Carl Mydans’ most famous photograph captures General Douglas MacArthur striding ashore in the Lingayen Gulf at Luzon, the Philippines, as American forces retook the area from the Japanese in January 1945. When Japanese Imperial forces had taken control of strategically-important Luzon in 1941, forcing an American withdrawal, MacArthur had famously proclaimed, “I shall return.” Mydans’ photograph captures the very moment of MacArthur’s triumphant fulfillment of that promise.

Mydans’ image was reproduced in LIFE magazine’s 19 February 1945 issue as part of a feature, written by Mydans himself, documenting in words and pictures the liberation of the Philippines. His courageous coverage of both the Pacific and European theaters had earned him General MacArthur’s respect. Mydans described the flinty general as the “most brilliant military mind I had ever known” (Carl Mydans, Photojournalist, p. 27), and came to appreciate his ability to stage-manage dramatic events, such as the landing at Luzon, for the camera. Mydans wrote, “No one I have ever known in public life had a better understanding of the drama and power of photography” (ibid., p. 13).