Major General Courtney Whitney (May 20, 1897 – March 21, 1969) was a lawyer and

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

commander during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

who later served as a senior official during the American

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

(1945–1951). He played a major role in the liberalization of Japanese government, society, and economy during the occupation.

Early life

Born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Whitney enlisted in the

in 1917 and became a pursuit pilot. He received his law degree from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

in 1927 and left the army to open a private practice in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

World War II

In 1940, Whitney returned to active duty. He worked in intelligence in Washington, DC, serving as the intelligence officer to the 14th Air Force in China until 1943, when General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

requested for him to be assigned to the Southwest Pacific Theater. Initially stationed at MacArthur's headquarters in Australia, Whitney helped to organize anti-Japanese resistance in the Philippines. Described by author

William Manchester William Raymond Manchester (April 1, 1922 – June 1, 2004) was an American author, biographer, and historian. He was the author of 18 books which have been translated into over 20 languages. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal and the ...

as an "ultraconservative Manila corporation lawyer", Whitney held highly racist views towards Filipinos, believing that only the Spanish-blooded ruling class was capable of running the Philippine government.Manchester W. ''American Caesar''. 1978. pp 378-379. Whitney was present at the

Battle of Leyte The Battle of Leyte (; ; ) in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the amphibious invasion of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American forces and Filipino guerrillas under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fou ...

in 1944 and landed in the Philippines with MacArthur, after which he was assigned chief of the Philippine section of the

Allied Intelligence Bureau The Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) was a joint United States, Australian, Dutch and British intelligence and special operations agency during World War II. It was responsible for operating parties of spies and commandos behind Japanese lines i ...

. After the restoration of the

Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines (; ) was an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following the ...

by Allied forces, Whitney was assigned responsibility for Philippine civil affairs.

Occupation of Japan

After Japan surrendered, Whitney accompanied MacArthur to

Atsugi Air Base is a joint Japan-US naval air base located in the cities of Yamato, Kanagawa, Yamato and Ayase, Kanagawa, Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy (USN) air base in the Pacific Ocean, and once housed ...

and became Chief of the Government Section at GHQ. With Lt. Col. Milo Rowell, he drafted the 1947

Constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan is the supreme law of Japan. Written primarily by American civilian officials during the occupation of Japan after World War II, it was adopted on 3 November 1946 and came into effect on 3 May 1947, succeeding the Meij ...

and sent it to the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

for approval. Historians emphasize the similarity of occupation policies to the US

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

programs of the 1930s. Moore and Robinson note that "New Deal liberalism seemed natural, even to conservative Republicans such as MacArthur and Whitney."Ray A. Moore and Donald L. Robinson, ''Partners for democracy: Crafting the new Japanese state under Macarthur'' (Oxford University Press, 2004) p 98 Whitney remained close to MacArthur throughout the occupation and served as Chief of Government Section at his headquarters. He accompanied MacArthur during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and received the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

and a second

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

for his brief visits to the front. Whitney resigned from the army after MacArthur was removed from command in 1951. He was decorated with the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

at his retirement ceremony. In 1956, Whitney's biography of his commander, ''MacArthur: His Rendezvous With History'', was published.

Decorations

Legacy

Whitney is buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

. He is also represented at the MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park in

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

, in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

as one of the statues of MacArthur and his party wading ashore at Leyte. Whitney's statue is behind the statues of

Sergio Osmeña Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; zh, c=吳文釗, poj=Gô͘ Bûn-chiau; September 9, 1878 – October 19, 1961) was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the List of presidents of the Philippines, fourth president of the Ph ...

and

Carlos P. Romulo Carlos Peña Romulo Sr. (January 14, 1899 – December 15, 1985) was a Filipino people, Filipino diplomat, statesman, soldier, journalist and author. He was a co-founder of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, a general in the US Army and the Phi ...

In popular culture

Whitney was played by

Dick O'Neill Richard Francis O'Neill (August 29, 1928 – November 17, 1998) was an American stage, film and television character actor best known for playing Irish cops, fathers, judges and army generals. He began his acting career as an original company m ...

in the 1977 film '' MacArthur'' Whitney appears frequently as one of MacArthur's key advisors in James Webb's historical novel "The Emperor's General."

References

Bibliography

* James, D. Clayton. ''The Years of MacArthur 1941-45'' (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975), vol 2 * James, D. Clayton. ''The years of MacArthur: Triumph and disaster, 1945-1964'' (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985), vol 3 * Manchester, W. 1978. ''American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964''. Little, Brown and Company, Boston. * Whitney, Courtney. ''MacArthur: His Rendezvous with Destiny'' (New York: Alfred E. Knopf 1956) * Williams, Justin. "Completing Japan's Political Reorientation, 1947-1952: Crucial Phase of the Allied Occupation." ''American Historical Review'' (1968): 1454-1469
in JSTOR

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitney, Courtney 1897 births 1969 deaths United States Army generals 20th-century American lawyers United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit George Washington University Law School alumni Military personnel from Washington, D.C. Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army generals of World War II Washington, D.C., Republicans Constitutions of Japan