MacArthur’s Return. US General Douglas MacArthur returns to the Philippines, landing on the island of Leyte. The son of an American Civil War hero, MacArthur had served as a US military advisor in the Philippines before World War II. On December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan launched an invasion of the Philippines. Despite the failure of its attempt to hold the islands of Luzon and Corregidor, the general promised the Filipino people, “I will return.” On October 20, 1944, after an advance that touched each Pacific island one by one, MacArthur landed on the island of Leyte. In January 1945, his forces invaded the main Philippine island, Luzon. Manila, the islands’ capital, capitulated in March, and in June MacArthur announced the end of Allied offensive operations on Luzon. Fragmented Japanese resistance continued until the end of the war in August.
