Old Soldiers Never Die . . .

Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964)
Typescript speech for address
given April 19, 1951
Manuscript Division

General Douglas MacArthur was one of the most prominent U.S. military figures of the first half of the twentieth century. Beginning as a combat officer in World War I, MacArthur's military career reached its pinnacle after his victorious Pacific campaign during World War II with his appointment as Supreme Allied Commander charged with presiding over the Japanese transition to democratic self-rule. MacArthur's career came to a close during the Korean War, but as recognition of his status as one of the nation's greatest living military leaders, Congress asked him to address a joint session. MacArthur closed his speech with a famous line from an old army ballad: "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away."

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