General Douglas MacArthur (Dean)

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General Douglas MacArthur
General Douglas MacArthur by Robert Dean, 1979.JPG
ArtistRobert L. Dean
Year1979 (1979)
Typesculpture
Dimensions290 cm(114 in)
LocationVeterans Park, Milwaukee

General Douglas MacArthur is a public artwork by American artist Robert L. Dean, a 1953 graduate of the United States Military Academy (West Point, NY). Previously, the statue was located in MacArthur Square in the Milwaukee Civic Center Plaza, downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. On June 7, 2014, it was relocated to its new waterfront location at Veterans' Park, next to the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. With full military honors, the bronze statue of General Douglas MacArthur was rededicated at its new home on June 7, 2014. The ceremony was the capstone event for the MacArthur Memorial Week, held nearly 35 years after the statue's original dedication on June 8, 1979. [1]

United States Military Academy U.S. Armys federal service academy in West Point, New York

The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known as West Point, Army, Army West Point, The Academy, or simply The Point, is a four-year federal service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort that sits on strategic high ground overlooking the Hudson River with a scenic view, 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City. It is one of the five U.S. service academies.

Milwaukee Largest city in Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the largest city in the state of Wisconsin and the fifth-largest city in the Midwestern United States. The seat of the eponymous county, it is on Lake Michigan's western shore. Ranked by its estimated 2014 population, Milwaukee was the 31st largest city in the United States. The city's estimated population in 2017 was 595,351. Milwaukee is the main cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee metropolitan area which had a population of 2,043,904 in the 2014 census estimate. It is the third-most densely populated metropolitan area in the Midwest, surpassed only by Chicago and Detroit, respectively. Milwaukee is considered a Gamma global city as categorized by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network with a regional GDP of over $105 billion.

Wisconsin U.S. state in the United States

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States, in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin is the 23rd largest state by total area and the 20th most populous. The state capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee, which is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan. The state is divided into 72 counties.

Contents

Description

The sculpture features a standing, full-figure portrait of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, wearing a hat. The general was the top ranking cadet of the 1903 class of USMA. The sculpture, standing on a marble pedestal, depicts MacArthur with his hands are his back pants pockets. [2]

Douglas MacArthur U.S. Army general of the army, field marshal of the Army of the Philippines

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American five-star general and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army. He was Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Philippines Campaign, which made him and his father Arthur MacArthur Jr. the first father and son to be awarded the medal. He was one of only five to rise to the rank of General of the Army in the US Army, and the only one conferred the rank of field marshal in the Philippine Army.

The inscription on the front of the pedestal reads "Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964". The plaque on the back reads "MacARTHUR SQUARE: MacArthur Square was designated on September 17, 1945 to honor General of the Army Douglas MacArthur for his leadership of the Allied forces in the Pacific during World War II. MacArthur, his father General Arthur MacArthur, and his grandfather judge Arthur McArthur, were all residents of Milwaukee. Douglas lived at the Plankinton House and attended West Division High School. In 1898 he was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy by Milwaukee Congressman Theobald Otjen. Douglas MacArthur's final visit here was on April 27, 1951, when he received an honorary degree from Marquette University and spoke at this site."

Historical information

General Douglas MacArthur was sculpted in 1977 over a period of five months in the French town of La Colle-sur-Loup, west of the city of Nice. The sculpture was cast in bronze in Montecatini, Italy. [3]

Dedication of the statue took place June 8, 1979 which was the 80th anniversary of MacArthur's entrance into the United States Military Academy at West Point, [4] after he had been twice rejected prior to his tutoring by a Milwaukee teacher. The dedication was part of a MacArthur Memorial Week from June 8 until June 14, 1979. Mrs. Marie Uihlein donated $50,000 for the sculpture in memory of her husband, Erwin Uihlein, who was a friend and admirer of MacArthur. Supplemental funds were raised by veterans' organizations and private donors. [5]

MacArthur's grandfather, Arthur MacArthur, Sr., came to Milwaukee in 1849. He worked as an attorney and circuit judge and also served as lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. MacArthur's father, Arthur MacArthur, Jr., served in the American Civil War where he was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery. He also served in the Spanish–American War. [4]

American Civil War Internal war in the U.S. over slavery

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the North and the South. The most studied and written about episode in U.S. history, the Civil War began primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people. War broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North, which also included some geographically western and southern states, proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States in the South, who advocated for states' rights to uphold slavery.

Medal of Honor United States of Americas highest military honor

The Medal of Honor is the United States of America's highest and most prestigious personal military decoration that may be awarded to recognize U.S. military service members who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U.S. Congress. Because the medal is presented "in the name of Congress", it is often referred to informally as the "Congressional Medal of Honor". However, the official name of the current award is "Medal of Honor". Within the United States Code the medal is referred to as the "Medal of Honor", and less frequently as "Congressional Medal of Honor". U.S. awards, including the Medal of Honor, do not have post-nominal titles, and while there is no official abbreviation, the most common abbreviations are "MOH" and "MH".

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References

  1. Milwaukee Business Journal http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/blog/2014/06/gen-macarthur-statue-honored-at-veterans-park.html
  2. Smithsonian Institution http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!27363~!0#focus
  3. Letter from Robert Dean, dated 4 September 1990, located in the vertical file on General Douglas MacArthur at Milwaukee Central Library's Art, Music and Recreation Room.
  4. 1 2 Buck, Diane M. and Virginia A. Palmer (1995).Outdoor Sculpture in Milwaukee: A Cultural and Historical Guidebook, p. 66, The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison.
  5. Milwaukee Journal, March 7, 1979.