"I SHALL RETURN" FULFILLED

   On October 20, 1944 General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled the promise he made upon leaving the island of Corrigedor in Manila Bay. I had posted Corrigedor on a previous blog and the destruction and death that occurred there. General MacArthur was pulled off the island just shortly before the Japanese captured the island in World War II in the year 1942.
  As he left, he stated those famous words, 'I shall return'. Many thought those words would never be fulfilled, but the Filipino people prayed it would.
  He returned upon the more southern island of Leyte. This was the area we went to deliver the wheelchair in the previous blog.  MacArthur was joined by the allied forces on that historic day.

  This event was welcomed, but it brought along with it death and destruction of a great magnitude. Shelling occurred for a lengthy time before the troops landed here, which proved to decrease the resistance from those that occupied the island. By the end of the war, most areas in the Philippines had lost the beautiful grandeur that we see today.

 

The markers are here as a reminder of a past that should never be repeated. Many scares remain that remind people of the physical and emotional harm caused during the great battles here.

 

 

MacArthur came to shore accompanied by other leaders anxious to take back the islands from the intruders that left so much damage. So much is heard about the bombs dropped in Japan and the destruction caused. Not so much said about the destruction here which equalled many times that of Japan.

 

 

There is now beauty and peace here once more. The growth of trees, flowers and grass hide the remnants of days gone by. Elder Hardick had a true love of the experiences he had here and really enjoyed living in a country of such vital history. We should all be grateful for the freedoms we enjoy, but remember that the cost of that freedom is high.