If Eisenhower saw the Normandy invasion and the campaign in Europe as a modern crusade against tyranny, MacArthur viewed the Allied return to the Philippines as something even more hallowed, something akin to the rescue of a beloved family member, an almost mystical moment of redemption and fellowship. Seldom in American military history has a general felt such a messianic sense of mission and so tight a bond with those whom he sought to liberate.
