In August 1943 Colonel Courtney Whitney, an army intelligence officer on General Douglas MacArthur's staff, suggested that propaganda items with the General's famous "I Shall Return" pledge be distributed to the native population in the Japanese occupied Philippine Islands. The Office of War Information classified the project top secret, then made arrangements with the Larus & Bro. Tobacco Company of Richmond, Virginia to manufacture the cigarettes. "I Shall Return" cigarettes, the companion matchbooks and matchboxes, plus round mirrored reflectors for signaling aircraft, were smuggled behind enemy lines from the U.S. Cargo Submarine Narwhal and dropped at night from B-24 'Liberator' bombers. These items, along with a sewing kit, were distributed by US and Filipino guerrillas. At the beginning of World War II Larus & Bro. bid for, and was awarded, a contract to provide small packets of their Chelsea Cigarettes to be included in a soldier's field rations. In a wing of their factory set aside for this secret work, Larus packaged four Chelsea cigarettes in a colorful paper label picturing the flags of the US and the Philippines. MacArthur's facsimile signature, and the famous "I Shall Return" slogan were prominently featured. These small packets of American cigarettes helped keep Filipino hope for liberation alive until General MacArthur kept his promise in October 1944.

Just how important a role the "I Shall Return" cigarettes played in the liberation of the Philippines was shown in actor Tyrone Power's 1950 movie "An American Guerrilla in the Philippines." Three times during the film these special cigarettes were depicted as an effective American propaganda tool used to defeat Japan's occupying army. In one scene, a Filipino villager caught with an "I Shall Return" packet was executed by a Japanese soldier. Incidentally, the "I Shall Return" matchbook featured graphics similar to the signal mirror above, while the matchbox resembled the cigarette packet. The Japanese counter attacked by distributing their own anti-US propaganda matches.