General Douglas MacArthur made good on a promise when he returned to the Philippines on October 20, 1944. President Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to leave the Philippines in 1942 after he tried to defend the country against a Japanese invasion. He made his famous declaration “I Shall Return” after he fled to Australia. MacArthur maneuvered for two and a half years to get back to the Philippines and upon his arrival he declared “I have returned.”