Original caption: "General MacArthur surveys the beachhead on Leyte Island, soon after American forces swept ashore from a gigantic liberation armada into the central Philippines, at the historic moment when the General made good his promise 'I shall return.' 1944."

The Philippine Islands was an overseas territory of the United States dating back to the Spanish-American War (1898). Japanese forces invaded the Philippines during World War II, and committed atrocities such as the Bataan Death March. General MacArthur defeated the Japanese, reclaiming islands such as the Philippines, in an "island-hopping" campaign across the Pacific Ocean. In part due to the country's strong resistance to the Japanese invasion, the Philippines was granted independence in 1946, following the end of World War II. Click here to enlarge.