Corregidor Island, Cavite City
Corregidor island is one of the most prominent spots in Philippine History during World War II. This was the spot were the American General Douglas MacArthur escaped in March 11, 1942. He reached the southern island of Mindanao after two days via a PT-20 boat, and flew to Melbourne, Australia together with his family and staff members. He was a Defense Advisor for the Philippine Army after he retired from the United States Military after serving in the first world war.
When he left the Philippines to escape the Japanese, he uttered the famous lines "I Shall Return". And true to his promise to the Filipino people, he did return and even led the Liberation of the Philippines from Japan in 1944-1945. He is regarded as one of the heroes of our country even if he is not a Filipino, which also strengthened the friendship between the United States and the Philippines, which was a commonwealth of the prior for a few decades.
Thank you for your service General MacArthur. You will forever be in the hearts of the Filipino people.
That is interesting to know...I was not a history buff in school, but now wish I had listened more. I liked Civil War history but cannot remember half of what I used to know. LOL
ReplyDeleteI am glad you like it Rose :) I want to learn more about US History as well because I still don't know much about it especially the Civil War :)
Delete...I remember "I Shall Return," but that is about the extent of what I know about the story. Thanks for filling in the blanks for me.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure Tom and I am glad you like it! MacArthur will always be a hero for us :)
DeleteI didnt know about its history but it is very interesting :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Agata and you are right, without him, it would have been hard for our small country to win over Japan.
DeleteNow, that is wonderful, dear friend, but also a bit of Irony.
ReplyDeleteYou get a hero to save you, who was no Filipino and we got a man from Austria who started that desaster and made Germany be the guilty country.
Did you know Hit#er was declared German citizen in this very city, Braunschweig? It´s a shame, a big shame.
What a weird world we live in... I can at least say that my German Grandfather was the only watchmaker in town and did not join the war hence. The other was not German.
And yet they still make us feel guilty. When I was 14 they forced us school kids to say "we are sorry for what we did to the Jewish people". What did I do? My parents were kids and now some Muslims here in Germany, aka Berlin, go at the Jewish people.
A strange world.
But, on a lighter note: Yay to your hero!!! Never end in a negative way, right! Hope you feel good today.
:-)
hello my dear friend iris! I am so happy to see you here today :) Oh I know what you mean and that was a very terrible thing in the world's history. That guy also was the reason that there came a war here led by the Japanese. Our president that time, President Quezon did all he can to welcome as many Jews as possible in our country out of Europe.
DeleteI am so proud of your Grandfather and how he stood for himself and did not join the war that killed a lot of people. It must have been so hard for you when you were school children and you were forced to say sorry for something you did not do :( It's not the fault of the Germans, it's the fault of that guy and his followers.
O yes, it was a good day earlier, thank you so much my dear friend Iris!
Stevenson, don´t tell anyone... I just moved my lips, I did not say the words. I was only a kid, but I knew it´s not right, it wasn´t my fault. At that age we were mature enough, were we.
DeleteI - why ever - read a lot about this. Men were forced to join against their will - or their families will suffer. They were threatened, most Germans were sane, but in fear of their loved ones.
I´ll never ever understand war, nowhere. "Leaders" should fight directly, not use "their" people...
That is very smart of you Iris, very smart kids and I really admire that! I get what you mean about being forced against their will and that is just so sad :(
DeleteOh we are very much the same, war is just for personal interest, no matter where or when it happened, the first one that sparks it comes from selfish reasons.
Um monumento que é uma bela homenagem.
ReplyDeleteUm abraço e continuação de uma boa semana.
Andarilhar
Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
O prazer dos livros
muito obrigado meu amigo Francisco!
DeleteInteresting history.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much my friend Magic Eye!
DeleteI remember learning about him in history. Kept his promise that he is famous for. Nice statue. Have a great day, Stevenson. We have a rainy afternoon so far.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much my friend Bill! It really was a nice and maintained statue of him :) Oh I would love some of that rain too Bill, next time it visits you can you tell him silently to visit the Philippines too :)
DeleteAnd another reason why I love blogs? I learn something new every day! (I should know this, too!)
ReplyDeleteOh Jeanie, thank you so much and I am glad you learned something from this post :)
DeleteGlad to know that MacArthur is a hero for your country!
ReplyDeleteThat is true Michelle :) We remember him very well, hope the next generations will too
DeleteHe is a WWII hero to us in the USA ~ Wish he or a type like him were President of USA right now ~
ReplyDeleteGreat photo ~ wonderful composition ~ ^_^
Be Well,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Oh a big YES to that Carol! Being the President of the United States is a big shoe to fill because a lot of the world also depends on the US and when a leader is good and compassionate and smart, it affects all of humanity too.
DeleteThank you so much Carol :)
I knew MacArthur was in the Philippines but I didn't know much more than that. Thanks for teaching me something new. We don't hear much about him here in the US except that he wanted to run for President and he had a big ego, so it is nice to hear some positive things.
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with the Erika. Also, while he was here, he also helped General Eisenhower and President Quezon (our President when we were still a US Commonwealth just like Puerto Rico now) to gather as many Jews from Europe and bring them here for refuge.
DeleteHi Stevenson - This was a very interesting post. One of my brothers was stationed in the Philippines for several years in the 1970s and early 80s. He loved it there and speaks fondly of his time there. He's also a history buff and has tons of books about your beautiful country. So I've learned a lot just by listening to his stories.
ReplyDeleteOh Susie that means so much to me. Thank you so much for those kind words. Your brother was here during the Marshall Law era but still he loved it here so I feel so honored to hear that. i hope you can also visit our beautiful islands someday Susie :)
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