Corregidor...

N 14 deg 22.839'
E 120 deg 34.677'

Of all things we saw on this trip, Corregidor Island was one of the "must see" spots for my dad. He's a bit of a history guy (that's what he got his Masters in). If anyone has any interest in WWII, then they would definitely have interest in Corregidor. I was very ill educated on the subject of Corregidor until this trip. I do have interest in WWII, but never applied myself enough to learning. When being in a place like this, you can't help but be immersed in history.

When you arrive at the docks, they herd you into a trolley and introduce you to the sperm shaped island. But they call it a tadpole shape. As you drive around, a tour guide will point out the significant sights and let you walk around the most interesting spots.

All along this island are gun stations and bunkers. Really, the whole island was one big military fort.

I had the James Bond theme stuck in my head thanks to this shot.

And you can tell they were not just for show. Some of the ammunition was the size of my wife. Much of it larger than her.

Yeah, she's the bomb.

One of coolest things we learned about was about the faux boat the US made. There is a small island off to the side of Corregidor that is roughly the size of a battle ship. They covered the island in concrete and added guns to make us look more fortified. Awesome.



I think dementia has finally set in with dad. Whenever he found a big gun barrel on the ground, he'd crawl on it and yell, "Banzi!" as if he were a Japanese conqueror.

"Banzi!"

Although heavily fortified, the Japanese wore us out and took over the island. It took four years for us to regain the land. As the island fell to the Japanese, the famous leader MacArthur was given orders to leave. He faced the island before boarding his vessel and said his famous words, "I Shall Return!" I believe he said it just like that. But I think that's only the last half of the quote. "[When it's clear and safe, then I think] I Shall Return!" I have a quote like that of my own.

"[I doubt] I shall return."

There was so much blood shed here. We lost many of what we call our greatest generation. The Japanese lost many of theirs as well. It's an odd combination of amusement park, tourist attraction and war memorial.

The Eternal Flame memorial

Although we rode the trolley through most of the island, it was a tiring day. We arrived back at the docks at diner time. We walked to the nearby mall after our driver dropped us off at the hotel.

This was also time for my parents to say their last good-byes to Anna and me. We swapped pictures and just talked in our hotel room for a while. We said "good bye" and by the time Anna and I woke up the next morning, my parents had left for home. Anna and I have two more days to go.