By the end of 1944, Mydans had been pulled from the European theater to cover the war in the Pacific. He went to Leyte to meet with General MacArthur's forces, whom he accompanied on his return to Luzon island. On February 3, 1945, twenty-six days after U.S. troops landed in Luzon, they entered Manila. After a week-long battle to push back the Japanese forces, the Americans secured their position. With this victory, 3,500 Americans who had been prisoners of war at Santo Tomás University were set free, an event of personal significance to Mydans who had been interned there three years before.
The Battle for Manila, however, raged on for a month, causing the destruction of valuable historical landmarks and the death of approximately 100,000 Philippine civilians. The city's debris became obstacles that soldiers had to maneuver through. This battle, the bloodiest and most desctructive stage of urban fighting in the Pacific theater during World War II, marked a key victory for General MacArthur as he regained control of the Philippines.
