Bataan, Corregidor - the peninsula and island in the Philippines where Japanese forces besieged American forces in World War II; United States forces surrendered in 1942 and recaptured the area in 1945

Leyte, Leyte invasion, Leyte Island - a battle in World War II; the return of United States troops to the Philippines began with landings on Leyte Island in October 1944; first use of Kamikaze aircraft by the Japanese

Cebu - one of the Visayan islands of the central Philippines; important for its fine harbor

Luzon - the main island of the Philippines

Mindanao - the second largest island of the Philippines at the southern end of the archipelago; mountainous and volcanic

Mindoro - a mountainous island in the central Philippines

Philippines, Republic of the Philippines - a republic on the Philippine Islands; achieved independence from the United States in 1946

Bisayas, Visayan Islands - group of islands in the central Philippines

archipelago - a group of many islands in a large body of water

Pacific, Pacific Ocean - the largest ocean in the world

Tagalog - a member of a people native to the Philippines chiefly inhabiting central Luzon around and including Manila