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Post by okla on Mar 30, 2010 2:19:28 GMT 8
Hey Guys....Excellent job. My imagination was working overtime as I read the narrative. Can't wait to view photos of Bunker's bunker. This is what you call real "living history". Why would anyone rather ride that stupid "slide" thing when you can prowl the "back country" of Corregidor??? All of us land bound, stateside "geeks" are in your debt. Can't thank you guys enough.
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Post by The Phantom on Mar 31, 2010 7:26:58 GMT 8
Some of the clues from "Bunker's War" in Bunkers own words.
Saturday, Feb. 1945 " This morning at 6:50 the engineers blasted through our tunnel addition to the open air. We were greatly pleased. Two dull booms and then two sharp cracks as the explosions came through, just at entrance to our homemade tunnel nearest C1."
Was there another Tunnel closer to C1 Bunker?
There is a long lateral not far from the southeastern entrance, the one facing Cavite, (that fact caused Bunker to complain at one point that his officer's were remiss in getting the camouflage up over that entrance). Could that lateral be the Homemade Tunnel he was talking about? Had they started from the other side? Could it come up under all that ornamental color run amok on top of and east of the C1 Bunker?
It is much caved in at this point. Fots, you spent some time up there, could he go further than you can see at present?
Thursday 26, Feb. "Bawled out our crew, working on the small tunnel, for loud filthy language."
Friday 27, Feb. "After breakfast visited our C1 Tunnel. The crew expects to break through in 4 more blasts."
A key quote from the book.
Sunday 1, Mar.
" This morning with an extra blast, the miners finally broke surface beneath my dugout, with the other end of our "MAIN" Tunnel."
italics are mine.
So there was a smaller tunnel also?
Friday 6, Feb.
" Arty's engineers gang of gugus, (Filipino solders), are trenching a 75pr from manhole 43 to North addition of tunnel."
"Another gang, from engineer's are running 3 heavy power leads from Wheeler transformers through woods to same place."
Tues. 17 Mar.
" Progress on our tunnels has slowed down. they are now lagging the tops and sides of our 4 laterals." (Lagging in the dictionary, means lining with boards or other materials.)
The novelty siding which I had battered down over the 2 inch cracks between the siding blanks looks swell."
Tuesday 7, April
"Engineers have finished pouring the floor in our tunnel and we sure are glad to get rid of them.'
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Post by The Phantom on Mar 31, 2010 7:37:19 GMT 8
Used your series of quotes above Fots.
Posted before being thrown off site again.
Keep getting thrown off website as I am entering information or the information is prematurely being entered onto site, note double entry above.
The 1908 picture of C1 Bunker shows an open area that is currently covered in vines, flowers and nasty thorns, wonder what's under there? Area could have been filed in with dirt?
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Post by The Phantom on Mar 31, 2010 8:04:56 GMT 8
Return to the book..........
"BUNKERS WAR"
Thursday 23 April, 1942
"Usual morning routine; outside to smoke cigarettes before breakfast. To Lanai for cool of morning but, of course, the air raid siren blew, which it usually does about 8:00 or so."
(Lanai = porch, the area above Bunker's Asatea that also acted as a partial roof?)
"At breakfast Gen. Moore appeared and asked about our gas consumption at Battery Morrison, seemed satisfied at our answers and disappeared.
After Dinner we started a big shoot: Monja 40 rounds at Quarantine wharf,Cheney 6 rounds at Mariveles: Turrets 0. Byrens used 14 shots to register on road north of Cabcaben, no. 145 and did good shooting.
Then we started Battery Farris on road bend south of Cabcaben.---During all this time no Japanese gun fired but, just as Farris finished his 15 rounds with a good adjustment, and we started adjusted Geary on the Japanese Looc dump, down came the Japs from a Battery way back of Paligigan (causing one slight injury) but 2 were duds."
This day to be continued........
Battery Farris?
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Post by fots2 on Mar 31, 2010 17:07:59 GMT 8
Battery Farris, 155mm roving battery From the Moore Report: "In April 1942, it was apparent that everything visible from Bataan was fast being put out of action thus crippling our counter-battery work. To remedy this, it was decided to select a number of 155-mm positions defiladed from Bataan. Guns were to be emplaced in some of these to fire counter-battery. That night they would be moved to other positions and the scheme repeated. The plan worked splendidly. These were called "roving gun" batteries and were designated by the name of the officer commanding the battery. These roving batteries were our main dependence for counter-battery fire against enemy batteries on Bataan from that time till the surrender." Camouflaged 155-mm gun and tractor
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Post by The Phantom on Apr 3, 2010 6:16:41 GMT 8
Thanks for the photo Fots and answer on Battery Farris. Photo looks like the tour bus I rode on in 1979.
