Wednesday, March 17 from Cliff

Today our trip was to Corregidor.  This is a small island that is in the mouth of Manila Bay.  It was the sight of two bloody sieges in the Pacific War (WWII).  The first siege was by the Japanese at the start of the war.  They had overrun the main island of Luzon relatively quickly, but the siege of Corregidor took 5 months.   We saw untouched bombed out buildings and a number of memorials, including a memorial to the Japanese that also died here when the US and Filipino forces returned defeat the Japanese in another bloody battle.  General McArthur, figures prominently in both of these battles.  He is respected among Filipinos not only for liberating them from the Japanese but also for all the work he did with the Philippine government and army prior to the war.  He was also a friend of President Quezon.  The loss of life on Corregidor alone was tremendous, let alone the death toll from the battles 5 miles across the bay in Bataan and its infamous death march.  I know that since the dawn of man, wars have always been a part of our history, but the senseless loss of life over a tiny island seems meaningless in the greater scheme of life.  I have never been to a World War II battle field, and seeing it makes one feel very sad.  There was a painting on display at one of the memorials with the following quote by President Kennedy, “Mankind needs to find a way to end all wars, before wars end mankind.”  I wish we were learning the lessons of the past, but as I follow the news I worry that as more and more people are not around to remind us of the past, we are slowly moving again to another world calamity.  In the end I was glad for the opportunity to see this place, but I was happier to leave the island.