During Secretary of War William Howard Taft's 1905 trip to Japan, Taft also met with Major General MacArthur as he was the United States military attaché to Japan, in Yokohama (likely at the Oriental Palace Hotel where MacArthur and his wife, Mrs. "Pinky" MacArthur, were staying During the course of this meeting, it was decided 1st Lieutenant Douglas MacArthur would replace Captain Paul W. West as Major General MacArthur's aide-de-camp and accompany him on a 'reconnaissance mission' to various Asian countries from November 1, 1905, through late June 1906 traveling over 20,000 miles, per 1st Lieutenant Douglas MacArthur vouchers.