☰MacArthur Landing Memorial

Seven larger-than-life bronze figures wade through a shallow reflecting pool at Red Beach in Palo, just south of Tacloban — General Douglas MacArthur in front, Philippine President Sergio Osmeña and a handful of officers and a war correspondent behind him. The sculpture, by Filipino artist Anastacio Caedo, marks the spot where MacArthur waded ashore on 20 October 1944, fulfilling his "I shall return" promise and beginning the liberation of the Philippines from Japanese occupation. It is the single most photographed thing in Eastern Visayas. A short, well-tended seafront park surrounds the memorial; come early to avoid the tour buses.