Every generation gets a glimpse of the historic past that may appeared to have passed along with the most important individuals that were responsible for the events that occurred that made it legendary and memorable. General Douglas MacArthur within the eyes of generations that lived and remembered such a great figure in American, Military, and International History remains a historic figure. However, unless generations thereafter retold the history of General MacArthur and the war in which he contributed to the most monumental victory World War II in the Pacific, he has as he lamented “Old soldiers never die they just fade away.” But for Historian Walter Borneman and diehard aficionados of MacArthur and the war in the Pacific they do not allow the memory and history to simply fade away. In his follow-up to The Admirals, he continues to recollect the roles of those elite members that earned five stars, generals and admirals of the Army and Navy who fought in the first and second World Wars, and General MacArthur was one of several. Borneman writes in an extensive narrative of the years within the Pacific theater MacArthur and At War: World War II in the Pacific.
As one begins to read the book, two things may stand out when differentiating the war in Europe versus the war in the Pacific. It is the iconic images that may be best remembered and two remain unforgettable and symbols of heroism and patriotism, MacArthur’s emblematic “I Shall Return” and the US Marines that planted the American flag at Iwo JimaAnd when historians focus on the eastern front they tend to center on the military planning and strategies when examining the war in Asia and the Pacific, Borneman takes his re-examining of MacArthur’s role and takes it to the top but does not focus alone on the general but major actors that he led and collaborated with to achieve their mission and victory in the Pacific. But within the narrative one must first revisit MacArthur’s early years and career in the first 40 pages; several of the information in this section is important to orient readers that may not be familiar with the man who became general. But possibly it may have been narrowed down to less than 30 pages in the introduction, colloquially speaking, if one wanted to delve in the escapades of MacArthur’s personal liaisons eight-year marriage and divorce to first wife Henrietta Louise Cromwell Brooks or mistress Isabel Rosario Cooper previous biographies have covered this part of MacArthur’s life numerous times such as the recent Arthur Herman’s American Warrior and definitive American Caesar and Geoffrey Perret’s Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life and Times of Douglas MacArthur. Aside from these elements of the book, the most interesting parts examine the pivotal years of the war 1942-1944 are contained from Chapter four to the conclusion. Borneman researched most of the material in the archives of the MacArthur Memorial and utilized most of the resources available during this period of the war in the Pacific; the maps and photograph insets are exceptional and show the collaboration of MacArthur’s so-called Bataan Gang and members of his Command in the Southwest Pacific Area (COMSWPA) and counterpart Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as Commander in Chief of the Pacific Ocean (CINCPOA). Readers familiar with MacArthur’s inner circle may find more information on cohort Courtney Whitney and somewhat nemesis Admiral Thomas “Tommy” Hart who early on well before December 1941 led a fleet in the Pacific in preparation of imminent war. However, this is where fine details come in and adds a bit of a twist and suggestion of what ifs, which this reader will leave to the imagination of other readers to understand the series of events that occurred after the invasion of the Philippine islands. It is these instances that reference Hart and the other commanders in the back room meetings and conferences that may entice readers and provide an up and close personal account of who these leaders were. What made them leaders that allowed to be led? MacArthur, too, was an example who never hesitated at the opportunity to present to President Franklin D. Roosevelt ways to lessen the extent of the war and of loss during the beginning and height of the war. But there are many interesting aspects that Borneman includes of the early success of victory during the campaigns in New Guinea that would lead towards the planning and eventual launch of Operation Cartwheel -- MacArthur’s island hopping to fulfill his return to the Philippines. This book as well as Alan Rem’s South Pacific Cauldron: World War II’s Great Forgotten Battlegrounds and Max Hastings Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-1945 are a few that examined with great detail and that Borneman referenced the latter.
MacArthur at War is an enlightening narrative that continues to remind readers of history the role of MacArthur. And after reading this book, curious readers may want to delve much more in the history of MacArthur with the compilation of sources in the appendixes and bibliography and online.
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