Re: A day tour of Corregidor
Here's the second part:
Ah can anybody move this thread to the appropriate spot in Living History? Photos attached below are from the Japanese memorial in Corregidor and the Pacific War Memorial (incidentally, the US maintains two Pacific War memorials, one in Corregidor and the other one in Hawaii.)
Corregidor: Inside Malinta Tunnel
(Conclusion)
BLURB:
One had the feeling that lurking behind the shadowy cracks were the spirits of those who died inside Malinta Tunnel.
By Fil V. Elefante
Malinta Tunnel
The highlight of the Corregidor tour was the visit to the Malinta Tunnel, a tunnel complex built by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Construction began in the 1920s and it was camouflaged as a public works project. The main tunnel, which was completed in 1932, was 1,450 feet long and 30 feet wide. The domed ceiling was 20 feet off the floor and finished off with reinforced concrete. Dual railroad tracks used by the island’s public transport system ran through the tunnel to give the secret military facility a semblance of public use. In reality, it was a bombproof storage and personnel bunker with concealed lateral tunnels on both sides of the main tunnel. Specially designed ventilation shafts were located throughout the system to keep the air breathable. This ventilation system was so sturdily built that it still serves the tunnel complex today. The US military also tapped convicts from the National Penitentiary as laborers during the course of the tunnel’s construction.
Today, there is a Light and Sound Show (written by the late Lamberto Avellana Sr.) inside the main tunnel which gives the island’s visitors a chance to experience how it is to be huddled inside the dimly lit tunnel while smoke and dust settle in the air amidst a simulated bombing. The audience receives an overview of the Pacific War through the taped broadcasts and speeches made in World War II.
Our personal guide to the Malinta tunnel complex, Eduardo Guiron, told us that before the outbreak of the war, the branching tunnels were kept secret from the island’s inhabitants. Few people, including US military personnel, knew the tunnels existed. Those who worked in these secret tunnels had to be blindfolded before entering or leaving Malinta. This culture of secrecy was dropped once the fighting started. During the siege of Corregidor, part of the tunnel system was converted to a makeshift 1,000-bed hospital after Japanese bombs destroyed the main hospital above ground.
Ghosts from the past
Unlike the main tunnel, which was restored, these branching tunnels (known as “laterals”) showed varying degrees of damage. Some still bore the scars of battle while in other stretches, soot from a fire can still be found. A few of the lateral tunnels were inaccessible, completely blocked off by debris.
“Relics from the war are still buried there,” said our guide. When the lights were turned off, it was pitch black. I couldn’t even see my hand even if I put it right before my face. When the lights were turned back on, one had the feeling that lurking behind the shadowy cracks were the spirits of those who died inside Malinta Tunnel. One could easily get lost and wander around for hours in these tunnels without a guide’s help.
It got eerier when we entered the tunnels the Japanese built. Inside were some of the bones of dead Japanese soldiers that were recently found by a team from the University of the Philippines. These burnt out pieces of bone were found near the ventilation shaft were US soldiers poured burning gasoline to clear the Japanese out of the tunnel system. According to Guiron, the American soldiers asked the cornered Japanese to surrender several times. Only when the US soldier relaying the surrender request was shot, did the Americans decide to burn the Japanese.
As we made our way through the tunnels, odd pieces from those who sought refuge in the tunnel could still be found. Among them were old typewriters, worn out desks and seats, telephones and even a radio microphone. Some of these relics look as if they’re still ready for use, awaiting the hands of their long dead operators. It was at this point that Guiron decided to lead us out of the maze of tunnels and back to the ship that would bring us back to Manila.
A good trip but . . .
Before heading back to the ferry ship, our group’s last stop was the Filipino Heritage Memorial site and museum. The site was full of statues and carved mural depicting the nation’s history. Though the site was interesting, I can’t help but get the feeling that somehow something was wrong. It was as if the displays were trying too hard to play up Filipino bravery and feats. For me, only two statues there that depicted a Filipina and a Filipino farmer/guerilla gave proper respect to the hardships and trials a whole generation of Filipinos underwent in World War II. Maybe I had this feeling because many of the scenes here had no relation at all to Corregidor’s World War II history.
When I went inside the Filipino Heritage museum, I found a display of paintings that was meant to show the horrors of war in general. However, upon closer examination, there were historical inaccuracies in some of these paintings. In the painting titled “Reign of Terror,” the painter claimed that the Japanese bombs razed Manila to the ground in December 1941, causing thousands of deaths. This is patently untrue. There is no place in a museum to exaggerate the atrocities the Japanese committed in World War II. In another painting titled “Pearl Harbor”, the painter’s caption stated that the attack sunk 30 US battleships. This was also historically inaccurate. The US Pacific Fleet at that time never had 30 battleships in Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack. I began to wonder why such paintings were allowed in what is purported to be a museum.
I immediately pointed this out to one of our guides, Pablito Martinez. When he saw the paintings, he was aghast. He told me that the displays of this museum were periodically changed. He apologized profusely, explaining that the guides had nothing to do with how this particular museum was run. He added that all the guides of our tour were from the Department of Tourism while this museum was run by the Corregidor Foundation. Our cruise operator, he emphasized, had nothing to do with the museum’s operation. When I looked for a curator to ask about these paintings, there was no one to be found. This museum was a disappointment. It’s as if people who didn’t really appreciate history just couple together, stuff together and called the assembly a display. The Pacific War Memorial Museum with the help from World War II veterans, was far better.
Despite the disappointment at the so-called Filipino Heritage site, my third visit to Corregidor was still a good one. It’s always a positive thing to learn from the past.
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