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Post by Bob Hudson on Feb 19, 2013 14:12:16 GMT 8
Two men, one retired Navy and one retired Marine both said they were Marine officer buttons, but not 100% positive. I did some extensive cleaning on the buttons and the backside of one says "Waterbury Burton Co"
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Post by Bob Hudson on Feb 13, 2013 10:10:18 GMT 8
It's a long hike to the point or to Quinawan bay. One can rent a Banca from Bagac for the day for 1,200 pesos. It takes 1 hour to get there. If one leaves early, you can get there by 6-7 am and spend the day scrounging. The Banca seats 6. That is 200 pesos each if anyone is interested.
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Post by Bob Hudson on Feb 7, 2013 19:38:41 GMT 8
Fots,
Re-interviewed Tomas Atienza who I spoke with earlier about his experiences during WWII. This time I took a friend who did a better job of translating than my fiancee. Tomas did see paratroopers swept to the bay but he and his group were concerned.
There were seven barges with about 25-30 men on each barge, half of whom where Filipinos. Tomas was on the first barge and the only barge to reach the shore of Corregidor. He stated that the American in charge of the barge attack was a Captain named Russ or Rust. The Japs hit all the other barges with the large loss of life. He wasn't sue what their mission was but since all the other barges were hit they pretty much secured their position but little else. The Japs turned their concern to the paratroopers who were coming in at a very low altitude.
The next day or day after he was assigned to accompany men with flame throwers and shoot anyone that may run out of caves when they tried to burn the Japs out. He stayed on Corregidor until 1946 when he was told to go home. He never received any pay but had food that was dropped by parachute while he was on Corregidor.
Prior to to and for a time after the war began he was with the 803rd Engineers. He never carried a weapon with the 803rd he was working on trail two or the "Secret road" on the Westside of Bataan. After the surrender, he went to Balanga with a group of guerrillas to Barangay Maite for a meeting with other groups and that is where he met John Boone. He was with some 31st infantry men but only recall a Carl W. Roy.
My Filipino friend interviewed him in Tagalog so I only heard some things that were translated for me.
That is all for now.
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Post by Bob Hudson on Feb 4, 2013 7:18:04 GMT 8
Interviewed a 93 year old ex-Filipino Guerrilla who lives in Limay. Will finish the interview Wednesday. One item I wish to share here is that he was with a Guerrilla group that had joined U.S. forces in attacking Corregidor by land and sea in 1945.
He was on a barge approaching Corregidor from Cabcaben. He started to tear up when we asked him about Corregidor because the winds were strong that day, the Bay waters that day were choppy and he said he saw so many paratroopers blown out to sea and disappear below the waves, burdened with the heavy load on their backs. All the men on the barge were very emotional at seeing so many fine and brave men dropping to their deaths beyond the dry earth of Corregidor.
Mr.Tomas Atienza was a friend of Col. John Boone and involved in numerous battles with him against the Japs as well as the Huks. This is the real treasure. Hopefully he will provide a piece of the puzzle that will join what others we have to create a better picture of what happened during the dark days on Bataan and Corregidor, Have yet to ask him about his actions on Corregidor once he landed. That comes this Wednesday.
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Post by Bob Hudson on Jan 31, 2013 16:24:16 GMT 8
I cannot remember exactly how many pow's died in Hiroshima but I don't remember it being that high.
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Post by Bob Hudson on Jan 29, 2013 3:02:37 GMT 8
If my memory serves me, it wasn't until months after our forces had routed the Japanese and secured, for the most part, all of Luzon that Sakakida came down out of the hills and reported for duty with no good excuse for why or where he had been. That, in and of itself,lets some air out of his legacy. Parsons can attest to that. Paul and I were with Parsons at the Sakakida seminar in Manila in November of 2011.
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Post by Bob Hudson on Jan 27, 2013 17:05:30 GMT 8
Really can't see the fireworks but merely the effects the fireworks had on the low cloud ceiling that night. It reminded me of old film clips of WWII where soldiers are standing on a ridge and you can see the effects of the artillery barrages in the distance.
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Post by Bob Hudson on Jan 27, 2013 3:00:58 GMT 8
You look good holding the BAR Sherwin. Directly behind you across the Bay about 50 kilometers away is Pasay City. We watched the fireworks at the Mall of Asia on New Years Eve. The clouds were low and it reminded me of an artillery barrage in the distance. Made me think of the soldiers that might have stood behind where you stand and watched the real fireworks in and around Manila on New Years Eve, 1941. Bataan General Hospital was just a few hundred meters south of where you are standing.
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Post by Bob Hudson on Jan 25, 2013 17:01:51 GMT 8
I have learned in my 65 years that progress doesn't always mean you're moving forward. Change for the sake of change is ludicrous. Ann Landers once said, "If it ain't broken, don't fix it". A good motto to live by.
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Post by Bob Hudson on Jan 22, 2013 15:12:34 GMT 8
Karl, In your meanderings on the west side of Bataan, do you remember seeing this cave on the seashore, maybe 2-3 kilometers north of Quinawan village? Attachments:
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