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Fallen soldier: Statue commemorating MacArthur's Philippines landing toppled by typhoon

One of the statues memorializing U.S. General Douglas MacArthur's historic landing in the Philippines during World War II has been toppled by Typhoon Haiyan.

MacArthur waded ashore on Leyte Island's Red Beach on October 20, 1944, fulfilling his famous pledge, "I shall return," made in March 1942 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered him to relocate to Australia as Japanese forces pushed back U.S. and Filipino defenders.

The nearby city of Tacloban, which has been left devastated by the typhoon, was the first city to be liberated by U.S. and Filipino forces and served as the Philippines' temporary capital for several months.

-- Reuters, The Associated Press

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