Douglas MacArthur was destined for a military career from his birth in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1880. His father, Arthur MacArthur, was an army officer and when he was 19, Douglas entered West Point, the US military academy, where he graduated top in his class in 1903. He became a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and began a rapid rise through the ranks.
After distinguishing himself leading an intelligence-gathering mission behind enemy lines during the US occupation of Vera Cruz in Mexico in 1914, MacArthur became chief of staff of the 42nd Division and served with courage and skill in France in 1917–18, earning several medals.
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