MANILA – For the first time, the annual grand celebration of the historic Leyte Landing by Gen. Douglas McArthur that liberated the Philippines from Japanese occupation in World War 2, will be observed with utmost simplicity on Tuesday due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid19) pandemic.
According to the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) head, Lt. Gen. Ernesto G. Carolina, only local officials from the town of Palo, Leyte, where Allied Forces landed after crushing the powerful Japanese fleet during the world’s biggest naval battle, will attend the ceremony.
In previous years, the Leyte Landing anniversary was celebrated grandiosely with a military parade, including a reenactment of the landing at Palo beach where Gen. McArthur and top US military and Filipino officials, including Brig. Gen. Carlos P. Romulo landed on Oct. 20, 1944.
This year, the grand celebration was canceled due to the global outbreak of the deadly coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Nevertheless, PVAO said the simple 76th Leyte Landing anniversary will be held online to enable the people, not only in the Philippines but all over the world to witness the annual historic celebration.
Historian Xiao Chua said the Leyte Landing was preceded by the greatest naval battle in history at Leyte Gulf that involved 211 American warships, including 16 aircraft carriers, and 12 battleships.
In addition, American and allied forces had 1,300 warplanes and over 300,000 troops while the once formidable Japanese Navy had only 68 warships and 300 aircraft.
Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita was the commander of the Japanese Imperial Army in the Philippines during the final battle of the Pacific War.
When World War 2 broke out in the Philippines on Dec. 8, 1941, the Japanese crushed the American and Filipino forces in Bataan and Corregidor and occupied the Philippines for over three years.
The invasion of Leyte began at the dawn of Oct. 17, 1944 when US troops sneaked into the island that caught the Japanese by surprise.
The Japanese thought that McArthur would land in Mindanao but the brilliant American general diverted his plan and chose Leyte where American forces would land because Mindanao was heavily fortified by the Japanese.
The successful landing by the US and allied forces at Red Beach in Palo, Leyte fulfilled McArthur’s promise of “I shall return” to liberate the Philippines from the clutches of the Japanese invaders. (PNA)
