Also, MacArthur did not get in trouble for disobeying orders.
Well, there is disobeying orders, and there is disobeying orders....
And then there is what Paul Harvey called "the rest of the story"...
According to a story I heard (from a friend, whom I will ask for his references, the next time I see him...)
What got MacArthur cashiered wasn't what happened in Korea, though that was the official line.
It was disobeying a different, and "very minor" order that was the "last straw", according to the story....Truman ordered MacArthur to meet with him, at Midway. Time was tight for Truman, and he specifically ordered MacArthur to meet him on his plane. MacArthur arrived several hours ahead of Truman, and went to the hotel.
When Truman's plane landed, MacArthur did NOT meet him at the plane, as he had been
ordered (by the President, personally, the Commander in Chief) , he sent a car to bring Truman to the hotel.
Truman was furious, and MacArthur was relieved.
While officially there were other reasons, I find the story quite plausible, especially when you consider the egos of the people involved. Truman had a valid point, which was that "General, you work for ME!" And by not meeting him at the plane was in clear violation of an order. Sure, it's a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but history often turns on small things, and they seldom get into the official histories.
Truman supposedly gave him the choice of resign or be brought up on charges.
And before you think it ridiculous, remember the point is not WHAT the order was, but that a General must obey orders from the President, even the small ones, and does NOT get to pick and choose which ones he will obey.
If a general refuses to obey a simple little thing, how can he be trusted to obey a major thing? It may have been a deliberate set up, or it may have been Truman seizing the moment, either way it was a legal, and valid order, and was deliberately disobeyed. There are few, if any, greater sins in military society. MacArthur "had to be brought to heel", was, and resigned as a result.
The original question my friend asked was about MacArthur being familiar and fond of the Colt SAA .45Colt. So far, no one has found any photos, or other evidence directly showing he was.
However, he did grow up on Army posts in what was still the "wild west", and was taught to ride and shoot at a young age. The Colt .45 SAA was the standard handgun at that time, and I'm confident the young MacArthur was aware of it, and likely had some experience with it, even if no formal documentation of that can be found.,
also, one brief aside about this...
He and his staff told visiting reporters and politicians that the Japanese were having little effect on our subs because they did not have big enough depth charges set deep enough.
Nimitz (and his staff) didn't tell REPORTERS any such thing. THEY knew better. They did, however tell the Congressman (as required to do) and it was the CONGRESSMAN, later told the reporters, boasting about it. It was the politician's fault (and the reporters) that the Japanese learned they were setting their depth charges too shallow, NOT the fault of Nimitz, or anyone else in the Navy.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program...
One other tidbit about MacArthur and guns that I have run across, some accounts from people who knew him, and were there...During his time as COMSOWESPAC, including the return to the Philippines, MacArthur was reported to have carried a .41 derringer, and had it with him when he was filmed wading through the surf "returning". Considering that a derringer would have been something easily dropped into a pocket and not showing, its probably true. Few Generals and Admirals went about visibly personally armed. Patton was a huge exception in that regard.