1914401
Douglas MacArthur
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MacArthur sends condolences to a mother on the death of her son,
who “died in the service of his country in a just cause”—the recapture of the Philippines
Douglas MacArthur, 1880–1964. General of the Army. Typed Letter Signed, Douglas MacArthur, one page, 8” x 10½”, on stationery of the General Headquarters, Southwest Pacific Area, March 27, 1945.
This is an outstanding association war-dated letter. MacArthur sends condolences to a mother whose son died during the American effort to recapture the Philippine Islands—and fulfill MacArthur’s pledge that “I shall return.”
MacArthur was forced to leave the Philippine Islands in early 1942, as Japanese forces were about to conquer the Philippines. MacArthur’s forces were unprepared, despite the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the day before, when the Japanese Air Force attacked the Philippines on December 8, 1941. The Japanese destroyed nearly half of the American planes on the ground at Clark Field, including two squadrons of B-17s, and destroyed all but four planes on nearby Iba Field. Over the next few weeks, the Americans were forced to withdraw to Bataan Peninsula and the fortress island of Corregidor, in Manila Bay, where MacArthur, his wife, and his son, along with Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon and other high-ranking military officers and diplomats, were housed in the Malinta Tunnel.
As the Japanese drew closer to capturing the Philippines, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to evacuate to Australia. On March 12, 1942, MacArthur, his wife and son, and a few others fled Corregidor, first to Del Monte Airfield on Mindanao and then, flying on a B-17, to Australia.
MacArthur vowed that he would return to the Philippines. On March 20, during a speech at a railway station in South Australia, MacArthur declared, “I came through and I shall return.” He ignored Washington’s request that he amend his declaration to “We shall return.” During the next 2½ years, he often repeated his pledge: “I shall return.”
On October 17, 1944, American forces under MacArthur landed on three small islands in Leyte Gulf. Three days later, on October 20, MacArthur waded through the surf onto Red Beach. In a prepared speech, he announced, “People of the Philippines, I have returned! By the grace of Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil.”
But that was only the beginning. The Philippines Campaign lasted until Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, after the United States had dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Battle of Manila, MacArthur’s key to victory by recapturing the capital city of the Philippines, began on February 3, 1945, and lasted a month, to March 3. The battle was the worst urban fighting in the Pacific theater. MacArthur’s Army forces lost 1,010 soldiers killed and another 5,565 wounded, accounting for nearly 10% of the total of 71,574 soldiers killed, missing, and wounded in the entire Philippines Campaign. The Japanese lost more than 16,000 killed. Japanese forces committed mass murder against Filipino civilians, and an estimated 100,000 or more civilians died, while the city itself was devastated.
The subject of this letter, Private First Class Leo W. Moore, was killed a week into the Battle of Manila. A member of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division, Moore died in action on February 10, 1945. He was awarded the Purple Heart and was buried in the Manila American Cemetery.
In this letter, MacArthur sends his condolences to Moore’s mother. He writes, in full: “My deepest sympathy goes to you in the death of your son, Private First Class Leo W. Moore. / Your consolation for his loss may be that he died in the service of his country in a just cause and for the benefit of all.”
The letter is in fine condition. MacArthur has signed it in black, which has turned to a brownish gray. The letter shows a bit of handling and two horizontal mailing folds, which do not affect either the typewritten text or MacArthur’s signature.
Unframed.
This item has been sold.
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