Surely that's not our Island Bulldozer that's there in Engineers Ravine blade-less at this rime.
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Post by The Phantom on Apr 3, 2010 6:40:14 GMT 8
Thurs. April, 23 1942 continued..........
Later
(These 3 paragraphs were written by Bunker after capture).
" It is the testimony of many American patients in Bataan Hospitals Nos. 1 and 2, (and contradicted by nobody) that the Japs almost completely surrounded these Hospitals with their batteries placing them as close as possible to the hospital boundaries and sometimes inside the bounds.
For our part we had strict orders not to fire into hospital areas, although the staff was at first unable to to tell us even the approximate location of the Hospital grounds and and buildings.
Soon however Col. Brady did give us the coordinates of the perimeter of the Hospital grounds and we passed these on to every Battery commander.
Later we received orders to fire upon enemy batteries if they were positively identified as being within a Hospital area.
Patients in the hospital agree that we landed shells within the hospital area, dangerously only twice, one shell on it's way over the area, hit a tree, detonated and killed about 14; the other one landed in the middle of the ward but was a dud and hurt no one.
As to the date of these accurrances, testimony varies, but I judge that the first was on this date of 23 April Col. Atkinson, Infantry says both were about this date.
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Post by EXO on Apr 3, 2010 23:04:51 GMT 8
These were found in the "Bunker" Tunnel. Actually, more than one was found - Scot Lieffers, a Faith Academy student who found them, said there were three or four. The find was pre-2001. Attachments:
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Post by The Phantom on Apr 16, 2010 5:57:16 GMT 8
Crude holes drilled in 2--- at the top of the medallions second from the bottom? To be worn on a chain by whom?
Mark for drilling on the bottom medallions visible?
Plenty of digging still going on in Bunker's C1 tunnel, it appears, to this day. It appears to have been "Sifted".
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Post by The Phantom on Apr 16, 2010 6:41:39 GMT 8
Friday, 24 April 1942
"Awoke early and went to our Lanai to enjoy the fresh morning air. Lt. Hodges appeared, dirty from his hazardous tour of duty on the Don Jose (?) and to my astonishment, he found enough water in the pipes for a shower-bath.
And so immediately after breakfast, I grabbed my towel, went up to my dugout, shaved and then came downhill to the Lanai and started luxuriously on my own shower-bath but, as I was washing the soap off, the first air raid sounded and, as the AA started shooting, I had to duck naked, into our tunnel, until the planes had passed. A fresh suit of underwear made the finishing touch to a pleasant performance, and caused that, "Grand and Glorious feeling!"
(The above paragraph puts the Lanai near the tunnel entrance and below Bunker's dugout which we placed on the last trip just above the western entrance to C1 Tunnel)
"Received word, that in our Group 3, Col. DeCarre, Maj. Miller, and Capt. White are taking such a defeatist attitude as to be subversive! I am expecting to line them up, avoiding drastic measures by higher authorities."
"At about 5:15 PM a big one came in under the overhang of Battery Crockett and perhaps entered the powder room. A man appeared at our tunnel, closely followed by Lt. Crandell and another man, almost hysterical, saying the "battery is blown to Hell" but knew nothing of what had happened."
We couldn't get any word from Crockett in any way. First reports were alarming---that the powder was afire and the guns ruined, many casualties.
Efird started in Official car with fire extinguishers for Crockett. Phoned General Moore. Later reports were less alarming; that the fire started in the office and may endanger the powder. Final dope: Powder did not burn but office and storeroom did, 1 staff sergeant killed, several injured. Capt. Fox MD badly hurt. At Bottomside the guards were running everyone into the tunnel "because Crockett is going to blow up!" The Marines just below Crockett, did their share in spreading wild reports broadcast.
Evidently our shooting from Drum turrets was right on the Japanese big guns that were shelling Crockett, for they shut up---and not a bit too soon, for their airplane spotting was superb. They set fire to our AA dump just south of Crockett, and the burst's of this stuff kept up for quite awhile after the shelling stopped."
Rest of the evening was quiet and nothing occurred. I was tired and turned in at 10:30: Edison went up to OP."
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