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Post by Karol Ames on Aug 22, 2010 5:10:49 GMT 8
:-*Hello out there! I discovered this website today, 8-21-10, and am absolutely thrilled to see all of the pictures old and recent, the remembrances, the many familiar names such as Al McGrew Bill Delich, and Ted Williams. tho' I realize the latter two have passed. They and Carl Hill were my companions on my Mom's and my trip back to the PIs, and Corregidor in 1985. It was the trip of my life to return to where I was born, and where my Dad, Capt. Godfrey Roland Ames and his wonderful Chicago Battery (C.Co. 60th CAC) men, fought in defense 'til they could no more. In those days we stayed at the old Corregidor Inn, run by Patsy and Charlie Altomonte, and what a treat it was to have their gracious hospitality and the company of all of the forgoing men who returned every year to Corregidor. Their warmth and generosity to me, and my mother, has always been so fondly remembered by us. She visited only one day to Corregidor on our West Point Tour... and that was our most personal and important day, to have her there to tell me of her remembrances.Mom passed in '06 at age 91. In 1985 I returned after our longer tour of Battaan, Cabanatuan, Mt. Samat, for a separate 3 day visit to Corregidor. I have a lot to share and have joined the CHS today, and wait for "approval" (.... gee I hope I get it!!!)
I see George Munson's name, hi there-- I'd love to hear from you again, and John Moffitt whose photos and comments I'd love to help, with info about Morrison Hill and the Middleside officer's residences And as I go along, I am so sure I 'll discover many more old friends, and hopefully new ones.
When I had to leave Corregidor on the 4th day, the Hydrofoil from Manila did not pick our party up, because they didn't have enough passengers to take to Corregidor that day! So, Al and Marjean McGrew, and Bill Delich (?) and I were "taxied via an out-board engine-rigged banca to Cabcaben, on Bataan in two trips. I loved that more adventurous ending to my visit. In Cabcaben,Dr. Zibiri , of that village fed, us an impromptu lunch and then had the village Priest's driver take us to Manila, While in the banca, taking in all of the views of Battaan and Coregidor, over my shoulder, I started, in my mind, a poem that I later wrote down on the back of a a Manila Hotel envelope envelope, and it was in Spanish! It just came out in Spanish, which I found so easy to learn as a student years before. Mom had often said that our Amah on Corregidor, Leonarda, often spoke with my brother and me in Spanish,so, maybe hearing it as one so young, made it so much easier to learn it later on. Here's my poem as I rememeber it:
"Corregidor, Corregidor, Isla de mi nacimiento, Isla de mis sentimientos, Isla de flores, Isla de amores, Isla de sonrisos, Isla de lagrimas, Isa de herores, Corregidor, Corregidor, Corregidor"
I love that the word "hero" translates to Spanish as "herores", but this font doesn't put the accent on the first "e". It's in my poem book, and copyrighted, but I give CHS permission to share it!! I hope to hear from many of you: karolcames@comcast.net
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Post by okla on Aug 22, 2010 5:31:29 GMT 8
Hi Karol...What a neat and interesting person you must be. Today, not many people, if any , can say they were born on Corregidor. I have a friend who was born in 1940 at the Pearl Harbor Naval Hospital. He was crawling around on the kitchen floor in dependent housing on Dec 7, 1941. His only remembrance of that momentous event were the sirens blowing and the Japanese torpedo planes zooming over the houses on their runs to Battleship Row. His mother used to say that "Danny used to cry every time he heard a local fire engine" after their return to the states in early 1942. I am very pleased that you discovered this website/forum. A day seldom passes that I don't learn something new about my main military history obsession, "the Rock". Postscript....I, regretfully, never have been there, nor at this late date ever will. This website serves as the next, very best thing. Cheers.
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Post by karol ames on Aug 22, 2010 9:45:12 GMT 8
I tried sending a very long reply to okla earlier and wasn't able to post it. Don't now what happened. Will not replicate until I know I can be "accepted"!Karol
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Post by karol ames on Aug 22, 2010 10:09:12 GMT 8
Okla - I have much info, drawings, photos,etc. of Corregidor, and Dad's diaries. Sketches of Chicago before and after battle, sketches and plans of Middleside quarters, just above the trolley tracks, next to the PIs Scout barracks. I WROTE A VERY LONG NOTE SEVERAL HOURS LONG IN COMPOSING, AND WILL DO SO AGAIN ANOTHER TIME. I'm too tired right now.
