuss the service of the Buffalo Soldiers in the Philippines during this period, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted Jeff Acosta, a former curator of the MacArthur Memorial and a history professor at Tidewater Community College. He is also a member of the Filipino American National Historical Society National Board of Trustees and the Filipinio American National Historical Society - Hampton Roads. Join us for a FREE event at 10:00AM EST on February 3, 2024, as we mark the upcoming 125th anniversary of the Philippine-American War with a series of lectures and an unveiling of the MacArthur Memorial's copy of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo's 1899 declaration of independence. The Filipino American National Historical Society - Hampton Roads and the Council of United Filipino Organizations of Tidewater are co-sponsors of this event. Event sign up: Philippine-American War Remembrance EventNot able to attend in person? Receive a post-event email with a link to a recording of the event and a new MacArthur Memorial Collections guide for the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War. Email: macarthureducation@norfolk.gov. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
The Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939 and then the 1941 invasion of Soviet occupied-Poland brought an almost unimaginable scale of suffering to the people of Poland. And yet, in the midst of such terror, there were people who risked their lives to help those targeted for extermination. One of those was a woman posing as a Polish countess. Her real name was Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg. She was Jewish AND she was operating in Lublin, Poland – at the heart of the Nazi effort to destroy the Jews. Against all odds, she saved thousands of people. To share this amazing story, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted Dr. Elizabeth “Barry” White one of the authors of The Counterfeit Countess: The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles During the Holocaust. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
In this MacArthur Q&A Part II, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams answer questions posed by MacArthur Memorial Podcast listeners. When did the MacArthur family settle in America?What battles was General MacArthur directly involved in during the New Guinea campaign?How involved was MacArthur with the United States Army Military Government in Korea during the occupation period from 1945-1948?What was it like to work close to the General? What was General MacArthur's postwar relationship with some of his peers, namely, Fletcher, Spruance, and especially Nimitz?During the Korean War, did General MacArthur consider putting nuclear chemicals on the borderline of the Korean Peninsula and China?and more!Keep your questions coming! There will be future Q&A episodes! Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
In 1901, during the Philippine-American War, the Governor-General of the Philippines, Brigadier General Arthur MacArthur Jr., father of Douglas MacArthur, approved a daring plan by Frederick Funston to capture General Aguinaldo. Once Aguinaldo was in custody, Arthur MacArthur persuaded him to swear allegiance to the United States and to use his influence to help end the war. What do we know about the discussions between the two men? How did they see the future of the Philippines? How did this event influence Douglas MacArthur’s vision of Philippine independence? In this latest episode, MacArthur Memorial historians Amanda Williams and Jim Zobel discuss these questions and more. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
During World War II thousands of British cadets learned to fly at six civilian training schools across the southern United States. The first and largest of the schools was in Terrell, Texas. More than 2,200 Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Corps cadets earned their wings at the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum in Terrell between 1941 and 1945. To explore the history of this flying school in Terrell, the MacArthur Memorial podcast hosted Tom Killebrew, author of The Royal Air Force in Texas: Training British Pilots in Terrell during World War II. Learn more about the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum: Home Page (bftsmuseum.org) Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
On September 10th, 1981, with the help of Mrs. Jean MacArthur, President Ronald Reagan dedicated a corridor in the Pentagon in honor of General Douglas MacArthur. Recently, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams sat down to explore the history of the MacArthur Corridor and discuss some of the MacArthur Memorial artifacts on display there. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
On October 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur kept his famous I Shall Return promise when he landed at Leyte with one of the largest invasion forces in history. From the beach, he broadcast his "I Have Returned" speech. It is a short, 2-minute speech, but it is packed with emotion. MacArthur had written the speech about a month before the landings, and it had gone through several drafts. On September 29, 1944, MacArthur recorded the speech in an OWI office in Brisbane in the event of technical difficulties during the landings. This podcast episode features this recorded version. After he gave the speech live on the beach on October 20, 1944, the content of the speech made its way around the world. It was panned by newspapers in the US and by later writers. They considered it “sacrilegious,” “flamboyant,” and as proof of “MacArthur’s supreme egotism.” As MacArthur’s air chief General George Kenney explained however, the speech was not meant for Americans or for the world. It was for the Filipino people. That audience received it well. For many, it was a new commitment from a trusted source. - a commitment to see the liberation of the Philippines through to completion.Just something to think about as you listen to this recording of MacArthur’s I Shall Return Speech. Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
On September 30, 2023, the MacArthur Memorial opened a new 5000 sq ft exhibit entitled The Price of Unpreparedness: POWs in the Philippines during World War II. The opening event featured the following presentations:Dr. Frank Blazich, Jr. - Defeat, Death, and Defiance: The POW Experience in the PhilippinesMary Maynard - An American Family's WWII Tail of Adventure and SurvivalCecily Marshall - The Civilian Internee ExperienceCorey Thornton and Jim Zobel - Overview: The Price of UnpreparednessExhibit Guide: https://www.flipsnack.com/FE7AC7BBDC9/special-exhibit-guide-the-price-of-unpreparedness/full-view.html Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org
20,000 American troops went into captivity after the fall of the Philippines in 1942. Recent scholarship indicates that half of those POWs did not survive captivity. Surviving the POW experience in the Philippines – including the hell ships and labor camps in Korea and Japan – was no easy feat. For those who did survive to liberation – how did the US Army medical system treat them? How were they reintegrated back into society? To examine the repatriation of these former POWs, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast spoke with Scott Woodard, Historian with the US Army Medical Department Center of History and Heritage Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org