As well as for the Truman-MacArthur-Eisenhower dispute I think A LOT can be said by reading "The Last Lion" about MacArthur. Growing up I was the BIGGEST MacArthur plan. After reading that biography I learned his father was the Commanding General AKA Field Marshall of the US and Philippine forces pre 1900 when they were a territory. Basically in WWI (I'll have to check the book) he went from 1LT to Colonel because of political connections in competition with Eisenhower.

I was taken aback by him when he took a patrol boat out of the Philippines to safety and left his LT Gen (3 Star) there to walk to Bataan death march with the rest of the troops, yet gave every person on the patrol boat that was on duty a Silver or Bronze Star for saving him (Made me think the guy was kind of full of himself, especially when I recall they never came under fire, only ducked a few enemy ships on the horizon, I'll check again)

I give it to him though, he had guts when he made the comment about "the dying soldier lying in the mud with an enemy bayonet through his belly" comment attests to his greatness as a general and leader of the country.