Remembering Leyte Gulf Landing

PALO, Leyte — The 62nd anniversary of the historic landing in this town of General Douglas MacArthur with the Liberation forces was celebrated on Red Beach here recently

Gracing the festivities were foreign guests led by Col. Chris Burns, Defense Attache from the Embassy of Australia; Nick Oosterveen, Minister-Counselor, Immigration, Embassy of Canada; Ambassador Ryuichiro Yamazaki of Japan, Group Capt. Mary Elizabeth Cox, Defense Attache of the Embassy of New Zealand and Capt. Mike Brooks, Naval Attache, Embassy of the United States of America.

With "A Remembrance for Peace" as its theme, Captain Brooks said the yearly commemoration of this event makes the United States closer to its loyal ally, the Philippines.

Ambassador Yamazaki in his brief address called for stronger ties between Japan and the Philippines.

It was the first time that Col. Burns, Capt. Cox and Capt. Brooks visited Leyte to attend the ceremony. In their parting shots, they paraphrased the late General Douglas MacArthur by saying "I shall return!"

The three most important historical figures in the Leyte Gulf Landing were Gen. Douglas MacArthur, then President of the Philippines, Sergio Osmeña and the Resident Commissioner Carlos P. Romulo. Their participation in the landing is immortalized by their life-size statues at a lagoon that gives the panoramic view of Leyte Gulf andSamar Island.

Sixty two years ago or on Oct. 20, 1944, General Doughlas MacArthur as he landed here with Commonwealth President Sergio Osmena and Liberation forces said "I have returned", thus fulfilling a promise he made to himself and the Filipino people as he left for Australia on March 17, 1942, shortly before the fall of Bataan and Corregidor.

This year’s celebration started with a floral offering before the statue of Gen. Douglas MacArthur and his companions, followed by the lighting of the Veterans for Peace torch, with (Ret.) Col. Dionisio Torrevillas, Regional Vice President, Veterans Federation of the Philippines (VFP) Region 8 Chapter and Col. Joel Joseph Cabides, Regional President, VFP-SDAI Region 8 Chapter leading the rites.

A welcome speech was delivered by Mayor Teodoro M. Sevilla of Palo, followed by a speech by Rep. Remedios Loreto-Petilla of the First Congressional District of Leyte who informed the audience that Presidential Decree 653 mandates the Leyte Gulf Landing as an important national event. "It has been always a tradition for us to celebrate this momentous occasion," she said.