In March 2025, General Douglas MacArthur’s iconic cap won the Virginia Association of Museums People’s Choice Award as an important artifact deserving conservation. Inspired by this designation, the General Douglas MacArthur Foundation, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to supporting the MacArthur Memorial, launched a global fundraising campaign to preserve this iconic piece of history. Thanks to the incredible generosity of donors worldwide, conservation began in July 2025, and the cap returned to public display in August 2025. To discuss the conservation of this historic treasure, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted Howard Sutcliffe, the cap's conservator and the principal conservator and director of River Region Costume and Textile Conservation.

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General Douglas MacArthur and General Jonathan Wainwright were very different men. Despite their differences, they shared notable similarities: both came from military families, graduated from West Point, and were decorated World War I veterans. They were also deeply devoted to the Army and driven by a strong sense of duty. Their relationship, largely shaped by the desperate defense and fall of the Philippines during World War II, was complex yet remarkably resilient. To delve deeper into their story, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted Jonathan Horn, author of The Fate of the Generals: MacArthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines. 

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The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when North Korean forces invaded South Korea, aiming to unify the peninsula under communist control. The conflict rapidly escalated, prompting a United Nations response led by the United States. When the war started, MacArthur, then Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan, was overseeing the post-World War II occupation and reconstruction of Japan. In this episode, MacArthur Memorial historians Amanda Williams and Jim Zobel discuss MacArthur's initial response to the war. This episode also includes a bonus Q&A of listener questions that were recorded after the main program. 

YouTube Version: MacArthur's Initial Response to the Korean War

YouTube Q&A: MacArthur's Initial Response to the Korean War Q&A

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On May 8, 2025, the MM in partnership with the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and the Virginia Holocaust Museum, hosted Dr. Roger Loria, a holocaust survivor. 

The event was particularly poignant – it was held on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day – the day the Allies defeated Nazi Germany. 

A video of the presentation is also available via YouTube: https://youtu.be/nltcQ4eKIgU?si=qsTn9-DI2gZ5qp-u  

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On April 11, 1951, at 1:00AM ET, President Harry S. Truman announced General Douglas MacArthur was relieved of command. Millions of people heard the news on the radio before MacArthur himself heard. How did he find out? MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams discuss this and his reaction to the news.

A bonus Q&A of listener questions was also added to the end of this episode.

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Douglas MacArthur drew inspiration from mentors, role models, and a personal "pantheon" of historical figures throughout his life. On March 7, 2025, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams discussed who was included in this "pantheon" and solicited questions from the audience about this topic. This Q&A, recorded on March 12, 2025, was added as a bonus to this episode. 

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General Douglas MacArthur’s iconic cap, one of the most amazing artifacts in our museum, is a finalist for a conservation prize from VAM – the Virginia Association of Museums (VAM).  Currently the cap is on VAM’s Virginia Top 10 Endangered List. The list helps raise public awareness of amazing artifacts in Virginia museums and the importance of preserving these artifacts. 

General MacArthur's cap is an internationally recognized symbol of America keeping promises, of civilian control over the military, of liberation and peace, and of triumph over fascism and militarism. MacArthur wore this cap from 1936 to 1961, through many important moments in American history. In 1942, saltwater exposure caused the cap to shrink as he escaped the besieged island of Corregidor aboard PT-41. Arriving in Australia during one of the darkest periods of the war, he wore the cap as he famously promised "I Shall Return.” When he kept that promise in 1944, he was wearing the cap as he was pictured wading ashore in the Philippines. He was also wearing the cap when he presided over the surrender of Japan, the Occupation of Japan, and the Korean War. 

VAM invites members of the public to vote for the artifact they would like to see receive a $1000 conservation prize. MacArthur’s cap has been assessed by a conservation specialist, and we have a plan for its conservation – but winning this prize would help jumpstart our efforts to fully fund this project. Your vote can help preserve MacArthur’s cap!

You can vote once daily, from FEB  11 – FEB 28, 2025. VOTE: VA's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts - Vote Daily

Learn more about VAM: Virginia Association of Museums | VAM

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To date, the 1945 Battle of Manila remains the US military's largest and most intense experience of urban warfare. It resulted in 6500 American military casualties, 16000 Japanese military KIA, and a staggering number of civilians were killed and wounded. Manila, the Pearl of the Orient was destroyed. Even against the general WWII backdrop of tremendous worldwide suffering, horror, and millions of civilians and military casualties, Manila stands out as a terrible tragedy. It’s a battle that should be better known. 

On February 3, 2025, the 80th Anniversary of the start of the battle, MacArthur Memorial historians Amanda Williams and Jim Zobel sat down to discuss the battle. In response to listener questions on social media, a bonus Q&A was added to this episode.

To view the YouTube video of the first part of the discussion, please visit: https://youtu.be/KmDsYp6exB4?si=EKYQhp5K6xch1Hfh 

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The MacArthur Memorial is in Norfolk, VA, the hometown of General MacArthur’s mother, but General MacArthur was not born in Norfolk. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the Little Rock Barracks. Today that building houses the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. To discuss MacArthur’s birthplace, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted Stephan McAteer, Museum Supervisor of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History.

Learn more about the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History

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By 1944, as the Americans got closer to the Philippines, the Japanese accelerated their efforts to ship POWs held in the Philippines to other parts of their empire to work as forced laborers. POWs would be packed by the hundreds in the dark holds of transport ships. With little to no food or water, and no proper sanitation, the holds of these ships became another hellscape for the POWs. It is impossible to really explain the horror they faced. The transports were aptly named “hellships.” One of the most notorious of the hellships was the Oryoku Maru. In this latest episode, MacArthur Memorial historians Amanda WIlliams and Jim Zobel sat down to discuss the final voyage of the Oryoku Maru. 

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