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Post by piercebennett on Apr 4, 2017 7:14:17 GMT 8
The RCW for Malinta Tunnel has the length at 831.6 feet. If you add this length plus the length of the main tunnel for the north complex, you get closer to 1400, (1363 feet) but that could just be a coincidence.
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Post by piercebennett on Apr 3, 2017 3:30:22 GMT 8
I can't say for sure, but the mortar you are referring to doesn't seem to have moved much as a result of the explosion. I noticed one picture where the mortar and racer seem to be set inside the concrete where they belong, but that doesn't mean the concrete didn't shift. It seems odd that an explosion of that magnitude that moved other things such great distances left something so still.
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Post by piercebennett on Mar 31, 2017 0:01:41 GMT 8
Beirutvet
Thank you. I am hoping to be back sometime next year probably during the summer.
Thanks EXO for the response regarding the monument. When I was there, I got the feeling that the area wasn't 100% complete. This was in January 2016. (The dates were I believe January 3rd to January 14th)
Haha yes it appears as if someone had already taken a shot. I would imagine the damage to the battery was done by both the Japanese and the Americans. I know somewhere (Maybe Bunker's Diary) there is a mention of some significant damage to this battery during the 1942 siege.
I don't think Wheeler is on the tour. It may have been in the past, but as you said it's a little overgrown. I think Battery Smith is in the same type of condition- as in the paint job is a little old and the greenery is encroaching.
I would agree with you on Geary; it is quite compelling. There are certain places on the island that just captivate your imagination and pique your interest. I personally like a lot of the tunnels around the island. There is something intriguing and mysterious about them. That's sort of how I feel about Battery Geary and the "treehouse". I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, but I find these things endlessly interesting. You said it well "once so vibrant and alive, but are now just tomb-quiet ruins"
Good luck on getting a nice lengthy trip next time you visit!
(The beach is usually very windy at night, so mosquitos are not generally an issue. The evenings before it rained it got very still however and some bugs came out. I just hid inside my sleeping bag and was protected)
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Post by piercebennett on Mar 29, 2017 10:52:21 GMT 8
Day 10, Part 5The final installment of Pierce's Corregidor Trip! Before heading towards "Japanese Tunnel" and the warehouses in that area, I made a quick stop at the new first flag pole monument.There was nothing written on it when I was there, but it looks a lot like the Death March markers.Here it is next to the replacement pole.Next I went to the warehouses east of the lighthouse. The "Japanese Tunnel" is right in that area.Again, with no flash I wasn't able to get any photos of the actual tunnel, but here's a lovely orange sign. I think this is building 74. It's the least overgrown building in the area.Despite not being bombproof, it is in relatively good shape.Here's several photos of the interior.These are laying all over the floor.Here's some exterior shots.Building 75 is next to building 74, but it's in less good shape and covered in growth.Next, I walked along the row of houses south of the lighthouse. I call 14-D the "treehouse" because it's been enveloped in trees and vines.The sun shining through the window past the leaves.The ground floor is covered in rubble and vines from the second floor are hanging through holes in the ceiling.These are more pictures of the ground floor. It's not especially historical, but I find this building interesting anyway. This large piece of concrete is just barely leaning on the second floor, but it was my way up.And now for some second floor photos.I assume this was a bathroom once upon a time.I always hug the wall when I'm up on this floor, because there's no way of knowing if there are any holes that have just been covered by vines and leaves. I'd hate to fall through- or worse, get impaled by any rebar.I left 14-D and continued back towards the road. The sun was beginning to get lower in the sky, so it was time to head back to the beach.A close up on some damage to one of the buildings in this row.This is 22-C. It's especially destroyed compared to most other buildings in the area.Another shot of building 48, or the Administration Building before I left Topside.Before I bought the 1936 map, I had gone through the "Youth For Peace" shortcut without realizing what sorts of things I was passing by. Most things in the area are not especially intact, but I wanted to check out the underground A.A. magazine. I didn't get to it on the day when I was exploring this area, so I just went off the road and took a look on my way back "home". I've always found the underground tunnels or structures on the island interesting. Near the magazine is this very large piece of concrete. I assume it's from Battery Geary, but I suppose Battery Ramsay is not far from here either.This is where I slept for 11 straight nights. Nothing beats sleeping beneath the stars.And that concludes my trip. Can't wait until I get back there next!
