Flying MacArthur to Victory

“I shall return!” It was the most memorable phrase of the war for the Pacific in the 1940s. For many people Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur’s vow to recapture the Philippines and the footage of him wading ashore with the troops were all that was needed to characterize him as egotistical and severe.Flying MacArthur to Victory is the World War II diary of the general’s personal pilot Weldon E. (“Dusty”) Rhoades. Rhoades’s days as a transport pilot ended when he got the assignment to deliver documents marked “For MacArthur’s Eyes Only.” After the documents changed hands the general invited Rhoades to be the personal pilot of the Pacific theater’s commander in chief. From that day in October 1943 until his discharge in January 1946 Rhoades not only had a front-row seat for confrontations and strategic discussions between MacArthur and his chief of staff Gen. Richard K. Sutherland but also witnessed their behavior in the private shadow of their awesome responsibilities.The World War II diary of Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur''s personal pilot Weldon E. Rhoades chronicles the daily hardships of the world''s most all-encompassing war. Rhoades''s front-row observations show military personnel performing their duties under the stress generated from a cycle of intense activity unbearable boredom frustration and always the pain of separation from loved ones. Here also are the dramatic confrontations strategic discussions and off-camera personality of one of history''s most powerful generals a man often branded by the public as egotistical and severe.