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United States Army General Douglas MacArthur’s Second Landing on Leyte

Image Information
United States Army General Douglas MacArthur’s Second Landing on Leyte
Image Filename wwii1113.jpg.jpg
Image Size 98.74 KB
Image Dimensions 512 x 402
Photographer Unknown
Photographer Title
Caption Author Jason McDonald
Date Photographed 10/21/1944
Location 1st Calvary Division Sector, White Beach
City Dulag
State or Province Leyte
Country Philippines
Archive
Record Number
Status Caption ©2007, ©2024 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission


United States Army General Douglas MacArthur restages his landing from an LVCP on Leyte, Philippine Islands, for the press on White Beach in the First Calvary Division sector. At left is Lieutenant General Richard K. Sutherland, MacArthur’s chief of staff, and directly behind MacArthur, in glasses, is Colonel Lloyd Lehrbas, the general’s aide. LST-740 and LST-814 are behind him. He originally landed on October 20, 1944, under marginal enemy fire on Red Beach in the 2Fourth Infantry Division sector. Both the Japanese and the Americans were shocked to see him wade ashore on A-Day, the first day of the invasion. The Japanese taunted him verbally and opened fire with a Nambu machine gun, but he was not hurt and reportedly did not duck. Philippine President in exile, Sergio Osmena, accompanied the first landing. The Higgins Boat (LCVP) ran aground, and the party had to walk to shore. MacArthur was upset that his carefully prepared uniform was wet, but the shot was iconic. This view, taken the next day for newsreel cameras, was made on a shallower beach, with less tide. First Calvary Division soldiers who saw the photo of the first landing questioned its authenticity, and the controversy over the staged landings began.

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