Last year, I joined my wife and her staff in their outing to the island fortress named Corregidor. I have always wanted to visit this island again especially after hearing from a former colleague that Malinta Tunnel which served as General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters during World War 2 was opened to the public. The last time I was in Corregidor was when I was about 7 or eight years old.
We arrived at the dock which was located at the back of the Folk Arts Theater in Manila at around 7:00 in the morning. The catarman which was a sea craft that had banca shaped structures on both sides was our ride in going to Corregidor. When I was first went to Corregidor with my folks during the 1970s, we rode on a Philippine Navy ship. I couldn't recall what type of naval war craft that was. Also during that time, tours to the island of Corregidor were handled by the Philippine Navy. The tours to the island are now handled by a tour agency.
The trip to the island from Manila took about 2 hours. The sky was quite overcast during that day and the waves were somewhat rough. It was my first time to ride a boat again after several years. I noticed that some of our lady companions were getting seasick. This is why the crew were passing around paper sacks for passengers to throw up in.
After 2 hours, I finally saw the mountains of the island fortress looming in the distance. After getting off the boat, we got into vehicles which were in the shape of the tranvia which was a car that moved on tracks. You can still see these cars still being used as a mode of transportation in the San Francisco Bay area in the United States. As the tranvia we were in started to move, we were greeted by our dynamic tour guide named Rowena. As our tranvia rolled on, Rowena started talking about the history of the island. The first structures that we pass by were the ruins of the hospital. It kind of felt eerie as I looked as the remains of the hospital. I could not help imagine how many people died there as the surging Japanese forces bombarded the island from the air and from Bataan.
According to our guide, the name of the island comes from the Spanish word "corregidor" which translates to "corrector" in English. During the Spanish period, ships entering Manila Bay have to stop by the island to have their papers checked. The conquering American forces fortified the island with cannons and mortars after defeating the Spanish navy in the Battle of Manila Bay in the 1800s. Rowena explained further that Corregidor is under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Cavite. Rowena also mentioned that the island of Corregidor was also in the shape of a tadpole and divided into four parts namely topside, middleside, bottomside and tailside.
Our first stop was was Battery Way where you can find huge short cannons called mortars. These were used to bombard the invading Japanese forces on the Bataan Peninsula.
From Battery way, our group proceeded to the Mile Long Barracks. These long row of buildings used to be home to American officers, servicemen, and their families. We also got to see the huge parade ground as well as the ruins of the buildings which according to our vibrant tour guide included a cinema.
We took pictures and began walking toward the monument called the Pacific War Memorial which was erected in memory of those who perished in the war. The memorial housed a sculpture called the Eternal flame. Our tour guide explained that once during the month of May, the beam of sunlight fell directly on the circle at the bottom of the structure. From there we proceeded to the museum where I got to see relics such as bombs, shells, uniforms, weapons, and other military equipment.
We got on the bus again and drop by the hotel for a sumptuous lunch. After having our fill of the wonderful food, we got back on the bus and proceeded to where to old Spanish lighthouse was located. It was a difficult to get to the top of the lighthouse since the stairs were built in a spiralling and steep manner. From there, our tour guide took us to see Battery Crockett in which one finds one of the disappearing cannons. They were called such because their muzzles retracted after firing a round. While on Battery Geary, our tour guide pointed to us three small islands near Corregidor. These were Caballo Island, Monja Island which was actually seamount, and El Fraile Island.
After leaving Battery Geary, our tour group proceeded to Malinta Tunnel. I was excited because this is one reason why I wanted to revisit the island in the first place. After paying extra cash, we followed our tour guide inside the tunnel where we were treated to a light and sound show of the history of the island. After the light and sound was over, we continued walking until we reached the other end of the tunnel. Was that tunnel really long!
Our last stops were the monument dedicated to the Filipino woman and the Japanese Garden of Peace where the remains of Japanese soldiers were buried by the conquering American forces. What is touching about the story behind this place is the Americans took the time to give their dead enemies a decent burial. This place was rediscovered by a visiting American veteran during the 1950s. The Japanese government was informed and they were only too happy to bring their dead home to their real resting place.
Since we paid for an overnight stay, our group decided to join a tour of the ruins of the first hospital as well as the ghost hunting activity inside the Malinta Tunnel. I'll tell you you all about it in my next blog.
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