MacArthur landing at Leyte, Oct 20, 1944.
photo by U.S. Army Signal Corps officer Gaetano Faillace

People of the Philippines, I have returned!

On October 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur addressed the Filipino people in a radio address from the island of Leyte. It was a critical step in the campaign to retake the Philippine archipelago from Japanese control after three years of occupation.

President Roosevelt had ordered MacArthur to evacuate the Philippines in March of 1942, after an overwhelming Japanese assault, to avoid the general's capture. MacArthur reluctantly obeyed his commander but vowed to return.

And return he did, in dramatic fashion. This stirring photo of General MacArthur landing on the beach of Leyte island is one of the most iconic images of WWII. It was taken by U.S. Army Signal Corps officer Gaetano Faillace, MacArthur's personal photographer, who took many of the most well-known photos of the general. (All these images are in the public domain. )

Gregory Peck played MacArthur in the 1977 film, MacArthur. An actor named Jerry Martin played the photographer, Gaetano Faillace. But Peck forgot the character's name, and in one scene addresses his photographer as "Jerry." The studio kept it in, figuring hardly anyone would