MacArthur and the Philippines

There were 9 passengers on board Torpedo Boat No. 41: MacArthur and his wife, Arthur Jr., Azhu, Huff, Sutherland and 3 other officers. Bulkley drove the torpedo cutter carefully through the minefield at the exit of the bay, met with the other three torpedo cutters, and headed south in the dark. Due to the strong wind and waves, the torpedo boat was bumpy and bumpy. Except for Joan and Hef, everyone else became seasick and was very embarrassed. MacArthur later called it a "trip in a concrete mixer." At first, the four torpedo boats were originally traveling in a column, but due to the dark night and heavy waves, they lost contact while walking, and each headed towards the meeting point alone. When speedboat No. 41 sailed to Kabra Island, it found a Japanese patrol fleet, but fortunately it was not discovered. Bulkley immediately changed course and slipped around the enemy ship.

At dawn the next day, the captain of speedboat No. 32, who was passing speedboat No. 41 and moving ahead, saw a ship chasing from behind. He thought it was a Japanese destroyer and immediately cleared the deck and loaded torpedoes in preparation. fighting. Just before the order to fire was given, they saw clearly that the so-called destroyer turned out to be speedboat No. 41. They were so frightened that boat No. 32 broke out in a cold sweat: Fortunately, they did not fire.

At 4 p.m., the two speedboats arrived at the rendezvous point, Tagavayan Island in the Cuyo Islands, where another speedboat, No. 34, was already waiting. A Navy submarine was scheduled to pick them up there that evening, but MacArthur decided to continue on the speedboat. In the evening, MacArthur ordered Speedboat No. 32 to stay and wait for the submarine, while the other two set sail for Cagayan, Mindanao. That night, they again saw a Japanese patrol fleet ahead, but luckily they were not discovered again.

At 7 a.m. on March 13, after 35 hours of sailing, MacArthur and his party finally arrived in Cagayan. Soon, another speedboat, No. 35, sailed directly to Cagayan after getting separated. After getting off the boat, MacArthur told Bulkley that he would award the Silver Star to the officers and soldiers on the boat "in recognition of their perseverance and bravery under extremely adverse conditions." He also said: "You saved me from the tiger's mouth, and I will never forget it."

General Sharp, commander of the Mindanao Air Force, welcomed MacArthur and his party and prepared a meal for them A sumptuous meal that I had never dreamed of since evacuating Manila. At that time, northern Mindanao was still under the control of the US-Philippine military and Del Monte Airport was still operational. However, because the pre-arranged plane failed to arrive on time, MacArthur and his party waited until the early morning of the 17th before taking two B-17 bombers from Del Monte to Australia. The two planes were originally scheduled to fly to Darwin Airport, but were diverted to Batchelor Airport due to Japanese air raids on Darwin. Later, they took a C-47 plane to Alice Springs in the south, from where they took a train to their final destination of Melbourne. When passing through Adelaide Station, reporters who came after hearing the news asked MacArthur to speak, and he made a Caesar-like statement to them:

As far as I know, the President of the United States ordered me to break through the Japanese. The line of defense, from Corregidor Island, came to Australia with the purpose of organizing an attack on Japan, one of whose main objectives was to rescue the Philippines. I'm out, but I have to go back!

"I want to go back" became MacArthur's famous saying and morale-boosting battle cry in World War II. It is written on beaches, painted on walls, typed in mail, and chanted in prayers.

When MacArthur's train entered Melbourne, the local people welcomed him as a savior. In recognition of his heroic actions in the Philippines, Washington awarded him the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest award that MacArthur had waited 28 years to receive. The commendation order stated: "In the face of fierce enemy shelling and aircraft bombing, he put his personal safety aside and remained calm and calm at every critical moment. He inspired the fighting spirit of the troops and inspired the Filipino people with his actions. Confidence in its armed forces." Inside the United States, the "troubled monarch" became a glorious hero. Some streets, venues, buildings, children and even a dance step are named after him. Some wanted him to return to the War Department as the supreme military commander, and some even urged him to run for president in 1944.