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Interviewee
MacArthur, Douglas
Document Type
Oral History
Date of Interview
7-17-2004
Abstract
Douglas MacArthur (no relation to the well-known US Army general of the same name) was born 29 August 1920 in Ashland, Wisconsin. His parents both died by the time he was nine, and subsequently, Douglas grew up in an orphans home in Northfield, Minnesota. Douglas enlisted in the US Army in September 1940, was assigned to a Quartermaster detachment, and volunteered for duty in the Philippines, then a US possession. When the Pacific War started on 8 December 1941, Douglas was stationed on the island of Corregidor, in Manila Bay. Japanese forces quickly defeated the US in the Philippines, and with thousands of others Douglas was taken prisoner in May 1942. After Japan's surrender, Douglas was transported back to the United States, where he spent many months at Crile General Hospital in Cleveland, a military facility, recovering from more than three years as a POW. He was finally discharged in August 1946. Again a civilian, Douglas got married (1946, wife Audrey) and helped to raise three children. He spent a career in sales. At the time of this interview (July 2004), Douglas and Audrey lived in Edina, Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb.
Copyright
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced without the written permission of Concordia University Library or Thomas Saylor, Department of History, Concordia University, St. Paul.
Recommended Citation
Saylor, Thomas, "Oral History Project World War II Years, 1941-1946 - Douglas MacArthur" (2004). Oral History Project: World War II Years, 1941-1946. 44.
https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/oral-history_ww2/44
PDF Transcript of Interview with Douglas MacArthur