On Oct. 20, 1944 Gen. Douglas MacArthur waded ashore on Leyte Island in the Philippines and fulfilled his promise to return. The charismatic and dashing General was one of the most famous American military leaders in the world and his dramatic return to his beloved Philippines was a crowning achievement in his relentless battle to drive the Japanese Army out of Southwest Asia. The Universal Newsreel captured the moment.
It was a redeeming moment after the devastating losses the U.S. Army and Gen. MacArthur had endured two years earlier. Despite the early warning given when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Gen. MacArthur’s forces in the Philippines were unprepared on Dec. 8th when the Japanese Air Force attacked. They destroyed nearly 50% of the American warplanes at Clark Field, most of which were still on the ground. By January the Japanese had driven the Allied forces onto the Bataan Peninsula and the situation was desperate. Gen. MacArthur was forced to move his headquarters to the island fortress of Corregidor. As the situation deteriorated President Roosevelt ordered the General to leave for his own safety. The General and his family and closest aides were forced to escape in the middle of the night and relocate in Australia. When Gen. MacArthur arrived in Australia he made his famous declaration:
“I came through and I shall return.”
