For many Americans born after World War II, memories of five-star general Douglas MacArthur consist of the famous “I shall return” promise to the Philippines and Jimmy Webb’s song, “MacArthur Park” (made famous by Richard Harris).

It’s a little different in Brownwood, Texas, where Howard Payne University offers a multi-disciplinary Honors program called the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom. And the good news for those of us past normal college age is that the academy is open for public tours as a sort of “museum of western civilization,” dedicated to the memory of General MacArthur.

Douglas MacArthur was born in 1880 to a family already prominent in American history, and he carried the family tradition to tremendous heights during a public career that spanned more than sixty years of exceptional service to his country.

Arthur MacArthur (the general’s grandfather) was a Scottish immigrant, coming to the U.S. in 1825, and distinguishing himself in a law career which led to his election as lieutenant governor of Wisconsin (he actually served five days as governor when his predecessor was ousted for corruption) and his appointment by President Grant to the office of associate justice of the District of Columbia’s supreme court in 1870.

The general’s father, also named Arthur, won the Medal of Honor at the battle of Missionary Ridge when he was just 18 years old, and was promoted to the rank of colonel in the Union Army before he was old enough to vote. When Douglas was just four years old, his father was sent to Texas, commanding Fort Selden (just north of El Paso) in an effort to defend against the marauding Apaches, led by Geronimo. In his memoirs, General MacArthur recalls that he “learned to ride and shoot almost before I could walk and talk.” His father’s military career later brought young Douglas to Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio, before going to the Philippines in 1898. The recent Spanish-A ...

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