Memorable Quotations from Public Statements By General MacArthur: "I Shall Return": The well-known words "I shall return," while not made in a public address by General MacArthur, deserve mention here among some of the General's better and lesser known remarks. After leaving the Philippines March 12, 1942, MacArthur made his way to Australia where he was pressed by reporters for a statement. He issued the following Statement: "The President of the United States ordered me to break through the Japanese lines and proceed from Corregidor to Australia for the purpose, as I understand it, of organizing the American offensive against Japan, a primary object of which is the relief of the Philippines. I came through and I shall return." MacArthur mentioned later that he made the famous remark casually enough, but the became a psychological rallying point for the Filipinos, and for many Americans. When American forces and MacArthur returned to the Philippines in October 1944, the General's first works, spoken into a microphone, were: "People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil. "