|
|
Corregidor Virtual TourMo Ludan | May 18, 2009 | 20 comments | Print | E-mail Battery Way, armed with four 12-inch mortars that can fire in any direction. It has the last gun to fire out before the island surrendered. Battery Hearn, whose seacoast gun is the longest on the island with a firing range of 17 miles. Battery Crocket, with its 12-inch seacoast guns mounted on carriages that move the guns and disappear behind a parapet. Battery Grubbs, whose armament is described on a commemorative plate. Reyes says ”it took the Japanese 27 days after the Fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942 to capture The Rock” (Singapore fell in 8 days; Hong Kong in17). During the siege, virtually every inch of the fortress is bombed. The valiant stand by the Filipino-American forces on Bataan and Corregidor succeeds in delaying Tokyo’s timetable to invade Australia. The delay has given the Allies time to mount a counter offensive that would turn the tide of war in the Pacific. The next stop is historic Malinta Tunnel. Originally built as arms storage and not designed to quarter humans, the 836-foot long Malinta Tunnel served as MacArthur’s temporary HQ. It was also home for the Philippine Commonwealth government led by its ailing president (wracked with tuberculosis), Manuel L. Quezon, Vice President Sergio Osmena, and members of his cabinet. Each had a prize on his head. With Quezon were his wife, Dona Aurora, their two teen-age daughters and their youngest child, Manuel, Jr. Reyes notes that the dim, dank dwelling, measuring 24′ wide and 18′ high, is built beneath the rock-solid Malinta Hill, making the tunnel virtually bomb-proof. It has taken ten years, from 1922, to complete the underground engineering feat. A few historic events are recreated by the tour’s “Light-and-Sound,” complete with audio-visual special effects. One of the most touching moments is the swearing in of Quezon for his second term on December 30, 1941. The revered Filipino leader slowly rises from his wheelchair to deliver his inaugural speech. Quezon turns his ire on President Franklin D. Roosevelt and General George C. Marshall, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, for their “failure” to defend the beleaguered Philippines, an American possession, in favor of Europe. “For thirty years I have worked and hoped for my people,” Quezon fulminates. “Now they burn and die for a flag that could not protect them. I cannot stand this constant reference to Europe. I am here and my people are here under the heels of a conqueror. Where are the planes that they boast of? America writhes in anguish at the fate of a distant cousin, Europe, while a daughter, the Philippines, is being raped in the backroom.” Eighty thousand Filipinos comprise the 100,000 Filipino-American defenders of Bataan and Corregidor (two were my uncles, fresh out of the University of the Philippines. One, Pedro “Pedring” Carbonell and my mother’s elder brother, survived the infamous Bataan Death March and is now a retired chemistry professor while the other, Pacifico “Ackoy” Ludan and dad’s younger brother, did not. For more on The Bataan Death March, see YOU COMMAND, November 2007, Armchair General magazine.) Some historians do indeed tend to agree with Quezon’s sentiment shared by MacArthur himself. Prominent among them are biographers Breuer, William Manchester, and D. Clayton James, who said: ”Like the false encouragement given by physicians to some dying patients, the hopeful words of Roosevelt and Marshall perhaps were intended to brace MacArthur and his men to fight longer than they would have if told the truth. If so, these words were an insult to the garrison’s bravery and determination” (Manchester, “American Caesar,” p. 249. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. 1978 First Edition). Feeling betrayed by Washington, the Filipino people turned to the General for their salvation. This explains why MacArthur chose not to use the word “We” when he made his solemn pledge: “I shall return.” Pages: 1 2 3Help Armchair General by bookmarking to
            Tags: Historical Figures, travel, World War II
|
|
|
|
||
What is Armchair General?Armchair General (ACG) and ACG online feature a unique, interactive editorial approach that invites the reader to decide the course of action in challenging historical scenarios, to step into the shoes of a battlefield commander. Leading historians and contributors lend integrity and credibility to this fresh presentation of historical and contemporary events. Armchair General is the INTERACTIVE history magazine where YOU COMMAND and decide the course of action! |
What We Write About
|
Our Other Magazines |
Weider History Network: HistoryNet | Armchair General | Great History | Achtung Panzer! Copyright © 2004-2008 Armchair General L.L.C., All rights reserved. |
||
20 Comments to “Corregidor Virtual Tour”
An excellent article. I did the same tour earlier in Jan this year and recommend it to anyone going to Manilla. It is possible that the stubborn defence of the Philipines slowed up the Japanese (it took about 4 months longer than they anticipated) and allowed Australia and the Commonwealth nations to bolster the defence of the Pacific (New Guinea et al).
By Gavan Lim-Joon on May 18, 2009 at 10:44 pm
An outstanding virtual tour of one of the most heroic sites of any war in US history. More so than (and I’m going to outrage the Texans, including my wife, with this) the Alamo. The courage of the American and Filipino troops on Bataan and Corregidor is only stained by the perfidy of Franklin D Roosevelt in directing the bulk of the war effort to Europe, a decision that cost the lives of thousands of troops from the Phillipines and the USA. One of our family’s friends was a survivor of the Bataan Death March. He only spoke of it once…he was quite drunk at the time, but his story was one that he could only tell in that condition: a tale of horror that is unrivaled in modern history. The Nazis were outmatched by the brutality of the Japanese. Nuff Said.