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Post by piercebennett on Mar 14, 2017 10:21:43 GMT 8
Originally, my last trip was not supposed to be a solo one. I had a friend who was going to accompany me, but he was unfortunately unable. One of our plans was to take a rope down the upper stair shaft of "Bat Cave". I was not about to make that decent on my own, so that was never something I did last January. (my flash was broken anyway) Fingers crossed a friend and I will make another trip to Corregidor next year, and we'll make our way down "Moore's Hole".
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The original plans show that the various shafts to the surface are dog-leg off-set from the main shaft, and thus one can't draw a simple straight line starting at the Middleside entrance through to under the Telephone Exchange, or via "Moore's Hole" and extrapolate it across to the other side of the Senior Officers' Married Qtrs. I suspect that "Moore's Hole" and the "shower room" are connected by some shaft, but the length of the shaft entirely eludes me, and the angle. (Have any of you noticed that at the very top of the shower room, there is a hole with a straight edge, about the size of a trapdoor. This indicates to me that Moore's hole was dug down towards Middleside, not upwards from the shower room. Martin Keen had drawn a profile of the HDHQ based on the plans I supplied him, and I asked him to do an overlay, and he did, and which I have still. But it was around that time that my enthusiasm to write an article about my suspicions disappeared. At some point, the decision must have been made to quit on the HDHQ project and to develop Malinta instead (not necessarily at the same time.) Anyone who has seen inside Middleside Tunnel knows how rough and unfinished it is, so it's most likely that it had been closed for years since during the 1920's, hence very few people knew it existed. That it even existed was probably a top secret, given the curiosity of the Japanese, Washington Treaty obligations, and military secrecy generally.
This is an important aspect of pre-war Corregidor and would justify an entire thread itself, and if Martin Keen is OK with it, we could publish the "map treatment." We probably could anyhow under "fair use" and "educational" but I'd rather not. - EXO
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Post by piercebennett on Mar 11, 2017 12:46:11 GMT 8
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Post by piercebennett on Mar 7, 2017 8:15:41 GMT 8
I thought this would be a good thread on which to ask some tunnel related questions.
I know of at least two tunnels in Engineer Ravine. I have been to the 'H Shaped Tunnel' before, but I have not seen any pictures of the other tunnel in the ravine. Does anyone who has been there have any photos of another tunnel in that area?
I was reading recently about LT George T. Ferguson who was with the 4th Marines. He was a medical officer and was deployed on the eastern end of Corregidor. I read that he and his men dug a tunnel into a rocky cliff that could hold "12 patients, medical equipment, and personnel." Does anyone know the location of this tunnel?
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Post by piercebennett on Feb 26, 2017 6:39:10 GMT 8
Alan,
I'm not sure if my experience was different than most, but when I took the ferry from Corregidor to Manila, I just booked my trip from the inn around 10 days before I wanted to leave and they gave me a ticket right then and there.
EXO - The problem is, good friends of Corregidor all, there is now, and for an undetermined period into the future, no Corregidor Inn on Corregidor to stay at. There are other alternatives, but are they really leaving it for the local cafe's to have an international presence? All that can be offered by the designated franchise holder (a corporation of considerable wealth and power), is a boat trip, a luncheon in a luxury tent, and a Transvia tour. In these modern days, when you can choose your seat on an aircraft months ahead of time, getting a confirmed seat on a boat via a website, would be nice. (None of this should be considered a criticism of the lovely gals who have managed and staffed the Inn over the years, and who we've grown to love anew upon each visit. The issues are far beyond their pay grade.)
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Post by piercebennett on Feb 21, 2017 9:53:39 GMT 8
Day 10, Part 4After leaving Battery Crockett, I walked along some of the buildings on Officer's Row and headed to Battery Wheeler.
Here are a few photos of the officer's quarters on Topside.
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Post by piercebennett on Feb 18, 2017 12:38:52 GMT 8
beirutvet,
Nice pictures! I tried to get one or two of the shell in the mortar, but juggling a camera and a flashlight didn't produce any good results... Don't worry. I probably have at least two more parts to post before I'm all finished.
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