MacArthur, General Douglas | "I shall return"

MacArthur, General Douglas

"I shall return"

Autograph quotation signed (160 x 60 mm) of his famous wartime promise. Matted and framed with a photographic print of the landing at Leyte Gulf, MacArthur striding from the landing craft to shore.

The fall of Corregidor in the Phillipines in March, 1942 to the Japanese was a stinging defeat to the United States. MacArthur was evacuated to the Australia, but proaclaimed from Terowie railway station, "I came through and I shall return."

It was a bold statement given the Japanese advances in the Pacific and became a rallying cry for Allied forces.

MacAuthur made good on his promise in October, 1944. The shot of his wading through the surf to the beach, landing craft in view, becameone of the indelible images of World War II and immensely increased his fame (and ego).

"This is the voice of freedom, General MacArthur speaking. People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil – soil consecrated in the blood of our two peoples…"