Walking Around a Former War Zone Near Manila, Philippines
Corregidor Island in the Philippines served as a key World War II battleground between Japanese and American forces during the Japanese offensive throughout Southeast Asia in 1942, and again during the American offensive against the entrenched Japanese forces in the Philippines from 1944 to 1945.
Before the war, though, Corregidor - formally known as "Fort Mills" - was a military outpost guarding the mouth of Manila Bay, a supposedly impregnable fortress studded with gun emplacements and crowned with a paradisiacal settlement of American military personnel and their families, living the high life in the only American colony in the "Far East".
This home away from home was wiped out in a matter of weeks, as the Japanese battled American troops for possession of the Philippines. While Corregidor and neighboring Bataan eventually fell to the Imperial Japanese Army, months of stubborn resistance managed to hold off the Japanese, delaying their planned invasion of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) and possibly preventing the eventual capture of Australia.
Today, the ruined buildings of the American settlements in Corregidor stand as a mute witness to a war long since fought and won. A number of memorials stand among them, reminding visitors of the horrors of the war and the stories of the war's fatalities and survivors. These buildings can be explored in the space of a day, if you use the bus tours circulating around the island. Look at our image gallery of a Corregidor tour to see the sites you can typically see from your seat on the Corregidor tranvia.
Corregidor Island Parade Ground, Topside
From 1901 to 1941, Corregidor was a thriving American community: the military establishment known as "Fort Mills" strove to give the American families residing on base a home away from home. Creature comforts like a golf course, a swimming pool, and a moviehouse helped enlisted men, officers and their families unwind.
In fact, the officers had a far better standard of living on Corregidor than they ever could have had back home - the small Filipino community Bottomside provided a steady stream of household help to assist families on base with their menial chores.
The buildings clustered around the Topside parade ground served as the nerve center for the American military presence in the Far East. The remnants of this garrison can be explored in the space of an hour: here you'll find the ruins of the Mile Long Barracks, the Cine Corregidor (the old moviehouse - the shell sports a steel support brace to prevent its utter collapse), the executive building, and officers' quarters.
There are two relics from the Spanish presence in the Philippines remaining on the island: the old flagpole, a spoil of war from a Spanish battleship destroyed in the Spanish-American war; and a lighthouse, rebuilt from the destroyed original constructed by Spanish colonial forces. The lighthouse is surrounded with snack and souvenir shops.
Pacific War Memorial Complex, Corregidor Island
Beside the old moviehouse on Topside, a broad driveway leads to the Pacific War Memorial complex, funded by the U.S. government and completed in 1968: it includes the Pacific War Memorial dome, a museum, and an Eternal Flame sculpture overlooking the bay.
The museum, located on the side of the main memorial dome, consists of a single chamber that exhibits relics from the war: photos, weapons, uniforms, coinage, and crockery.
Across from the entrance, a mosaic set on the wall shows a map of the Pacific campaign, along with a diagram of the Allied Offensive that eventually retook the Philippines and won the war.
The memorial dome has a small circular opening which lets in a round beam of sunlight onto the interior. The theory goes that the beam of sunlight strikes the circular altar directly under the opening on the week of May 6 (the day Corregidor fell to the Japanese), though that hasn't been repeated for years. (source)
The altar's base is circled with what amounts to an epitaph for the American soldiers killed in combat around the Pacific: "Sleep, my sons, your duty done, for Freedom's light has come; sleep in the silent depths of the sea, or in your bed of hallowed sod, until you hear at dawn the low, clear reveille of God."
A gate opposite of the entrance leads to a long avenue lined with marble walls listing the numerous campaigns fought by American forces within the Pacific theater of war.
The avenue terminates in a platform upon which stands a sculpture known as "the Eternal Flame of Freedom". From this point, a panoramic view of Manila Bay can be beheld, together with views of nearby Bataan, Cavite, and far-away Manila. (Bataan was the starting point of the infamous Bataan Death March.)
Corregidor Island Gun Batteries
When the American forces took over the Philippines, their engineers built 23 gun batteries around Corregidor and surrounding islands. For their time, these emplacements were incredibly effective, but were mostly obsolete by the time the U.S. declared war on Japan. Not all of these gun batteries are accessible to tourists, but the best-preserved ones - among them Battery Way, Battery Hearn, Battery Crockett, and Battery Grubbs - are major stops along the tranvia tour route; you'll be able to see and touch these big guns when you stop by.
