By 1945 the U.S. had been fighting Japanese forces for almost three years over the Philippine Island of Luzon and Corregidor, located in Manila Bay. Both islands were the last allies the U.S. had in the Philippines, so they fought long and hard to capture the territories. After several defeats U.S. soldiers won the battles once and for all the week of February 26th when General Douglas MacArthur had soldiers airborne and seaborne invade the island territories.