When the US entered World War I, Douglas MacArthur was a major attached to the US Army General Staff. About 14 months later, he was a brigadier general. Prior to the war’s conclusion in November 1918, he was on the verge of a promotion to major general. Wartime promotions in the National Army raised many career officers like MacArthur, George Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and George Patton several grades. After the war though, these officers typically reverted back to their pre-war rank in the Regular Army. MacArthur was an exception. He would spend the next several decades as a general officer. 

Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams of the MacArthur Memorial recently sat down together to discuss circumstances behind these World War I promotions - and whether or not they were warranted or influenced by family connections.

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