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Quick! Where did General Douglas MacArthur land when he returned to the Philippines to “liberate” the country from the Japanese invaders? It’s in the Imeldific island of Leyte, where MacArthur has a park created in his honor. The bronze statues tower over everyone, including the larger-than-life statues of President Sergio Osmeña and General Carlos P. Romulo, who were with the landing party of Gen. MacArthur.

It’s really called the Leyte Landing Memorial, located at the Red Beach, Palo, Leyte. Just in case you go past the Memorial and gaze at the sea, you’ll notice that the beach brown to black — not red. The “red” in Red Beach doesn’t refer to the natural color of the sand, but its color after being drenched in blood.

The Memorial is a few minutes from Tacloban City, the capital of the province of Leyte. There are no taxis in Tacloban City, so you could hire a tricycle, a ubiquitous mode of Philippine public transportation that resembles the famous German sidecar, in going to the park (yes, the Germans were also part of the Axis powers during World War II, but they were confronting the Allied powers in Europe, not here in the Pacific). There are at least four flights going in and out of Tacloban from Manila. You could also opt to go there by ship or by land (through the roll-on-roll off or “RORO” ships).

During the height of the Japanese attack in the Philippines, Gen. MacArthur had to leave the country, leaving with this famous line — “I shall return“. The Leyte Landing Memorial commemorates the historic return of the flamboyant general, together with hundreds of thousands of men and hundreds of ships, on October 20, 1944. It was the start of the end of Japanese occupation in the Philippines.

So, the next time you’re stuck in Tacloban City, soak up a piece of history and drop by Leyte Landing Memorial (or you may still want to call it the MacArthur Park).

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