The Daily Alaska empire., 1944-10-20
BEA(HHEADS
 ARE QUICKLY ESTABLISHED
Navy and Air Unifs Give Support to Powerful
 Forces Sent Ashore

G E N. MACAR HUN D II E "A O- QUARTERS IN THE PHILIP PINES, Oct. 20-(Army Radio Pool Broadcast) General Douglas Mac Arthur, making good his VOW to re- turn to tho Philippines, announced, from these islands today. that his Navy and Air supported forces have invaded and secured expanding beachheads in the Central Philip pines.
 Tn major amphibious operations we have seized the Eastern coast of Leyte Island in the Philippines, 600 miles north of Morotai and 2500 miles from Milne Bay, New Guinea"
 The special communicate was dra- lmatically proclaimed from the inc vasion scene striking point where he is in position to quickly cutoff the island of Luzon, on which Manila is situated, from Mindanao, to the south.
 Supplies Pour Ashore
 MacArthur poured supplies ashore in preparation for showdown battle. There is an estimated 225,- 900 Japanese there, under Field Marshal Jicihi Terauchi. Gen Macarthur, aboard a war ship, went along with the huge con- voy from New Guinea, and within four hours his forces landed and began making plans to go ashore.
 The greatest moment to date in the Pacific war brought immediate exclamation of MacArthur's invasion forces from President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington.
 Nation Ezults
 The whole American nation today exults at the news that the gallant men under your command have landed on Philippine soil said the President
 Leyte is suitable island for an air base, lying 300 miles. southeast of Manila. The invaders secured Tacloban on the northeast end of
 
 said the ccnmunique. ] The Tokyo radio also reported landings in Cabalian on the south- ern tip, and said earlier landings occurred at the entrance to Leyte Gulf on Suluan island. Jap Navy Nowhere Eye witness accounts from the scene reported the American Navy and Air Forces on hand were of such mammoth strength and the ! Japanese Navy was nowhere in sight.
 The Nipponese Airforce had been knocked out of all airfields in the Philippines and offered scarcely token of resistance. One correspon- dent said "up to now no ship has been lost'
 l The preparation for the invasion included the destruction of more than 1900 planes, the sinking of 86 ships, damaging l27 ships, and widespread devastation of airfields and reinforcement bases.
 since october ,, the task IOrce has been blasting at Ryukyus For mosa and the Philippines.
 Invasion Convoy
 Dean Scheduler, Associated Press War Correspondent, reporting from the scene, said the invasion convoy stretched out as far as the eye could see. The Tokyo radio accounts of the landing on Sultan Island were not mentioned by MacArthur.
 The invasion occurred Tuesday (Manila time) The Leyte opera tions opened Thursday at noon and the operations on Tacloban started at 2 D. m. Tuesday night.
 Cuts if Japs A special communique, pointing to the significance of the invasion, said "Japanese-held bases as in Borneo will be severed from Japan forever. The communications upon which Japan's war industries depend will be cut in half A million men will be cut off without help or support
 This will include Japanese gar- risons manning many poorly-sup- piled island bases in the East Indies.