Skip to content
The Honor Guard:  Only the Finest episode artwork

Jul 31, 2013 20 min

The Honor Guard: Only the Finest

from MacArthur Memorial Podcast

French military historian Henri Lachouque once wrote: “An old adage runs ‘There is no Temple without a God and no Throne without a Guard.’ But there are guards and Guards.” Lachouque was referring to Napoleon’s Imperial Guard, an elite unit which served as the French Emperor’s personal bodyguard and also as his “shock troops” to whom he turned for the most difficult assignments on the battlefield. Throughout history some of the world’s most colorful and charismatic military leaders have surrounded themselves with a personal guard composed of hand-picked men. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur’s Honor Guard was one of the most important and visible parts of the General’s official family during the closing months of World War II and throughout the Occupation of Japan. The members of this elite unit were selected based on their military bearing, intelligence and physical stature, and every combat Division of the U.S. Army in the Pacific was represented in its ranks. They were the best of the best, because when it came to the security for his Headquarters and family, MacArthur would accept nothing but the finest. Have a comment about this episode? Send us a text message! (Note: we can only read the texts, we can't reply) Support the show Follow us on: Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClark Facebook: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

French military historian Henri Lachouque once wrote: “An old adage runs ‘There is no Temple without a God and no Throne without a Guard.’ But there are guards and Guards.” Lachouque was referring to Napoleon’s Imperial Guard, an elite unit which served as the French Emperor’s personal bodyguard and also as his “shock troops” to whom he turned for the most difficult assignments on the battlefield. Throughout history some of the world’s most colorful and charismatic military leaders have surr...

Ready to play

The Honor Guard: Only the Finest

0:00 20:35

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of MacArthur Memorial Podcast?

This episode is 20 minutes long.

When was this MacArthur Memorial Podcast episode published?

This episode was published on July 31, 2013.

Can I download this MacArthur Memorial Podcast episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.