11 March 1942

Douglas MacArthur leaves the Philippines.

MacArthur's defense of the islands was hamstrung by a lack of air and sea power. The Japanese invaded only two weeks after Pearl Harbor, and MacArthur organized a swift defense that was doomed from the start. On this day, he was finally persuaded to retreat, leaving behind the defenders, who surrendered to the Japanese a month later. In Adelaide a week after his retreat, MacArthur uttered his famous promise: "I shall return," and in October 1944 he kept his promise. However, at this point in the war, things were going poorly for the Allies, as the Philippines was added to a long list of defeats - Dunkirk, Pearl Harbor, Tobruk, Guam, Wake, and Singapore. Good thing that damned liberal media didn't get involved, or we'd all be speaking Japanese now!