Allied Commanders of World War Two/MacArthur, Part Three
"Douglas MacArthur" Part 3
Japanese air attacks on the Philippines were followed by troop landings and the American-Filipino forces retreated to Bataan,* where stubborn resistance to the Japanese invasion continued. The situation had become hopeless, as no relief of the besieged forces was possible at that time. MacArthur was ordered by President Roosevelt to leave the Philippines for Australia to develop a strategy to combat the Japanese Pacific assault. In March 1942, MacArthur, his wife and young son, and a number of aides and staff personnel escaped by PT boats to an airbase in the southern Philippines. From there they were flown to Australia. Upon arrival in Australia MacArthur told an audience, "I came out of Bataan, and I shall return." The "I shall return" part became an American slogan used throughout the war. The American and Filipino forces surrendered by May 1942, but MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor for the stubborn defense against the Japanese army.**
In Australia MacArthur was named Supreme Allied Commander for the Southwest Pacific. His command consisted mainly of American and Australian troops, with increasingly powerful American air and naval units. A little over a month after the final surrender of the Philippines, American naval forces inflicted a devastating defeat on the Japanese navy at the "Battle of Midway." An American landing on the island of Guadalcanal in August 1942 eventually brought a victory there by early 1943. The war was turning in favor of the Allies. Other victories followed, and sights were set on fulfillment of the "I shall return" pledge.
* Bataan is a peninsula on the western side of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. A quantity of supplies had been stored on Bataan. Manila, the capitol of the Philippines, is located on the island of Luzon.
** Just a little note here: when I was younger, World War Two was a very popular subject, as the war hadn't been over all that long, and many veterans were still alive. MacArthur remained highly controversial among some of those veterans, with some feeling he "ran away" from the Philippines to save himself, leaving his men to their fate. My father had served in the Pacific during the war and he liked MacArthur, so I grew up with a healthy respect for the general. I was stunned to hear some of the charges leveled at MacArthur. As more and more information was released on World War Two, I felt satisfied that the charge of MacArthur running away was unjustified. He had been ordered by the President to leave the Philippines.
WORD HISTORY:
Spruce-The noun form is a shortening of "Spruce fir tree." This seems to have come into English in the 1300s from French "Pruce," which meant "Prussia." No one has been able to put forth a credible reason why the "s" was added to the beginning in English. The French term went back to Latin "Prussia." (See note below) It seems trade goods from the German Hanseatic League were often referred to as being from "Prussia," and the particular fir tree was thought to be Prussian; thus the term was applied to the tree, with some even calling it "Prussian fir." The verb form came about in the 1500s and it has the same origin, although it seems to have come from Prussian leather, a common trade item centuries ago, and then dubbed "Spruce leather." The leather was then often used to make a fine, trim looking jacket-like garment. The notion of "fine, trim garment" came to be applied to other items that were perfected, or "spruced up." NOTE: Prussia was named after a particular tribe, the Prussians, who were closely related to the Lithuanians and the Latvians. As Germans spread eastward, they conquered the area and then settled there, with the Prussians mixing in with the new German settlers. The region continued to be called "Prussia," and the inhabitants "Prussians," even though the area became "Germanized," and the Prussian language died out. The terms "Prussia" and "Prussians" came to be associated with the German settlements there. Since the end of World War Two, the German region of Prussia has ceased to exist, with much of the former province becoming a part of Poland, and a smaller section a part of the Soviet Union (now Russia).
Japanese air attacks on the Philippines were followed by troop landings and the American-Filipino forces retreated to Bataan,* where stubborn resistance to the Japanese invasion continued. The situation had become hopeless, as no relief of the besieged forces was possible at that time. MacArthur was ordered by President Roosevelt to leave the Philippines for Australia to develop a strategy to combat the Japanese Pacific assault. In March 1942, MacArthur, his wife and young son, and a number of aides and staff personnel escaped by PT boats to an airbase in the southern Philippines. From there they were flown to Australia. Upon arrival in Australia MacArthur told an audience, "I came out of Bataan, and I shall return." The "I shall return" part became an American slogan used throughout the war. The American and Filipino forces surrendered by May 1942, but MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor for the stubborn defense against the Japanese army.**
In Australia MacArthur was named Supreme Allied Commander for the Southwest Pacific. His command consisted mainly of American and Australian troops, with increasingly powerful American air and naval units. A little over a month after the final surrender of the Philippines, American naval forces inflicted a devastating defeat on the Japanese navy at the "Battle of Midway." An American landing on the island of Guadalcanal in August 1942 eventually brought a victory there by early 1943. The war was turning in favor of the Allies. Other victories followed, and sights were set on fulfillment of the "I shall return" pledge.
* Bataan is a peninsula on the western side of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. A quantity of supplies had been stored on Bataan. Manila, the capitol of the Philippines, is located on the island of Luzon.
** Just a little note here: when I was younger, World War Two was a very popular subject, as the war hadn't been over all that long, and many veterans were still alive. MacArthur remained highly controversial among some of those veterans, with some feeling he "ran away" from the Philippines to save himself, leaving his men to their fate. My father had served in the Pacific during the war and he liked MacArthur, so I grew up with a healthy respect for the general. I was stunned to hear some of the charges leveled at MacArthur. As more and more information was released on World War Two, I felt satisfied that the charge of MacArthur running away was unjustified. He had been ordered by the President to leave the Philippines.
WORD HISTORY:
Spruce-The noun form is a shortening of "Spruce fir tree." This seems to have come into English in the 1300s from French "Pruce," which meant "Prussia." No one has been able to put forth a credible reason why the "s" was added to the beginning in English. The French term went back to Latin "Prussia." (See note below) It seems trade goods from the German Hanseatic League were often referred to as being from "Prussia," and the particular fir tree was thought to be Prussian; thus the term was applied to the tree, with some even calling it "Prussian fir." The verb form came about in the 1500s and it has the same origin, although it seems to have come from Prussian leather, a common trade item centuries ago, and then dubbed "Spruce leather." The leather was then often used to make a fine, trim looking jacket-like garment. The notion of "fine, trim garment" came to be applied to other items that were perfected, or "spruced up." NOTE: Prussia was named after a particular tribe, the Prussians, who were closely related to the Lithuanians and the Latvians. As Germans spread eastward, they conquered the area and then settled there, with the Prussians mixing in with the new German settlers. The region continued to be called "Prussia," and the inhabitants "Prussians," even though the area became "Germanized," and the Prussian language died out. The terms "Prussia" and "Prussians" came to be associated with the German settlements there. Since the end of World War Two, the German region of Prussia has ceased to exist, with much of the former province becoming a part of Poland, and a smaller section a part of the Soviet Union (now Russia).
Labels: American Army, Australia, Douglas MacArthur, English, etymology, French, Latin, Philippines, Prussia, World War Two
posted by Randy at 11:29 PM
2 Comments:
That's really interesting about 'spruce.'
I forgot to say I heard some of that stuff about Macarthur too, about running away.
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