On October 20, 1944, the United States Sixth Army under Lt. General Walter Krueger landed at Palo, Leyte. Realizing the strategic importance of the Philippines to the defense of Japan, the Japanese Imperial Navy mounted a huge armada of battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines and support vessels to frustrate the American invasion at Leyte, counting on land based aircraft to compensate the loss of its aircraft carriers at Midway. Losing the Philippines would mean closing the distance for American B-29's to conduct air raids on Japan. The resulting Battle of Leyte Gulf was the greatest naval engagement in history. The Japanese naval fleet was utterly annihilated, including the biggest battleships of that era - the Yamato and the Musashi.
MacArthur waded in style towards Palo, Leyte with his signature corn cob pipe and dark sunglasses accompanied by his staff and Carlos P. Romulo. Immediately, he made a radio broadcast : "People of the Philippines, I have returned!"
Japanese resistance was fierce and prolonged despite bad weather and unusually heavy rains which lasted through November. In December, mopping up operations in Leyte were turned over to the 8th Army under Lt. General Robert Eichelberger.
On January 9 , 1945, the 6th Army landed at Lingayen with 68,000 troops streaming out of LST's and Higgins landing crafts. American naval vessels were strung as far as the eyes can see; hundreds of fighter planes provided air cover shooting down Japanese Zeroes and Kamikaze suicide bombers who desperately tried to hit a naval vessel. Opposing the Americans were 250,000 Japanese under the command of General Toyomuki Yamashita.
Days before, couriers warned civilians to withdraw inland and protect themselves against the intense shelling that would precede the landing.
Sheets of metal rained from the skies during the intense shelling making life miserable for enemy defenders and civilians who chose to stay. They would not miss the greatest show of their lives. Many civilians were killed or wounded but the prevailing mood was festive as the thump, thump, thump of exploding shells reverberated - each thump a retribution. Redemption was at hand.
A comely teenager with windblown hair was hit by shrapnel in the right eye. She writhed on the ground in pain as she cupped a hand over her right eye, bleeding profusely, blood staining her white cotton dress. Flora winced.
Shortly after gaining a beachhead and penetrating inland, the beach turned into a beehive of activity for support groups bringing in stockpiles of equipment, machinery, ammunitions, K-rations and supplies; jeeps, tanks, howitzers rolled off LST's. Communication facilities were being set up. Shortly, Seabees constructed an airstrip at Lingayen from where American planes repeatedly took off and landed in support of forward troops engaging the enemy who were retreating inland. By January 20, 1945, the Japanese were pushed back 40 miles inland.
The shelling destroyed the sacristy and demolished the roof of the church. Remarkably, the bell tower was not hit.
There was a wave of jubilation when MacArthur waded towards the beach; people loved him no matter it took him more than two years to return.
