Noy to lead anniversary celebration of Leyte landing

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino will lead tomorrow the 70th anniversary celebration of the Leyte Landing that liberated the country from Japanese rule, Malacañang said yesterday.

The Philippines will commemorate the day when then US General Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines to liberate it from Japanese forces.

On the morning of Oct. 20, 1944, American forces led by MacArthur landed on Red Beach in the municipality of Palo, Leyte.

The Battle of Leyte lasted from Oct. 20 to Dec. 31, 1944, resulting in a victory for the Allied forces. It was a milestone in the Second World War in the Pacific that culminated in the end of almost three years of Japanese occupation of the Philippines.

The Leyte landing also marked the re-establishment of the Commonwealth government on Philippine soil after years of government-in-exile in the US.

Australians also fought in Philippines during the Second World War.

To honor the 92 Australians who died during the liberation of the Philippines, a memorial has been dedicated to them at Palo and it will be unveiled today.

The monument stands close to the site where MacArthur first stepped ashore after leading the advance from Australia.

“Australians fought and died in the Philippines from the time of the US surrender in 1942 until the country’s final liberation in 1945,” said Colonel Bruce Murray, Australia’s defense attaché to the Philippines.

“The Royal Australian Navy’s participation in what is arguably history’s largest naval battle at Leyte Gulf, and its role in providing crucial support to nine amphibious landings during the campaign, made a valuable contribution to the overall success,” he added.

But currently, Leyte, particularly Tacloban City, is still recovering from the devastation wrought by Super Typhoon Yolanda that hit the country in November of last year. – With Pia Lee Brago