u/MaybeClassic6670

Western military officers who helped "liberate" Eastern regions they saw as second homes (the Philippines / Arabia) by leading or aiding native guerrilla fighters against imperial powers during a world war. They came to be viewed as symbols of liberation by the local population yet also served the strategic interests of their own agenda and fought empires with celestial bodies in their flags that represent a rising power and a fading one (Japan's Rising Sun / the Ottoman Crescent). Each wore very iconic accessories that became their personal brand and were unmistakably theirs (MacArthur's aviator sunglasses and corncob pipe / Lawrence's Arabian attire and piercing blue eyes) and spoke or wrote in a grandiose and poetic vocabulary (MacArthur's grand rhetorical speeches / Lawrence's poetic prose in Seven Pillars of Wisdom). Each was a close adviser to the local leaders they aided in their struggle for independence (MacArthur with Quezon and Osmeña / Lawrence with Prince Faisal) and carries a moniker earned from the people or media that emphasizes their foreign status ("Gaijin Shogun" / "Lawrence of Arabia"). They played roles in complex postwar occupations in very different ways (MacArthur became the de facto ruler of Japan / Lawrence tried to secure Arab independence but was sidelined by colonial powers). Their most famous battles involved a surprise attack on a city port that seemed impossible and was discouraged by their superiors but succeeded which are widely considered tactical masterpieces, with each assault executed from opposite directions (MacArthur at Inchon from the sea / Lawrence at Aqaba from the land). Both were infamous for defying authority and clashing with their superiors (MacArthur with Truman over Korea / Lawrence with British leaders over the Arab Revolt) and understood the power of media and propaganda. Both were flamboyant and prone to self-glorification but MacArthur embraced his legend while Lawrence grew to resent the very myth he created.