By Mike Halvorsen on May 19, 2009 at 9:31 pm
The visit to Corregidor was well done and awakes the importance of history being factual and not swayed by political nonsense.
WBA
By William B. Armstrong on May 26, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Excellent article! Had FDR heeded the pre-1941 pleas of Churchill for warships et al , the US war machine might have been better positioned to respond to Quezon/MacArthur in a more timely fashion, sparing the lives of many…
By Alex Odell on May 28, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Great article, I could feel the sun and the breeze just reading! These little known facts are being changed by historians that just don’t care to get it accurate. Thanks for the “virtual tour”.
By Stuart Lervick on Jun 3, 2009 at 10:42 am
Congratulations, ACG. Your Corregidor Virtual Tour has done a great service to the Filipino people. You have given them a rare recognition, now mostly forgotten in U.S. classrooms and ignored by Hollywood and the mass media (e.g., PBS, History Channel), of their sacrifices, bravery, and loyalty resisting, under the American flag, the brutal Japanese invaders.
Maritez Reyes Agag
Kapolei, Hawaii
By Maritez Retes Agag on Jun 14, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Thanks, ACG.
Your Corregidor Virtual Tour has done a great service to the Filipino people. You have given them a well-deserved recognition of their sacrifices, bravery, and loyalty in resisting, under the American flag, the brute force of Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation.
Martiez Reyes Agag
Kapolei, Hawaii
By Maritez Reyes Agag on Jun 15, 2009 at 1:50 am
Enjoyed the virtual tour – and the real one. I was there a few years ago.
K. Geyer
By Karl Geyer on Jun 17, 2009 at 6:42 pm
As to quote Captian Bob Milhelland, retired, “This is a great article and well written It sounds like a great trip
By Al Orsland on Jun 19, 2009 at 4:21 pm
You have given them a well-deserved recognition to the Filipino of their huge sacrifices, and loyalty in resisting, under the American flag, and the force of Japanese invasion.
By Al Orsland on Jun 19, 2009 at 4:26 pm
If I ever get the opportunity this sounds like a wonderful trip to Manilla lots of information makes it very enjoyable to read if you can’t get there yourself. I would love to be able to take my grandchildren so they can see the great history. Thank you Mr. Ludan
By Al Orsland on Jun 19, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Great shrine.
Grateful people.
Gorgeous beaches.
General, We Shall Return.
Emil and Ruby Helman
By Emil Helman on Jun 20, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Would FDR have a change of heart and priorities if it were Prime Minister Churchill, instead of ailing Filipino Commonwealth President Quezon desperately rallying his countrymen under the protection of the American flag, who was in that miserable hellhole called “Malinta Tunnel”?
I’d bet the ranch the answer is “Yes.”
Tim Gil
San Francisco
By Tim Gil on Jun 21, 2009 at 3:43 pm
An excellent, you-are-there virtual tour de force.
Joselito Pascual
Anaheim, CA
By Joselito Pascual on Jul 2, 2009 at 3:11 am
Who wouldn’t be ticked off by duplicitous FDR?
As described by an eyewitness at Malinta Tunnel, Maj. Gen. Charles A. Willoughby in his book, “MacArthur,” McGraw Hill, N.Y. 1954.
“(Ailing Philippine Commonwealth President) Quezon felt caged and frustraed whenever he heard the suave fireside voice telling America about the thousands of aircraft that would shortly be coming from the assembly lines and on their way – to Europe!”
Quezon was listening on a transmitter radio for daily news from the U.S.
By Roby Espiritu on Jul 25, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I finally went to Corregidor about a year ago after wanting to do it for so long. I was very impressed with the island and was trying to imagine the daily life there at that time. It made me think that at that time, they did not want military personnel to mix with the civilian population. After all, a soldier garrisoned in Corregidor would have no means of leaving the island on his own.
By andy on Aug 4, 2009 at 6:15 am
An excellent tour. I was lucky enough to be in Mr Reyes’s tranvia. His erudition added a sense of dimension to the tour. I recommend it to all visitors of Manila.
By tropicq on Aug 4, 2009 at 6:20 am
Thanks to ACG for featuring Corregidor in your july issue,This historic island is where Filipino and American soldiers shed blood ,sweat and tears in their fight for freedom and Democracy.The article and virtual tour high lights Corrgidor as a Philippine tourist destination and its war memorial tour.
Thanks a lot to Col(ret.)Jerry Morelock, Editor in chief of ACG and Mr.Romulo Ludan for the privilege of being featured in such a prestigious American magazine.
By Carlos Reyes
Tour Guide of the Dept.of Tourism and
Sun Cruises inc.(coreregidor Is.) Aug.20.2009
By carlos reyes on Aug 21, 2009 at 2:41 am
Great! Very enjoyable read.
By Drew Ellison on Nov 10, 2009 at 2:11 am