During the crisis of early 1942, as Japanese forces overran the Philippines, President Quezon had considered giving himself up to the enemy and suing for peace. MacArthur had half-endorsed this proposal on the grounds that it might alleviate the Filipino people’s suffering. But FDR had rejected it categorically. In a letter to President Quezon he had pledged: “Whatever happens to the present American garrison, we shall not relax our efforts until the forces which we are now marshalling outside the Philippine Islands return to the Philippines and drive the last remnant of the invaders from your
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