Hello and welcome to episode 103 of the unauthorized history of the Pacific War podcast.

My name is Seth Paird and historian and deputy director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum.

And with me as always is my esteemed co-host, retired Navy captain Bill Toadie,

former skipper of the Fast Attack Submarine U.S.S. Indianapolis, Commodore Submarine Squadronron Tree, and Pearl Harbor, and many other posts. How are you? I'm doing well, Seth. How are you? I'm doing great. I'm doing great. We've got a lot to talk about today. You sure do. Today we're going to be discussing one of the more polarizing figures in American military history, that being General Douglas MacArthur. During World War II, MacArthur was lauded by the American public and press. He was seen by many as a Messiah, a description that he himself never once shrugged off as being false or overly exaggerated. He often stated publicly and privately that he was the only person that could ever possibly lead the United States to victory over the Japanese,

that he himself should be the Supreme Commander, and that he himself was the only person who knew what the hell he was doing.

And while admittedly, not all of the failures in the Philippines can be penned in MacArthur directly, a great many can.

And what's more, the fall of the Philippines wasn't the only time of World War II or

in his military career that this self-professed savior was anything but from his deep hatred

for the United States Navy to his Messiah complex for leading the charge against Japan, MacArthur

was not all he has cracked up to be, was he deal? That's true, Seth. As you know, the nation is

going through a process today of reviewing Confederate leaders through a clearer lens,

clearing away the mythology around them that emerged to justify their actions. And these,

you know, excuses developed after the end of the Civil War as kind of a modification

to history. And I see this relook as being right and appropriate. But I also think it's time

to contemplate General MacArthur similarly through a clearer lens. And if we do this, we realize,

number one, he was an unabashed liar,

regularly committing what we would refer to at Annapolis as honor violations of the type

that would have gotten any other military officer fired. Number two, he was a narcissist of the

degree to which made General George Patton look

like a humble man. Number three, he was self-delusional about his military prowess, as you said,

Seth, believing that he and only he alone had the ability to win the war in a largely naval theater when his

actions in fact likely extended that war. Number four, something that's often overlooked. He was a known

...