This photo was taken by a U.S. Army Signal Corps photographer as MacArthur and members of his staff and entourage waded ashore about four hours after the landings. With him were key figures of the exiled Philippine government, Philippine President Sergio Osmeña and Gen. Carlos P. Romulo. MacArthur announced upon reaching land: “People of the Philippines; I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil consecrated in the blood of our two people. We have come, dedicated and committed to the task of destroying every vestige of enemy control over your people. The hour of your redemption is here.”

On 7 December 1941 the attack on Pearl Harbor was accompanied by attacks on all American bases in the Pacific including Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s forces in the Philippines. After months of fighting, almost entirely a losing defense, MacArthur was holed up in his last redoubt on the fortified island of Corregidor. He was ordered by Roosevelt to escape by submarine to Australia to avoid his capture by the Japanese. On 11 March 1942, MacArthur complied, leaving his few remaining troops to certain capture or death, including the horrors of the Bataan Death March. His final words to them, and to all the Philippine patriots, were: “I shall return!”

On this day in 1944, more than 100,000 American soldiers land on Leyte Island, in the Philippines, as preparation for the major invasion by Gen. Douglas MacArthur. The ensuing battles of Leyte Island proved among the bloodiest of the war in the Pacific and signaled the beginning of the end for the Japanese.
The Japanese anticipated the American landing by launching Operation Sho-Go, an attempt to divert the U.S. 3rd Fleet north and away from the fighting on the island. The Japanese fleet assembled was the largest ocean task force assembled during the war, including seven battleships, 11 heavy cruisers, and 19 destroyers. American submarines and aircraft carriers met the Japanese fleet and the Battle of Leyte Gulf began on October 23.

Meanwhile on Leyte Island, the American troops took on the Japanese garrison, which was composed of 80,000 soldiers. It took 67 days to subdue the island, with extraordinary acts of physical bravery and courage demonstrated on both sides. Even after the Americans had taken control of the island, Japanese soldiers who had been hidden away continued to emerge and fight on, preferring to die than surrender. All told, the Japanese lost more than 55,000 soldiers during the two months of battle and approximately another 25,000 in mopping up operations in early 1945. The U.S. forces lost about 3,500-compared with the Japanese loss of 80,000 total.