Other War Memorials on Corregidor Island
Two other war memorials stand on the island, far from the main Pacific War Memorial erected by the Americans. A Japanese-sponsored war memorial and the Filipino Heroes Memorial (built by the Philippine government) both stand a few hundred feet away from each other at Bottomside.
Money from Japanese survivors of the war helped build the Japanese War Memorial, a calm shrine overlooking the sea that pays tribute to the Japanese soldiers who invaded the Philippines and died in the subsequent recapture by American forces.
You'll find a number of inactive guns and a large statue of the Buddhist embodiment of mercy, Guan-yin overlooking the site.
The newest war memorial on the island, the Filipino Heroes Memorial, pays tribute to Filipino war heroes and martyrs throughout the nation's history. Fourteen murals depict scenes from the Philippines' distant past to its present: from the Battle of Mactan in 1521, to the People Power Revolution in 1986.
The ruins of the hospital stand on the same elevation as Battery Way, and can be reached from the latter on foot. The ruins of the former PX store stand some distance away on the same elevation.
The hospital played a significant role in recent Philippine history - the Marcos administration used Corregidor as a training ground for an intended Sabah invasion force in the 1970s. When the plan was discovered, the force (composed of Muslim Filipinos from the Philippine south) was massacred.
A single survivor lived to tell the tale, and the horrific story sparked a Muslim uprising that is only now being brought to a peaceful end.
Visitors to the hospital site can still see graffiti left behind by the soldiers and mercenaries billeted on the grounds.
"Malinta" is the Filipino word for "full of leeches". The tunnel was dug under Malinta Hill, a ten-year effort of digging through solid rock that was only completed in 1932. As the tunnel was being carved out using prisoner labor, the workforce was pestered by leeches, giving the area its name.
Today, Malinta Tunnel is the site of a light and sound show that relives the last days of the American forces holding out in Corregidor during the Japanese invasion.
In those tense weeks of the Japanese onslaught, the tunnel served as a troop shelter and hospital, and a final stop for Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon and US Army General Douglas McArthur before their retreat to Australia.
Left behind by McArthur to resolve the situation, General Jonathan Wainwright held out with his men until he could hold out no longer, then surrendered to General Masaharu Homma in 1941.
Corregidor Island in the Philippines served as a key World War II battleground between Japanese and American forces during the Japanese offensive throughout Southeast Asia in 1942, and again during the American offensive against the entrenched Japanese forces in the Philippines from 1944 to 1945.
Before the war, though, Corregidor - formally known as "Fort Mills" - was a military outpost guarding the mouth of Manila Bay, a supposedly impregnable fortress studded with gun emplacements and crowned with a paradisiacal settlement of American military personnel and their families, living the high life in the only American colony in the "Far East".
This home away from home was wiped out in a matter of weeks, as the Japanese battled American troops for possession of the Philippines. While Corregidor and neighboring Bataan eventually fell to the Imperial Japanese Army, months of stubborn resistance managed to hold off the Japanese, delaying their planned invasion of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) and possibly preventing the eventual capture of Australia.
Today, the ruined buildings of the American settlements in Corregidor stand as a mute witness to a war long since fought and won. A number of memorials stand among them, reminding visitors of the horrors of the war and the stories of the war's fatalities and survivors. These buildings can be explored in the space of a day, if you use the bus tours circulating around the island. Look at our image gallery of a Corregidor tour to see the sites you can typically see from your seat on the Corregidor tranvia.
Corregidor Island Parade Ground, Topside
From 1901 to 1941, Corregidor was a thriving American community: the military establishment known as "Fort Mills" strove to give the American families residing on base a home away from home. Creature comforts like a golf course, a swimming pool, and a moviehouse helped enlisted men, officers and their families unwind.
In fact, the officers had a far better standard of living on Corregidor than they ever could have had back home - the small Filipino community Bottomside provided a steady stream of household help to assist families on base with their menial chores.
The buildings clustered around the Topside parade ground served as the nerve center for the American military presence in the Far East. The remnants of this garrison can be explored in the space of an hour: here you'll find the ruins of the Mile Long Barracks, the Cine Corregidor (the old moviehouse - the shell sports a steel support brace to prevent its utter collapse), the executive building, and officers' quarters.
There are two relics from the Spanish presence in the Philippines remaining on the island: the old flagpole, a spoil of war from a Spanish battleship destroyed in the Spanish-American war; and a lighthouse, rebuilt from the destroyed original constructed by Spanish colonial forces. The lighthouse is surrounded with snack and souvenir shops.
