Tour of Bataan Peninsula
Do you remember those “Courtesy Calls” we made to the Barangay Captain, the teachers, the Principal, the Regional Director of Education, the Chief of Police and his staff, the Mayor,the Governor and the Governor's Dog (kidding)?One pleasant outcome of these obligatory extravaganzas was that the Governor, out of his gratitude to our service, extended an invitation for us to spend a day touring this region at his expense. To quote Jane Austen, “We hoped, rather than believed” that this would come to pass. Oh, we of little faith! Everyone came through! We left at 7:30 AM and returned that evening after a long, wonderful day of viewing 8
different sights. We didn't realize how trapped we'd felt here until they took us out of the cage for the day.
I've already written about how moving the history of WW II and Bataan is to me. I think feelings for my country and everyone who has served in any capacity is very real and deep because of how my parents raised me. Mama used to show me her scrapbook, and talk about the family's experiences during WWII. She told about seeing the trains go regularly through Erie, loaded with servicemen on their way to war, hanging out the windows waving and throwing letters to be mailed to loved ones. My love of my country and a sense of what we owe service people was so great that from the time I was little parades made me cry.
I was talking with the knowledgeable, thoughtful young Filipina tour-guide in the museum and we were sniffling together through it. The site of the memorial in the picture is roughly where the soldiers hunkered down to fight what they knew was a futile battle. From this vantage point you can see the ocean surrounding this Bataan Peninsula.
Thank you for the updates....the photos do speak for themselves, beautiful!
ReplyDelete