The Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939 and then the 1941 invasion of Soviet occupied-Poland brought an almost unimaginable scale of suffering to the people of Poland. And yet, in the midst of such terror, there were people who risked their lives to help those targeted for extermination. One of those was a woman posing as a Polish countess. Her real name was Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg. She was Jewish AND she was operating in Lublin, Poland – at the heart of the Nazi effort to destroy the Jews. Against all odds, she saved thousands of people. To share this amazing story, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted Dr. Elizabeth “Barry” White one of the authors of The Counterfeit Countess: The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles During the Holocaust. 

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In this MacArthur Q&A Part II, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams answer questions posed by MacArthur Memorial Podcast listeners. 

•  When did the MacArthur family settle in America?
• What battles was General MacArthur directly involved in during the New Guinea campaign?
• How involved was MacArthur with the United States Army Military Government in Korea during the occupation period from 1945-1948?
• What was it like to work close to the General?  
• What was General MacArthur's postwar relationship with some of his peers, namely, Fletcher, Spruance, and especially Nimitz?
• During the Korean War, did General MacArthur consider putting nuclear chemicals on the borderline of the Korean Peninsula and China?
• and more!

Keep your questions coming! There will be future Q&A episodes!

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In 1901, during the Philippine-American War, the Governor-General of the Philippines, Brigadier General Arthur MacArthur Jr., father of Douglas MacArthur, approved a daring plan by Frederick Funston to capture General Aguinaldo. Once Aguinaldo was in custody, Arthur MacArthur persuaded him to swear allegiance to the United States and to use his influence to help end the war. What do we know about the discussions between the two men? How did they see the future of the Philippines? How did this event influence Douglas MacArthur’s vision of Philippine independence? In this latest episode, MacArthur Memorial historians Amanda Williams and Jim Zobel discuss these questions and more.

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During World War II thousands of British cadets learned to fly at six civilian training schools across the southern United States. The first and largest of the schools was in Terrell, Texas. More than 2,200 Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Corps cadets earned their wings at the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum in Terrell between 1941 and 1945. To explore the history of this flying school in Terrell, the MacArthur Memorial podcast hosted Tom Killebrew, author of The Royal Air Force in Texas: Training British Pilots in Terrell during World War II. 

Learn more about the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum: Home Page (bftsmuseum.org)

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On September 10th, 1981, with the help of Mrs. Jean MacArthur, President Ronald Reagan dedicated a corridor in the Pentagon in honor of General Douglas MacArthur. Recently, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams sat down to explore the history of the MacArthur Corridor and discuss some of the MacArthur Memorial artifacts on display there. 

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On October 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur kept his famous I Shall Return promise when he landed at Leyte with one of the largest invasion forces in history. From the beach, he broadcast his "I Have Returned" speech. It is a short, 2-minute speech, but it is packed with emotion. 

MacArthur had written the speech about a month before the landings, and it had gone through several drafts. On September 29, 1944, MacArthur recorded the speech in an OWI office in Brisbane in the event of technical difficulties during the landings. This podcast episode features this recorded version. 

After he gave the speech live on the beach on October 20, 1944, the content of the speech made its way around the world. It was panned by newspapers in the US and by later writers. They considered it “sacrilegious,” “flamboyant,” and as proof of “MacArthur’s supreme egotism.” As MacArthur’s air chief General George Kenney explained however, the speech was not meant for Americans or for the world. It was for the Filipino people. That audience received it well. For many, it was a new commitment from a trusted source.  - a commitment to see the liberation of the Philippines through to completion.

Just something to think about as you listen to this recording of MacArthur’s I Shall Return Speech.

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On September 30, 2023, the MacArthur Memorial opened a new 5000 sq ft exhibit entitled The Price of Unpreparedness: POWs in the Philippines during World War II. 

The opening event featured the following presentations:

• Dr. Frank Blazich, Jr. - Defeat, Death, and Defiance: The POW Experience in the Philippines
• Mary Maynard - An American Family's WWII Tail of Adventure and Survival
• Cecily Marshall - The Civilian Internee Experience
• Corey Thornton and Jim Zobel - Overview: The Price of Unpreparedness

Exhibit Guide: https://www.flipsnack.com/FE7AC7BBDC9/special-exhibit-guide-the-price-of-unpreparedness/full-view.html 

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20,000 American troops went into captivity after the fall of the Philippines in 1942. Recent scholarship indicates that half of those POWs did not survive captivity. Surviving the POW experience in the Philippines – including the hell ships and labor camps in Korea and Japan – was no easy feat. For those who did survive to liberation – how did the US Army medical system treat them? How were they reintegrated back into society? To examine the repatriation of these former POWs, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast spoke with Scott Woodard, Historian with the US Army Medical Department Center of History and Heritage 

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Franklin Roosevelt, Douglas MacArthur, and Winston Churchill were all very different men, but they shared a few things. One thing they shared was a common ancestor – Sarah Barney Belcher – a woman born in Massachusetts in 1771. They also all had fascinating mothers who were instrumental in their careers. To explore the roles played by Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast interviewed Charlotte Gray, author of Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons: The Lives of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt. 

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The US Army Veterinary Corps (VC) has a fascinating history. Created in 1916, by WWII its activities were chiefly centered on food inspection to ensure animal products going to feed the Army were being sanitarily procured, produced, and transported. The VC also had responsibility across theatres for about 56,000 horses and mules, thousands of war dogs, and pigeons used by the Signal Corps. On December 8, 1941, there were 12 VC officers stationed in the Philippines. As the Japanese invaded the islands, they played an important role in trying to feed the beleaguered defenders, as well as caring for military animals and even human patients. When the Philippines fell to the Japanese in the spring of 1942, these men went into captivity – applying their unique skillset to the challenges of the POW experience. To share these stories, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted Jon Frank, the son of Charles B. Frank, a VC officer who survived the POW experience in the Philippines. 

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