"....(MacArthur) was something of a national hero (in the Philippines).....he
and some members of his staff had received immense payments in early 1942 from
Philippine leader Manuel Quezon to guarantee their role as influential friends
of Manila in the future. Even before he departed the islands for Australia
(fleeing as the Japanese over-run the country), in one of the most puzzling
financial arrangements of the war, Quezon had transferred $640, 000. 00 in US
dollars to MacArthur and a few staff members.
'Seldom, if ever, have military officers received such evidence of high esteem'
Carol Morris Petillo, who wrote of the deal, dryly noted.
Of that sum, $500,000. 00 went to MacArthur himself - probably the equivalent
of $ 10 million in contemporary dollars, tax-free; Richard Sutherland, his
much despised chief of staff, got $75,000. 00; Sutherland's deputy Richard
Marshall, $45,000. 00; and Sid Huff, another MacArthur aide, $20,000. 00.
The War Department knew of it, which means George Marshall and surely Roosevelt
were aware of the transaction, but no one tried to stop it.
Not long after that, Quezon made a similar offer to Eisenhower, by then an
important officer in Washington, supposedly for his services in the islands
from 1935 to 1939. Eisenhower wisely and graciously turned Quezon down and
entered a memo for his official file explaining what happened..."
(end of quote).