JUST BRIEFLY, SOMEWHERE I READ ON THIS SITE ABOUT A TUNNEL NEAR BTRY MORRISON. My Dad had several of his men who were from mining families in West Virginia dig a tunnel to protect the men, up at their site. I saw it in 1985, have a picture. It says, carved in concrete over the entrance either Chicago Tunnel or CBtry Tunnel... the entrance was collapsed and could not be entered. Chicago was to the "right" of the older Btry Morrison emplacement. Also the sketches of "Chicago" drawn by Pat Howell, a EM in Chicago, show the battery before and after bombardment. It was all put in place when they created the 60th CAC, I think in 39 or 40. Because they had 3 0r 4 anti-aircraft guns, machine guns,etc. Chicago was quite a large area, with netting and bougainvillea vines as camouflage for the guns and various shacks, command post, mess,radio, tents,etc. I also have 1985 photos of some of the same pictures I think J Moffitt took up there more recently. I'd love to share this all, but am not good at downloading them... most Corregidor born are not too techie!! Anyway, would love to get this stuff on the site .. with help.. I have an IMac. Also entering these codes etc. is a pain in my Corregidorborn butt! Best regards, Karol
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Post by EXO on Aug 22, 2010 10:11:45 GMT 8
Dear Karol, Hi, I am ExO, a good friend of Al McGrew. I was with Al on his last two visits to Corregidor, and it was he who motivated me to persevere with the corregidor.org website. It has grown a bit since then, but I try to keep it true to the things which Al passed to me. Al never had much time for officers, but your father was one of the few he had high regard for. He also spoke highly of you too, and regretted that we never met. His latter times on Corregidor certainly expunged much of the tragedy of his early time there. We had him laughing constantly. I have also had a few trips to Corregidor with Dr. Selma Calmes, who, like you, was born on Corregidor. Selma has written extensively of life on Corregidor during the lost, peaceful years. Your name does precede you, of course. I published the reports written by your father (at corregidor.org/ca/btty_chicago/chicago.htm and corregidor.org/ca/btty_chicago/chicago_may6.htm ). I got these because you gave them to John Lindgren on Corregidor during the 1980’s, and he ultimately gave them to me. Thank you for being one of the good people who preserved these treasures, and passed them along in the hope that someday, somehow, they could be more widely read. I recall being told that your father's manuscript was buried at Cabanatuan in order to hide it from the Japanese. If you have any photograph of your father in uniform, I will gladly place it on the site with his manuscript. It is nice when we can go beyond simply naming names. Regards, ExO
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Post by fots2 on Aug 22, 2010 10:56:21 GMT 8
Hello Karol, Welcome to the forum. Since I have no personal WWII experience on Corregidor, any comments I add to my photos can come only from others or from written text. Feel free to add any information you wish, it is much appreciated. My goal is to record what remains today on this amazing island. You mentioned the Middleside officer’s quarters. In case you have not seen a trip report from that area, here is a link to it for you: corregidor.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=threads&action=display&thread=391Here is a look at the Battery Chicago area: corregidor.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=threads&action=display&thread=416 You may have already seen this. Your mention of photos, drawings and sketches is more than a little intriguing. I think I will soon get electrocuted from drooling on my keyboard!!! I consider myself an explorer and not so much a historian. Tramping around these areas and taking photos is more than just a hobby. As thanks to you, if you have any location that you would like to see recent photos of, let me know and I’ll see what I can get. Regards. fots2 (John)
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Post by okla on Aug 22, 2010 20:26:54 GMT 8
Hey Karol...Like you, I ain't a "techie", computer or otherwise, but there is probably a Regiment of folks (Fots,EXO,etc) who can walk you thru the process of posting that "gold mine" of material you have in your posession. You just have to get all that good stuff posted. You are an absolute treasure trove of "Rock" information, it would appear. You would be "Queen" of the forum without a doubt. As I stated previously, this forum/website is the only way that I, and people like me, will ever get to visit Corregidor/Bataan and the more first hand material,etc that good people like you contribute the better. Fots has to have the most comprehensive collection of photographs (and narratives accompanying them) than anybody on Planet Earth. Battery Boy, Phantom, Mapmaster, Vic (from the Philippine Scout Board and a frequent contributor), and others keep this 78 year old goat immersed in "The Rock" to the point my wife questions my sanity. Cheers.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2010 1:18:08 GMT 8
Hello to okla, EXO,Fots2, Bluestem -- Thanks for your responses .. am currently going thru my files, pulling out stuff, and I'm glad I have a wonderful new destination to send them to. Please indulge me with a bit of patience as I'm juggling a part-time job, and other neccessities , but this will be at the top of my "disposable time allocation," as I heard it called somewhere, sometime ago. Thanks again and take care, all of you.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2010 5:51:47 GMT 8
Just joined the site! I had been out of contact with Karol for many years but "saw" her on this site and called her yesterday at her home. Didn't make contact but she returned my call last evening. My father (Holger Larsen Holm) served under Karol's father as part of Battery Chicago. He arrived on Corregidor in February, 1941 and did his basic training there. Imprisoned at 92nd Garage, Bilibid, Cabanatuan, Palawan, again at Bilibid and Cabanatuan and then aboard the Canadian Inventor (the Mati Mati Maru) to Japan and eventually to Nagoya Camp No. 3 at Funatsu, Japan for the duration. Taken by train to Nagoya Harbor in September 1945 and then via the British destroyer HMS Wizard to Tokyo. Then to Guam by B-17 bomber before shipment home. It was fantastic to reconnect with Karol via your site!
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