Courtney Whitney

Major General Courtney Whitney (May 20, 1897 – March 21, 1969) was a lawyer and United States Army commander during World War II who later served as a senior official during the American occupation of Japan (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., Whitney enlisted in the United States Army in 1917 and became a pursuit pilot. He received his law degree from George Washington University in 1927 and left the army to open a private practice in Manila.

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 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 as an "ultraconservative Manila corporation lawyer", Whitney held highly racist views towards Filipinos, except for those of Spanish blood, whom he believed were the only ones fit for governing the Philippines.

Whitney was present at the Battle of Leyte in 1944 and landed in the Philippines with MacArthur, after which he was assigned chief of the Philippine section of the Allied Intelligence Bureau. Moore and Robinson note that "New Deal liberalism seemed natural, even to conservative Republicans such as MacArthur and Whitney."

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 and received the Silver Star and a second Legion of Merit 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 at his retirement ceremony. In 1956, Whitney's biography of his commander, MacArthur: His Rendezvous With History, was published.

Decorations

Legacy The grave of Major General Courtney Whitney at Arlington National Cemetery.

Whitney is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He is also represented at the MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park in Leyte, in the Philippines as one of the statues of MacArthur and his party wading ashore at Leyte. Whitney's statue is behind the statues of Sergio Osmeña and Carlos P. Romulo.

In popular culture Whitney was played by Dick O'Neill 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."