The Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon had recommended that the U.S. bypass the Philippines and invade instead the island of Formosa (Taiwan) in order to bring the Japanese Home Islands within range of U.S. bombers. On the other hand, General Douglas MacArthur, who made a pledge to return to Manila, needed to be consulted. The general was at that time conducting an island-hopping military campaign in the Dutch East Indies (now comprised of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia).

Therefore, FDR called a high level conference in Honolulu with MacArthur, Admiral William Leahy, and Admiral Chester Nimitz, who represented the Pentagon viewpoint to invade Formosa. The outcome of the conference is now a well-known historical fact. But the delicate negotiation in July 1944 between FDR and MacArthur remained shrouded in mystery.

“The argument MacArthur used to convince FDR for an invasion of the Philippines has been lost to posterity,” said James Zobel, archivist at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia, “we didn’t even have a picture of MacArthur making his case for the return to the Philippines.” Recently, however, a rare photo of the General negotiating with his civilian superior for the liberation of the Philippines unexpectedly turned up in Zobel’s mail. (see photo) This photo was taken inside the “cream stucco mansion” of the millionaire Christopher Holmes on a hill overlooking Waikiki Beach.

Why was FDR receptive to MacArthur’s message? Professional historians, who specialize in after-the-fact explanations, were stumped. However, feng shui (to be defined later) is capable of describing the state of play—the here and now situation—during that historic negotiation. As this writer has indicated in his book, Negotiate with Feng Shui (Llewellyn Publications, 2001), every negotiation is influenced for good or ill by three factors: location, compatibility between the parties at the table, and timing.

FDR was under the spell of the mansion, mid level on a hill overlooking the ocean and drawing the cool trade winds. It was a classic site that bestowed good feng shui to the participants.

In Chinese thought, compatibility between two persons can be evaluated according to their chi (universal energy) associated with dates of birth. FDR’s chi (the metal element) was harmonious with MacArthur’s chi (the earth element) as his DOB was January 26, 1880. In feng shui, earth produces metal.

We define feng shui as the ancient Chinese art of balancing the chi energy in the environment with the flow of a person’s chi energy in order to increase his or her effectiveness in human affairs. In other words, feng shui was the unseen player in Honolulu that linked the auspicious chi of the mansion (environment) with the harmonious chi energies of FDR and MacArthur.

As noted above, timing predisposed FDR, the Snake Person, to accommodate MacArthur’s obsession to liberate the Philippines in the Year of the Monkey. It was a lucky year for FDR. He was running for a fourth term as U.S. President. MacArthur was a sixth cousin, once removed, of FDR. Cousin Douglas was in a powerful position to provide glowing reports of battlefield successes to boost his reelection. MacArthur landed in Leyte on October 20, 1944. FDR was reelected that November.

Sixty years later, feng shui resurrected MacArthur’s command presence in Honolulu. In 2004, the Year of the Monkey, Jim Zobel received an unannounced package on the doorstep of the MacArthur Memorial sent by the surviving niece of MacArthur’s Army photographer, Richard Henschel, and he frantically dug into a pile of photographs. “There it is!” Zobel shouted with joy.

By Jose Armilla

e-mail: jose.armilla@prodigy.net