I shall return.
Posted on 10/19/2005 6:59:16 PM PDT by mdittmar
After advancing island by island across the Pacific Ocean, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur wades ashore onto the Philippine island of Leyte, fulfilling his promise to return to the area he was forced to flee in 1942.
The son of an American Civil War hero, MacArthur served as chief U.S. military adviser to the Philippines before World War II. The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, Japan launched its invasion of the Philippines. After struggling against great odds to save his adopted home from Japanese conquest, MacArthur was forced to abandon the Philippine island fortress of Corregidor under orders from President Franklin Roosevelt in March 1942. Left behind at Corregidor and on the Bataan Peninsula were 90,000 American and Filipino troops, who, lacking food, supplies, and support, would soon succumb to the Japanese offensive.
After leaving Corregidor, MacArthur and his family traveled by boat 560 miles to the Philippine island of Mindanao, braving mines, rough seas, and the Japanese navy. At the end of the hair-raising 35-hour journey, MacArthur told the boat commander, John D. Bulkeley, "You've taken me out of the jaws of death, and I won't forget it." On March 17, the general and his family boarded a B-17 Flying Fortress for northern Australia. He then took another aircraft and a long train ride down to Melbourne. During this journey, he was informed that there were far fewer Allied troops in Australia than he had hoped. Relief of his forces trapped in the Philippines would not be forthcoming. Deeply disappointed, he issued a statement to the press in which he promised his men and the people of the Philippines, "I shall return." The promise would become his mantra during the next two and a half years, and he would repeat it often in public appearances.
For his valiant defense of the Philippines, MacArthur was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and celebrated as "America's First Soldier." Put in command of Allied forces in the Southwestern Pacific, his first duty was conducting the defense of Australia. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Bataan fell in April, and the 70,000 American and Filipino soldiers captured there were forced to undertake a death march in which at least 7,000 perished. Then, in May, Corregidor surrendered, and 15,000 more Americans and Filipinos were captured. The Philippines were lost, and the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff had no immediate plans for their liberation.
After the U.S. victory at the Battle of Midway in June 1942, most Allied resources in the Pacific went to U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz, who as commander of the Pacific Fleet planned a more direct route to Japan than via the Philippines. Undaunted, MacArthur launched a major offensive in New Guinea, winning a string of victories with his limited forces. By September 1944, he was poised to launch an invasion of the Philippines, but he needed the support of Nimitz's Pacific Fleet. After a period of indecision about whether to invade the Philippines or Formosa, the Joint Chiefs put their support behind MacArthur's plan, which logistically could be carried out sooner than a Formosa invasion.
On October 20, 1944, a few hours after his troops landed, MacArthur waded ashore onto the Philippine island of Leyte. That day, he made a radio broadcast in which he declared, "People of the Philippines, I have returned!" In January 1945, his forces invaded the main Philippine island of Luzon. In February, Japanese forces at Bataan were cut off, and Corregidor was captured. Manila, the Philippine capital, fell in March, and in June MacArthur announced his offensive operations on Luzon to be at an end; although scattered Japanese resistance continued until the end of the war, in August. Only one-third of the men MacArthur left behind in March 1942 survived to see his return. "I'm a little late," he told them, "but we finally came."
Retires before Congress
My father landed on Leyte with the 511th paratrooper regiment this month fifty years ago. I salute you, Dad!
My father landed on Leyte with the 511th paratrooper regiment this month fifty years ago. I salute you, Dad!
Sounds reasonable. Did the press make fun of him? Did they say "mission accomplished?!? Why are people still dying??"
I hate the press we have today.
My dad was an aviation mechanic in the Philippines.
I shall return.
Overbearing, glory-grabbing putz.
I'm here,and my dad is still alive because of this "Overbearing, glory-grabbing putz."
History can teach you alot.
Duty,Honor,Country,General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's Address at West Point, May 12,1962
(click to listen)
Most overrated General in US history, without a doubt.
Grant?
Grant never had an episode as embarassing as McArthur losing his Air Force on the ground many hours after Pearl Harbor.....
Though I don't know if that was worse than the arrogance and stupidity displayed in getting completely surprised by the Chicoms in Korea...
Lay off the crack pipe
Maybe we could have used an "opposition" media presence in the Philippines that sniffed around every nook and cranny, exposing an opportunistic fraud like MacArthur for what he was.
My father was a second lieutenant in the Signal Corps. He was the first American soldier into Manila when we returned. He won two Bronze Stars and a Silver Star for his actions during the action in the Philippines, often fighting alongside Philippine guerilla troops, though as a Signal Corps officer he wasn't supposed to be fighting at all. I am so honored to be the daughter of a man like that.
You've been suckered by the myth.
He:
1) Appeared to be from Central Casting as a General; he "looked" like one's mental image of a great general.
2) In many ways he was a political creation (A Republican Hero.)
3) He was a master of PR. Made sure none of his subordinates got any credit for anything, made sure he was properly glorified.
I don't like him because of his rank insubordination against President Truman. We have civilian control of the military in this country. Speaking out publicly against the policy of the President of the United States, sabotaging diplomatic talks, and utter disobedience of the President’s orders are not qualities I respect in a General. And thats no matter who is President.
You have reason to be proud of your father. Tell him "thank you."
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