American Caesar

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), the famed Second World War commander, was a very complicated man. He was both beloved and despised. He was both brilliant and vainglorious. He could inspirit and vex with equal ardor. He was, at last, relentlessly one of a kind. And to the chagrin of some, he was also an extraordinarily gifted wordsmith.

The closing words of his famous "Farewell Speech" at West Point, May 12, 1962:

"The shadows are lengthening for me. The twilight is here. My days of old have vanished - tone and tints. They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were. Their memory is one of wondrous beauty, watered by tears and coaxed and caressed by the smiles of yesterday. I listen then, but with thirsty ear, for the witching melody of faint bugles blowing reveille, of far drums beating the long roll. In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield. But in the evening of my memory I come back to West Point. Always there echoes and re-echoes: Duty, Honor, Country. Today marks my final roll call with you. But I want you to know that when I cross the river, my last conscious thoughts will be of the Corps, and the Corps, and the Corps. I bid you farewell."

Amazing. The lyrical majesty of MacArthur words, the envy of any writer, allow only a glimpse into this intricate man. MacArthur once famously said, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away." I doubt his words ever will. If I've piqued your interest, the book "American Caesar" by William Manchester is a good place to start. Though somewhat sympathetic, his portrait of MacArthur is largely fair and beautifully written.