I WAS ON CORREGIDOR" BY AMEA WILLOUGHBY – 1943
corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1179/on-corregidor-amea-willoughby-1943?page=4Tom Aring found the above book, started the above thread with quotes from it and it already has 6 pages!
It pertains to the experiences of a Diplomats wife, her life in the Philippines just before the war started and carries on though the author's time in prewar Manila, on Corregidor, and her eventual escape on a submarine to Australia in 1942 with her diplomat husband.
Tom Aring, aka Phantom in this forum, quoted several paragraphs about the happenings in front of the Malinta Hill Tunnel North Entrance, here is just a little sample! They start on page 4 with the July 31 2012 entry, in the above URL.
“Facing the outlet, directly ahead, another hill sheered up precipitously.
On this small plaza there was a lean-to kitchen well camouflaged with branches, and a mess for the hospital personnel and convalescents.
Chairs and benches were grouped along both sides of the road.
Here too was a RADIO.
All day long, between raids, and during most of the night, soldiers, convalescents, nurses, and Doctors forgathered here for a breath of fresh air and a smoke.
When KGEI from San Francisco or the Voice of Freedom were on the air, this bulge in the little road was so crowded that trucks coming down the hill could hardly get through.
Before sunrise cooks would be busy in the kitchen, the firelight touching their intent faces with an orange glow.
While the Filipino boys dished up their rations from enormous kettles the line of men would form up and stand patiently in the early light of dawn.
Groups of night nurses in twos and threes gathered there wearily to smoke a cigarette before going off duty.
In the full morning the rough mess tables and benches served the people who made the bandages and dressings.
Over the blaring noise of the RADIO, we would shout back and forth at each other and at the passing soldiers and workmen.
Under a tree nearby, hung a large canvas bag of drinking water.
Around it was always a band of men, pausing for a second before going on to their jobs.
If there was a measure of relaxation on the little road at the Hospital outlet, there was also more often than not a kaleidoscope”.
Zo590. Convalescents and wounded Corregidor Defenders relaxing outside the Malinta Tunnel Hospital North-Entrance on the 13th April 1942. Photo from John Moffittt, aka fots2 in the Corregidor.proboard.org forum.
John added the picture and this sentence, also from the above forum page #4
“Phantom. A photo to go with your text. Here is a look at the little flat area outside the North Hospital entrance taken April 13th, 1942”.
Here are two post war images of the area in 2005:
Zo591. The small plaza, the little flat area outside the North Hospital entrance, “Facing the outlet, directly ahead, another hill sheered up precipitously”. This was a quote from Amea Willoughby’s book.
Up to 2005 existed a President Quezon Memorial here. One of these days I will start a page for him in this forum. His stature was moved to Filipino Heroes Memorial, maybe in that year.
Zo592. Five stone plaques with quotes by the President, were part of this President Quezon Memorial, outside the Malinta Tunnel North Hospital entrance. The plaques were moved also; this is one of them.
