Post by cbuehler on Mar 18, 2013 4:58:13 GMT 8
This is the sad state of the old station today, derelict and fenced off. To quote Wikipedia regarding the battle which took place there..."In the bid to reclaim Manila from the Japanese during World War II, Paco became a bloody battleground for hundreds of lives. On Feb. 7, 1945, the US 149th Infantry Regiment crossed Pasig River and landed in the suburbs of Pandacan and Paco, where an epic battle took place around the railway station with some 300 Japanese defending it; it was the “first of the urban strong points” the Allied forces encountered. According to an account, “Japanese [fighters] had machine gun posts all around the [railroad] station, and foxholes with riflemen surrounded each machine gun post. Inside at each corner were sandbag forts with 20mm guns. One large concrete pillbox in the building housed a 37mm gun.” Over a two-day period, the friendly forces won the encounter but it cost 335 American lives before the resistance was finally smashed and the enemies annihilated. The battle of Paco produced two Medal of Honor awardees, both members of the U.S. Company B, 148th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division which, along with the 149th Infantry Regiment, had the primary mission to attack Pandacan and Paco. The heroes of Paco were Technical Sergeant Cleto L. Rodriguez, of Mexican descent, and Private First Class John N. Reese, Jr., an American Indian".
The station was begun in 1912 and is a classic example of American period architecture in the Philippines. It was partially demolished by a fool developer who was trying to put up a mall next to it in the late 1990's, which was never completed and its shell stands abandoned next to the station.
One can only hope that the City will do something to save this historic structure and shield it from further threats.
CB
The station was begun in 1912 and is a classic example of American period architecture in the Philippines. It was partially demolished by a fool developer who was trying to put up a mall next to it in the late 1990's, which was never completed and its shell stands abandoned next to the station.
One can only hope that the City will do something to save this historic structure and shield it from further threats.
CB