MacArthur's Return to the Philippines

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On October 20th, 1944, American forces invaded the Philippines, beginning the fulfillment of a promise General Douglas MacArthur made in early 1942 when he was ordered to evacuate from Corregidor by President Franklin Roosevelt. After over two and a half years of war across New Guinea, the Central Pacific, Palau and elsewhere, this move was the next major step in America’s war against Imperial Japan, and would serve not only to liberate the people of the Philippines from Japanese occupation, but as a springboard to further operations against the enemy.

As we mark the 80th anniversary of this invasion, take some time to learn about how and why this operation came about, and about the complex – and still controversial figure that was General Douglas MacArthur. Jeff is joined today by renowned historian and author Walter Borneman, author of “MacArthur at War,” a balanced, analytical, and thoroughly readable account of MacArthur’s war in the Pacific.