The Philippine Star

Noy to lead anniversar­y celebratio­n of Leyte landing

- With Pia Lee Brago By AUREA CALICA

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-inexile 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. –

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