The coastal city of Tacloban was once the brief focus of world attention when General Douglas MacArthur made good on his World War II promise to return and liberate the Philippines.

A day after supertyphoon Haiyan swept through the island of Leyte, the provincial capital of Tacloban was again the focus of world attention because of the devastation it has suffered from what is being called the strongest typhoon on record....

The town will now be remembered for the typhoon tragedy. But it is also home to a key moment in the Pacific battling of WWII.

Gen. MacArthur landed in the beaches of Palo, a neighboring town of Tacloban, to begin a campaign to liberate the Philippines from the occupying Japanese army. For several months in late 1944, Tacloban was the seat of power of the Philippines....