Monday, November 26, 2012

Corregidor

History. It is said "that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." (a quote attributed to Winston Churchill)

The history of the Philippines is rich. Thanks to the Spaniards it is the only Christian nation in Asia. Spain ruled this archipelago for over 300 years. Following their rule the Philippines became a territory of the United States. Within hours of Japan bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, Japan began their attack on the Philippine Islands. Their expectation was to conquer the Islands within weeks. Thanks to the resilience of the Philippine people and the United States military they weren't as successful as they had hoped. It took five months of intense fighting before the Philippines succumbed to the more powerful Japanese military machine.  From my understanding it was due to the length that it took the Japanese to conquer the Philippines that spared Australia  from an invasion. The Philippinos and the U.S. military made their last stand on the island of Corregidor.

Marcia and I had the opportunity to tour the island of Corregidor earlier this month. We would highly recommend visiting the island if you are ever in Manila. It is worth the time and money.

Middleside Barracks

Shell Holes 
 Places on the island are named with respect to their location on the island. The pictures on the right are part of the Middleside Barracks.

I will post additional pictures in the next day or so with captions. I took about 300 pictures while we were there. The story behind the courageous men and women who defended this island and the Philippines is tremendous. It is one that shouldn't be forgotten because of time...


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Marcia at Middleside Barraks

Munition Bunker at a gun emplacement

Rails used to carry heavy munitions to the guns

This is a door to the munition bunker with shrapnel holes in it

Jeff at the wrong end of the barrel!

Marcia and Jeff at a 12" mortar




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