WHY MACARTHUR GOT HIS FEET WET

One of the most iconic series of photographs of World War II was shot on October 20, 1944, showing General Douglas MacArthur wading ashore at Leyte to honor his pledge to return to the Philippines.  Although there is a landing craft in the background of the pictures, the general actually was transported to the beach in a whaleboat which is not visible in the photos. The whaleboat grounded itself in the shallow water several hundred yards from the beach, and MacArthur sent orders to the beachmaster* to secure a landing craft so that MacArthur could be transported ashore without getting his tootsies damp. The beachmaster had better things to do, and an infuriated MacArthur finally had to walk through the surf to get to dry land. The only thing which saved the beachmaster from a permanent transfer to the Aleutian Islands was MacArthur's inspection of the photos and his realization of how dramatic he looked striding through the water with grim determination.

*The beachmaster is the individual at an amphibious assault who directs the arrival of the invading troops and the removal of the wounded and dead. This guy is the first one on the beach during the invasion. The job has its moments of stress, even when not dealing with prima donna four-star generals. Beachmasters are informally known as "the traffic cops in Hell."