Interview with Dr. Roger Olaf Egeberg: General Douglas MacArthur’s Personal Physician and Aide-De-Camp

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WWII: How would you characterize MacArthur, the man?

Egeberg: People say he was arrogant. I say he wasn’t. He once heard me use the expression ‘GI’ and he exploded: ‘Don’t ever let me hear you say that again! They are not GIs, they are men. They are our comrades in arms. They are our soldiers.’ When he heard GI, he immediately thought of government issue. He had a lot of respect for his men. I was surprised by how much time he spent fighting Washington to get men and materiel. Most of the equipment and manpower were being sent to the European theater, as the Pacific War had taken a back seat. He did his best to see that our losses were as little as possible. This was on his mind constantly, and the ratio was 10 Japanese dead to 1 American under MacArthur. That was incredible!

WWII: Washington did not want to retake the Philippines. The government had decided on a different route to conquer Japan. MacArthur convinced President Franklin Roosevelt to have two separate drives to Japan. Did he ever discuss this with you in private?

Egeberg: Oh yes! Why did he say, ‘I shall return’? Well, MacArthur knew the East very well. If he had said, ‘Our army will return,’ it would not have had the same effect. Knowing him, that’s why he said it. And I heard that from Filipinos as well. They knew MacArthur. They didn’t know the United States or the U.S. Army. Back in the States they used that phrase to poke fun at MacArthur. It sounded egotistical, and pretty soon people had him walking on water. But those of us who knew him real well knew the truth. As a person he was shy.

WWII: That’s interesting–someone of his stature being shy.

Egeberg: For example, when we went aboard Nashville, I asked him if he would join some of the men for dinner. At first, he accepted. But as the time approached he got to pacing and said to me, ‘Doc, I don’t think I’d better do it.’ He’d be embarrassed to talk to a group he didn’t know. He’d talk in front of thousands or in front of the old ‘Bataan gang’ and that was all right. He was also very proud. My God, he was proud of his father!

WWII: His father won the Medal of Honor at Missionary Ridge during the Civil War.

Egeberg: That’s correct. After we landed in the Philippines on the main island of Luzon, he searched for hours to see if he could find the areas where his father had served years earlier in the different campaigns there in 1901 and 1902. I honestly think he wanted to get wounded. This would demonstrate to everyone that he was doing what he believed in. When we landed in Lingayen Gulf, we went to see General Hanford McNider’s 158th Regimental Combat Team near Rosario, about 30 miles from us. He was having a tough time moving forward. At one point we ran into a barrage maybe half a mile away. MacArthur wouldn’t stop until a tank drove across the road to halt his jeep. Suddenly he hollered, ‘Stop!’ I almost landed in the driver’s lap. He pointed, and said, ‘Go over there.’ There was a block of concrete with a brass plate on it. In it, muzzle down, was a cannon. He said: ‘Doc, on that spot, my father’s aide-de-camp was killed, standing at his side.’ Finally, I told the driver, ‘For Pete’s sake, let’s get out of here!’ We were buzzing along until we saw land mines strewn across the road and came to a screeching halt. We finally located McNider’s headquarters. He was having a difficult time, but MacArthur told him to keep nudging them and keep moving. A couple of days later, he decided to use me as an intelligence officer. He was frustrated to have to go through battalion, regiment, brigade and division to Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger, commanding general of the Sixth Army–and probably receiving news a day late. He showed me where to go on the map. I took the jeep, and I would report back and inform him where our troops were and where the front was. I did this six or seven times. One time I almost went too far. A couple of soldiers who were lying down in a ditch called to me and told me not to go any farther because the Japanese were right up the road.

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