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MacArthur wades ashore at Leyte, and the Philippines campaign begins

Two and a half years after fleeing by PT boat, the general makes good on three words he never stopped repeating.

In March 1942, Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines on direct orders, slipping out by PT boat as Japanese troops closed in, and told reporters in Australia, "I shall return." On October 20, 1944, he made good on it, landing on the island of Leyte with Allied forces under covering fire from naval guns and aircraft. He waded ashore through knee-deep water onto a beach still contested by Japanese defenders. The landing opened the campaign to retake the Philippines…

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