Corregidor

The Philippines and US have a rich shared World War II history.  No where is this more visible than Corregidor, site of a recent day trip.

A small island sitting at the mouth of Manila Bay, Corregidor has served as a defense to the city of Manila for centuries.  In December 1941 and early 1942, US and Philippine forces were pushed back to the nearby province of Bataan and Corregidor Island in their last stand against Japanese attack.  It was from Corregidor that MacArthur escaped to Australia making his famous statement, "I shall return".

There are well organized tours of Corregidor daily.  Leaving from Manila bay harbor, it takes about an hour to reach the island by boat.  Once there, you ride open trolley buses for a guided tour of the entire island.  Much of the history has been well preserved, and the guide was very knowledgable.  Many of the old gun emplacements remain, and there are dozens of old structures from the war.

Probably the most interesting for me was the Malinta tunnel.  A complex of tunnels built in the 1920's into a hill on the island for arms storage, they became the headquarters for MacArthur and the Philippine government for several months during the Japanese siege.  Philippine president Quezon was inaugurated here.    If you've ever watched the movie "MacArthur", the tunnels were featured prominently.

Corregidor has a fascinating past, especially related to WWII and the Philippine / US partnership.  It was an excellent visit and a great history lesson.


For more Corregidor photos, CLICK HERE