3. The Veracruz Expedition led to MacArthur’s first rejection of the Medal of Honor
In 1914, the Army occupied Veracruz, a “necessity caused by the Mexican Revolution”. MacArthur was part of the headquarters established in the Mexican city. He participated in the logistics planning phase of the operation, and assembled freight cars to use the railroads to supply the Army if it moved inland. Railcars were in good supply at Veracruz, locomotives were not. MacArthur, on his own initiative and without informing his commanding officer, organized a small party to journey to nearby Alvarado. He acted on a rumor of locomotives laying idle there. The party of four included MacArthur and the journey was by rail, using a handcar.
They found three serviceable locomotives, but on the return journey, they were attacked three times. MacArthur was the only member of his party who was armed. In the course of the attacks, he claimed to have shot a total of seven men. An investigation into the action (which was described entirely by MacArthur’s own report) did not consider his receipt of the Medal of Honor, which had been recommended by his commander, to be advisable. The board instead found that to commend MacArthur’s actions would lead to other officers embarking on unauthorized missions, endangering both themselves and the plans for the expedition. He was not commended for the action in any formal manner.