Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Speech ·136 of 348
"I shall return."
They never said that.
What people say
"I shall return."
What was actually said
"I came through and I shall return." General Douglas MacArthur — MacArthur, statement on leaving the Philippines (March 1942)
Why it stuck
MacArthur's actual statement was longer; "I shall return" became the headline-friendly compression and the form he himself used afterward.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.