TOW #22: Written - "Duty, Honor, Country" by General Douglas MacArthur

On May 12, 1962, General Douglas MacArthur was recognized and given the Sylvanus Thayer Award, an accolade awarded every year to one who encompasses and exemplifies the award's motto of "Duty, Honor, Country." In MacArthur's strong speech, he addresses and explains the mentality soldiers must have: remembering the purpose for which they became soldiers for their country. By utilizing rhetoric such as anaphora and repetition of the award's motto, MacArthur speaks of the characteristics that define a soldier and the importance of a soldier remembering his purpose.

When delivering his speech, MacArthur frequently uses anaphora to aid in his fluidity, his rhythm, and his emotional build-up towards the conclusion of his speech. Through the use of anaphora such as "whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing, indulged in too long, by federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant...” (1), MacArthur emphasizes and stresses the importance of remembering the three words “Duty, Honor, Country” in all circumstances; despite whatever obstacles may be such as a loss in strength, as seen in the quote, MacArthur explains that soldiers must continue to fight on. It is the soldiers duty, emphasized through anaphora, to endure and persevere. The effects of MacArthur’s anaphora are a rhythm to his speech and an emotional tie to MacArthur’s speech.

As the motto of the Sylvanus Thayer Award is “Duty, Honor, Country,” MacArthur repeatedly references and utilizes this phrase in his argument and in his speech; such usage helps address the event at which MacArthur is speaking at and also stresses three simple words that encompass the nature of a soldier. Stating that “the very obsession of your public service must be: Duty, Honor, Country” and “Your guidepost stands out like a ten-fold beacon in the night: Duty, Honor, Country” (1), MacArthur is addressing soldiers in the majority of his speech. By repeating the motto of the award, MacArthur shares possible events and times when soldiers must remember the three simple words. Previously in his speech, MacArthur speaks of the common characteristics found in soldiers; now, he sums up all the soldiers’ attributes into “Duty, Honor, Country.”

After years of war in the first half of the 20^th century such as World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, America has endured much. General Douglas MacArthur uplifts and praises the soldiers who have died, who are in combat, and who continue to sacrifice for the nation. In his speech Duty, Honor, Country, MacArthur not only explains the importance of the motto to the soldier, but also reminds the audience of the heroic deeds of all people who selflessly sacrificed themselves for the sake of the country. As they were “on the other side of the globe” in “filth of murky foxholes” with “the stench of ghostly trenches, the slime of dripping dugouts” (1), General MacArthur humbly states that the award does not “honor a personality”, but “symbolize a great moral code” (1), which all soldiers express.