I shall return

Cultural

Words of General Douglas MacArthur in 1942 as he left the Philippine Islands during World War II. Japanese forces were about to conquer the Philippines, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt had transferred MacArthur to another location in the Pacific. MacArthur returned at the head of an American army in 1944 and freed the Philippines from Japanese control.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But General MacArthur had promised years earlier to recapture the Philippines after it fell to the Japanese, with his now-famous words – "I shall return" – and he did.

From Fox News • Mar. 4, 2020

As I have done with my other 37 purchases from Amazon in the last 37 days, I shall return these laces for a speedy refund.

From Washington Post • Mar. 28, 2019

From star stuff I came and to star stuff I shall return.

From New York Times • Feb. 27, 2018

Clinton joked that the evening was taking place on the anniversary of Douglas MacArthur's "I shall return" speech.

From Slate • Mar. 21, 2010

“I think I shall return to the other room.”

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023