I didn't try to imply he did. I tried to imply that an AMERICAN who dies on the field of battle deserves to be treated with a hell of a lot more respect, as far as honors at his funeral, then and AMERICAN who dies stateside, regardless of rank.

That is my point...


......."If you dream about shooting me, you better wake up and apologize" Reservoir Dog

No, he was nominated for the MoH but was awarded the DSC.  Mac went to WW1 as a Major and came out as a BG, not bad considering that we were only in WWI for about a 18 months! 

Mac was awarded 6 (yes, SIX) Silver Stars for valor in WW1, was wounded twice (once by shrapnel and once by gas), and exposed himself to enemy fire so many times that it was considered a near miracle that he was not killed.  He also refused to wear a helmet, even while his subordinates strictly enforced the helmet requirement on other soldiers. 

The first time he went into battle in WW1, he was accompanying a French infantry unit and the only "weapon" he carried was a riding crop. 

As Barry pointed out, he was awarded the MoH in WWII for his actions in defending the Philippines.  There was a lot of grumbling about this (it seemed a very "political" award, particularly since Mac and Roosevelt had some bad blood between them) but the record of history clearly shows that Mac was a true soldier, as well as a brave and brilliant commander.

Incidentally, there's apparently no truth to the rumor that Truman had it in for Mac because of some run-in during WW1 (when Truman was an artillery officer very junior to Mac.)  They served in the same division, I believe, but there's no evidence that they ever clashed during the war. 

OTOH, Mac and Pershing hated each other.  Basically, Mac considered Pershing and his staff to be a bunch of REMFs who stayed in the rear while the real fighting was up on the front. 

"The degenerative and loony should never be denigrated but, rather, thanked. In their absence, the rest of you would be obliged to fill congressional seats... positions naturally unsavory to the sane and honorable."

Thorax

Manchester's book is anything but a hagiography.  He points out Mac's mistakes in the Philippines and elsewhere (ignoring the initial plan to defend Bataan, for instance.)  He also points out Mac's vanity, his insufferable arrogance and his political ambitions that ultimately got him cashiered. 

But when you consider that he was able to take all of New Guinea and the Phillipines while suffering fewer casualties than the allies suffered in one European campaign alone (the Battle of the Bulge) it's hard to deny his brilliance. 

I encourage all in here that support this change, to do 2 things, sign this petition, http://www.gopetition.com/online/19121.html

And write your Congressman, it is the only way this will change, trust me!  Don't talk about, do something please!

That happened at about the same time a C-46 full of Marines crashed in the ocean resulting in many deaths.  I was angered at the time that a Kennedy who never served got more honors than those Marines did.

De Oppresso Liber