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General Douglas Mac Arthur was a renowned leader and military strategist of the 20th century. As a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he was honored for his service to the nation. On May 12, 1962, Mac Arthur humbly accepted the award and gave his now famous Duty-Honor-Country speech. He was 82 years old at the time and spoke without script or notes. His message is regarded as one of America’s finest pieces of oratory. An excerpt of the speech follows. To hear General Mac Arthur giving the speech

General Douglas Mac Arthur’s Duty-Honor-Country Speech

And what sort of soldiers are those you are to lead? Are they reliable, are they brave, are they capable of victory? Their story is known to all of you; it is the story of the American man-at-arms. My estimate of him was formed on the battlefield many, many years ago, and has never changed. I regarded him then as I regard him now--as one of the world’s noblest figures, not only as one of the finest military characters but also as one of the most stainless. His name and fame are the birthright of every American citizen. In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty he gave--all that mortality can give. He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. He has written his own history and written it in red on his enemy’s breast.

But then I think of his patience under adversity, of his courage under fire, and of his modesty in victory, I am filled with an emotion of admiration I cannot put into words. He belongs to history as furnishing one of the greatest examples of successful patriotism; he belongs to posterity as the instructor of future generations in the principles of liberty and freedom; he belongs to the present, to us, by his virtues and by his achievements. In 20 campaigns, on a hundred battlefields, around a thousand campfires, I have witnessed that enduring fortitude, that patriotic self-abnegation, and that invincible determination which have carved his statue in the hearts of his people. From one end of the world to the other he has drained deep the chalice of courage.
--General Douglas Mac Arthur

hog -- i'm with you, but i have a question. it's not about our troops or anything but about macarthur himself.

my dad (WWII USMC, so. pacific) said that the troops called him "dugout doug" and "gutless doug" because of his tendency to run and hide -- this is the part i'm not clear on. the gist of it is that the guys doing the fighting saw him as a coward. my dad explained it once briefly when i was very young, and i've been curious about it since then. anyway, it was something about how even before any s*** hit the fan, macarthur would push people aside to "jump into the dugout" -- i would imagine that any general would be told to head for shelter, but this sentiment was about more than that. the insinuation was that the man was a poo-his-pants coward.

do you (or does anyone else) know anything about this?

seriously, i'm not trying to debunk the man or anything -- it just triggered a memory of my dad and his marine corps buddies (all enlisted) having a deep disdain for the guy around his alleged "cowardice."

my faher was in the south pacific in the early 40's and he told the story about macarthur wading ashore over and over until he got the picture he wanted.

he also became rich buying land in occupied japan right after the war. RHIP.