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Many World War II and Korean War veterans will angrily disagree with me, but I believe the most inspirational military leader in U.S. history is General Douglas MacArthur. True, he was a strutting egomaniac, a political meddler and refused to admit his failures. However, in my opinion, his personal courage and forceful leadership made him one of the most important elements in the winning of World War II in the Pacific and bringing a just peace there.

First, let me tell of my meetings with MacArthur. Well, more like glimpses. As the war was winding down in the spring of 1945, and American troops were just finishing mopping up the Japanese Army in the Philippines, for several weeks, the General and I had the same chefs preparing our meals. After the roof had been replaced and some bullet holes repaired, MacArthur had moved back in to his luxury penthouse suite at the Manila Hotel.

If you remember your history, just a few months later, MacArthur boarded the USS Missouri, went to Tokyo Bay and accepted the Japanese surrender. However, while still in Manila, his meals were prepared in the hotel kitchen and delivered by waiters to his penthouse. At the same time, I was with a Navy underwater demolition crew, called frogmen then, and now Seals. Our job was to clear away by dynamiting the many bombed-out shipwrecks that were blocking Manila Harbor and making it hazardous for shipping.

We were housed in the basement of the hotel, near the kitchen, and were told our meals were the same as the General ate. Not that anyone believed it, but it did lift our morale. We were supposed to know MacArthur allegedly didn't want any special favors, and demanded to eat what the lowly Army and Navy guys ate. OK, I bought the story then.

And although this lowly sailor was never invited to join the General for a penthouse dinner, I did see him several times a week. We'd be working on our gear in the hotel garage when MacArthur and his staff marched by to pick up their limo for troop inspections. There were still Japanese stragglers and snipers in the city, so the General's car was always guarded by several jeeploads of heavily-armed military police.

Despite his well-earned reputation as a haughty autocrat, the General often stopped to chat with us and ask about our work. He actually seemed like a kindly dad talking to his sons, although at the time we were all standing stiffly at attention. He never discussed the war with us, but just some pleasant conversation. After he left Manila to conduct

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