When would MacArthur have left active duty after 1945?

If the Korean War had not started in 1950 when would MacArthur have returned to civilian life for the second time? ( he officially retired in 1937 to become Field Marshal of the Philippine Army but was recalled in 1941 by President Roosevelt). Would he have retired after the occupation of Japan officially ended in 1952?

If the Korean War still goes as OTL and somehow MacArthur kept his mouth shut in the press and isn't relieved by President Truman in 1951 would he have remained in command until the end of the war in 1953? He then retires then or was a plan to replace him through a normal change of command: Maybe Omar Bradley wanted to send a younger General Officer to Korea anyway and MacArthur is sent back to Japan to oversee the transition of the occupation ending (but really he is being set up to retire gracefully).
 
Technically, MacArthur never did leave active duty. He remained nominally assigned to the Office of the Chief of the United States Army until his death in 1964, drawing full active-duty pay and retaining the use of a small staff and office at Headquarters, First Army in new York City. But that's beside the point in this thread.

With no Korean War, MacArthur hangs on until 1952, when the American occupation of Japan ends, and is relieved of command for reasons of age (he's seventy two!). It would coincide with the presidential election season, so freeing him to run in the Republican primary campaign without the baggage of relief in a controversial war hanging over his head.

The second scenario-MacArthur remaining in command throughout the war-would require an ASB event in order for it to come to pass. Keeping his mouth shut was never one of his strong-points. I just can't see it happening.
 
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The second scenario-MacArthur remaining in command throughout the war-would require an ASB event in order for it to come to pass. Keeping his mouth shut was never one of his strong-points. I just can't see it happening.

There was also the matter of the twin cock ups of his that led to a less than optimal war for the US. Understanding the battlefield & national intelegence he was handed was another of Macs weak points. Twice in 1950 he was caught with his pants down by the NKPA & the PLA. There was a strong feeling within the Army, in the executive branch, among many Congressmen, and among the voters that he was past his expiration date. Its true there were stil lots of staunch MacArthur fans, but they were outnumbered by the 'retirement' crowd by 1951.
 

CalBear

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Once he received the 5th Star, he was NEVER going to be able to retire. Ever.

Ike was actually an active 5 Star officer while POTUS. He out ranked the military Chiefs not just as POTUS, but by actual military position.
 
Once he received the 5th Star, he was NEVER going to be able to retire. Ever.

Ike was actually an active 5 Star officer while POTUS. He out ranked the military Chiefs not just as POTUS, but by actual military position.

What? Don't they have to resign their military position to become President of the United States?
 
Once he received the 5th Star, he was NEVER going to be able to retire. Ever.

Ike was actually an active 5 Star officer while POTUS. He out ranked the military Chiefs not just as POTUS, but by actual military position.

No, he wasn't.

Eisenhower Presidential Library said:
Upon entering the office of the Presidency, Dwight Eisenhower had resigned his permanent commission as General of the Army. President Kennedy reactivated his commission as a five star general in the United States Army. With the exception of George Washington, Eisenhower is the only United States President with military service to reenter the Armed Forces after leaving the office of President.
 

CalBear

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No, he wasn't.

Technically he was not ALLOWED to resign his commission. I know what was done, on paper. The legalities are different. Once you get the 5th Star your are unable to retire. The rank is yours until you die or until a Court strips you of it.

It is different from any other position in the U.S. military.
 
Eisenhower Peresidential Library said:
Upon entering the office of the Presidency, Dwight Eisenhower had resigned his permanent commission as General of the Army. President Kennedy reactivated his commission as a five star general in the United States Army. With the exception of George Washington, Eisenhower is the only United States President with military service to reenter the Armed Forces after leaving the office of President.

Oh dear, how utterly sad to read that quote from a site whose express purpose is to help educate the American public. Eisenhower and Washington were NOT the only presidents with military service to re-enter the armed forces after leaving the presidency. There was a third president who was appointed a general eight years after leaving the Whie House. Ulysses Grant, the eighteenth president and former general of the army of the United States, was appointed a general on the retired list shortly before his death in 1885.
 
Technically he was not ALLOWED to resign his commission. I know what was done, on paper. The legalities are different. Once you get the 5th Star your are unable to retire. The rank is yours until you die or until a Court strips you of it.

It is different from any other position in the U.S. military.

Do you have a source for that? I am curious, because these sorts of administrative minutia have always interested me. The grade was an exalted one, but it was, in reality just another appointment to an office of the United States made by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate, and as far as I am aware, the occupant of that office was free to resign his appointment as long as his superiors consented. In my opinion, the text of the Act of Congress which established ''general of the army'' as a permanent grade in 1946 (and which can be found here) does not support that interpretaion.
 
Technically he was not ALLOWED to resign his commission. I know what was done, on paper. The legalities are different. Once you get the 5th Star your are unable to retire. The rank is yours until you die or until a Court strips you of it.

It is different from any other position in the U.S. military.

From a legal standpoint, Eisenhower likely would have been found to have forfeited his rank and privileges (active duty payment for life) the moment he became President, hence why Congress had to restore his rank after he left office instead of him automatically returning to it when Kennedy took over.

Either way, he was not an active-duty general when he was president, since he legally was not a member of the United States military during his time in office.

Oh dear, how utterly sad to read that quote from a site whose express purpose is to help educate the American public. Eisenhower and Washington were NOT the only presidents with military service to re-enter the armed forces after leaving the presidency. There was a third president who was appointed a general eight years after leaving the Whie House. Ulysses Grant, the eighteenth president and former general of the army of the United States, was appointed a general on the retired list shortly before his death in 1885.

Grant did not reenter the military. Congress simply restored his former rank and pension that he had given up when he assumed the presidency.
 
Would Mac have accepted being named ambassador to somewhere? Perhaps his beloved Phillipines or he stay on in Japan as ambassador? It's kind of an demotion but where else could he go? Bradley was already chief of staff and Ike had NATO. Marshall was secretary so state.
 
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