The reclusive only child of five-star Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur made a rare public statement Saturday to honor the Americans and Filipinos who fought to liberate the Philippines from Japanese occupation during World War II and fulfill his father's famous vow: "I shall return."

"I wish I could be there once again in the land of my birth and your distinguished company," 87-year-old Arthur MacArthur IV said in a statement read at a solemn ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the brutal Battle of Manila at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Eighty years ago, while the battle of Manila still raged, "my father restored civilian government to the Philippines under President Sergio Osmena," MacArthur said in the statement. "It was only made possible by the sacrifice of tens of thousands of Filipinos dedicated to freedom and those Americans buried among you today at the Manila American Cemetery."

The fight to retake the Philippines was a "pivotal moment in the Pacific theater of World War II," Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said in his remarks at the ceremony in which he singled out the contributions of the only two U.S. veterans of the campaign in the audience -- 101-year-old former Army Cpl. John Hodges and 99-year-old former Navy Yeoman 2nd Class Arthur Grabiner.