Pacific War Memorial Complex, Corregidor Island
Beside the old moviehouse on Topside, a broad driveway leads to the Pacific War Memorial complex, funded by the U.S. government and completed in 1968: it includes the Pacific War Memorial dome, a museum, and an Eternal Flame sculpture overlooking the bay.
The museum, located on the side of the main memorial dome, consists of a single chamber that exhibits relics from the war: photos, weapons, uniforms, coinage, and crockery.
Across from the entrance, a mosaic set on the wall shows a map of the Pacific campaign, along with a diagram of the Allied Offensive that eventually retook the Philippines and won the war.
The memorial dome has a small circular opening which lets in a round beam of sunlight onto the interior. The theory goes that the beam of sunlight strikes the circular altar directly under the opening on the week of May 6 (the day Corregidor fell to the Japanese), though that hasn't been repeated for years. (source)
The altar's base is circled with what amounts to an epitaph for the American soldiers killed in combat around the Pacific: "Sleep, my sons, your duty done, for Freedom's light has come; sleep in the silent depths of the sea, or in your bed of hallowed sod, until you hear at dawn the low, clear reveille of God."
A gate opposite of the entrance leads to a long avenue lined with marble walls listing the numerous campaigns fought by American forces within the Pacific theater of war.
The avenue terminates in a platform upon which stands a sculpture known as "the Eternal Flame of Freedom". From this point, a panoramic view of Manila Bay can be beheld, together with views of nearby Bataan, Cavite, and far-away Manila. (Bataan was the starting point of the infamous Bataan Death March.)
Corregidor Island Gun Batteries
When the American forces took over the Philippines, their engineers built 23 gun batteries around Corregidor and surrounding islands. For their time, these emplacements were incredibly effective, but were mostly obsolete by the time the U.S. declared war on Japan. Not all of these gun batteries are accessible to tourists, but the best-preserved ones - among them Battery Way, Battery Hearn, Battery Crockett, and Battery Grubbs - are major stops along the tranvia tour route; you'll be able to see and touch these big guns when you stop by.
- Image of Battery Way, Corregidor
- Image of Battery Crockett, Corregidor
- Image of Battery Grubbs, Corregidor
Other War Memorials on Corregidor Island
Two other war memorials stand on the island, far from the main Pacific War Memorial erected by the Americans. A Japanese-sponsored war memorial and the Filipino Heroes Memorial (built by the Philippine government) both stand a few hundred feet away from each other at Bottomside.
Money from Japanese survivors of the war helped build the Japanese War Memorial, a calm shrine overlooking the sea that pays tribute to the Japanese soldiers who invaded the Philippines and died in the subsequent recapture by American forces.
You'll find a number of inactive guns and a large statue of the Buddhist embodiment of mercy, Guan-yin overlooking the site.
- Image of Japanese War Memorial, Corregidor
- Tour guide and silenced guns in Japanese War Memorial
- Statue of Guan-yin
The newest war memorial on the island, the Filipino Heroes Memorial, pays tribute to Filipino war heroes and martyrs throughout the nation's history. Fourteen murals depict scenes from the Philippines' distant past to its present: from the Battle of Mactan in 1521, to the People Power Revolution in 1986.
The ruins of the hospital stand on the same elevation as Battery Way, and can be reached from the latter on foot. The ruins of the former PX store stand some distance away on the same elevation.
The hospital played a significant role in recent Philippine history - the Marcos administration used Corregidor as a training ground for an intended Sabah invasion force in the 1970s. When the plan was discovered, the force (composed of Muslim Filipinos from the Philippine south) was massacred.
A single survivor lived to tell the tale, and the horrific story sparked a Muslim uprising that is only now being brought to a peaceful end.
Visitors to the hospital site can still see graffiti left behind by the soldiers and mercenaries billeted on the grounds.
"Malinta" is the Filipino word for "full of leeches". The tunnel was dug under Malinta Hill, a ten-year effort of digging through solid rock that was only completed in 1932. As the tunnel was being carved out using prisoner labor, the workforce was pestered by leeches, giving the area its name.
Today, Malinta Tunnel is the site of a light and sound show that relives the last days of the American forces holding out in Corregidor during the Japanese invasion.
In those tense weeks of the Japanese onslaught, the tunnel served as a troop shelter and hospital, and a final stop for Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon and US Army General Douglas McArthur before their retreat to Australia.
Left behind by McArthur to resolve the situation, General Jonathan Wainwright held out with his men until he could hold out no longer, then surrendered to General Masaharu Homma in 1941.
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