Summary:
A comparison of the lives and early military careers of Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur, up to World War I.
When comparing two of the greatest and most capable leaders the world has ever known, one must take great pains to make the information as accurate as possible so as to not discredit or defame either one. Such is the case with Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur, most noted for their leadership in the defeat of the enemy in their respective theaters during World War II.
Both the differences and the similarities between Eisenhower and MacArthur begin at the dawn of their lives. Douglas MacArthur came from an established and distinguished family. His father was Arthur MacArthur, a highly decorated soldier who won the Congressional Medal of Honor for leading a Union assault on Missionary Ridge in Tennessee during the Civil War. Arthur would also spend time as the military governor of the Philippines in the early 1900s. Douglas spent his entire life in the Army, beginning in New Mexico, where his father commanded an infantry company to protect railroad workers from the Indians there. MacArthur also spent time at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and in Washington, D.C. But it was while his father was stationed in San Antonio, Texas, that his talents came to bear. He attended the West Texas Military Academy and loved every second of it. Dwight Eisenhower, on the other hand, was born in small-town Denison, Texas, and was raised in Abilene, Kansas. The Eisenhowers were not wealthy, and Dwight believed that through receiving a quality education that he would better the lives of his parents and his brothers. He became an exceptional athlete, but valued his education more than sports. As his parents could not afford to pay for his college, he decided to attend one of the military academies.However, one similarity may be found in the pre-military lives of both men. Eisenhower and MacArthur were extraordinary students with a desire to learn. As a result of their high intelligence, strong work ethic, and dedication to excellence, both earned an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, or USMA. Douglas achieved one of the finest records in Academy history and graduated first in the Class of 1903. Eisenhower was a superb cadet, scholar, and athlete. His personality and good-natured attitude earned him the respect of his classmates, who viewed Dwight as a natural leader. Eisenhower graduated in the top third of the Class of 1916.
As previously mentioned, both men attended USMA, and both excelled there. Their graduations signaled the start of their distinguished military careers.
Eisenhower's first assignment was with the 19th Infantry at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. When the United States began to mobilize for World War I in 1917, Eisenhower had been promoted to captain and was a lieutenant colonel less than a year later. MacArthur's first assignment after West Point was working with a corps of engineers in the Philippines. He was later assigned to accompany his father on an extended tour through Asia. Douglas left the trip with a firm belief that the futures of both America and himself was to be found in Asia. On his return from Asia, MacArthur became an aide to Theodore Roosevelt. In 1907, Douglas was on a tough engineering assignment in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His performance on this job was unsatisfactory and he received a poor evaluation. This was done, in part, to the fact that he had fallen in love with a girl named Fannibelle. He restored his reputation at the staff college at Leavenworth and was transferred to the War Department after the death in his father in 1912. Douglas was promoted to major in 1915 and became the Army's first public relations officer in 1916.
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