On Wednesday Feb 28. 2018 all the Senior Couples in the mission took a trip to Corregidor.  It's an island in Manila Bay which has served a military purpose for thousands of years.  In 1942 it was occupied by the U.S. military as well as the Filipino military and was subsequently captured by the Japanese.  The U.S. surrendered all of the Philippines and withdrew to Australia.  Then in 1945 it was retaken by the U.S. military. There were also long and bloody battles for Guam, Iwo Jima and all the Pacific Islands in the area.  Thousands of Japanese, instead of surrendering, enclosed themselves in the Malinta Tunnel and blew themselves up. The batteries and barracks are still there on the island although they're deteriorated by time and by the aerial bombardment which happened twice. We stayed overnight in a hotel adjacent to the ferry as we had to  be there at 6:30 am.  Then we took the ferry to Corregidor Island, took the tour, ate lunch, shopped, and took the ferry back to Manila.  Then we made the excrucriating drive home, which took longer than the ferry ride to the island.

As you approach Corregidor island you can see the tunnels which were dug by the Japanese and hooked up to the Malinta Tunnel hospital facility.  That way a boat could make a beach landing and the wounded and injured were taken through the tunnels to the hospital.

     We were driven around the island in trams which had a guide on board and he explained each site.

There is a sound and light show inside the Malinta tunnel, which also served as a hospital during the war.  It also had the offices for General MacArthur and was the source of radio broadcasts for U.S. military communication and the Voice of Freedom radio broadcasts.

We stopped at several batteries which still exist, although one of them was destroyed by bombs and there's a crater and the big guns are scattered in the area. One 10 ton mortar barrel was catapulted into the air and landed on the golf course which was 150 yards away. 

 They could fire more than 16 km. and were considered a big deterrent to the enemy who tried to enter Manila Bay.

There were many buildings still standing although we were asked not to enter them as they were dangerous.  There was a barracks for the U.S. soldiers, one for the Filipino soldiers, one for the officers, a movie theater, golf course, swimming pool and ball diamond, as well as more soldierly activities like shooting ranges and target practice.

These are the Senior Couples and in the background is the Mile-Long Barracks.

It was a very interesting and educational trip and it was nice to get away from the smog and see some clear skies without a grey tinge.