Philippines, Corregidor Island. This island is located at the entrance of Manila Bay, making its strategic position extremely important. As a result, it became a famous battlefield of the Pacific War during WWII. The US, Philippines, and Japan fought bloody battles here multiple times. In 1942, 11,000 US-Philippine forces were defeated and captured here. The island was seized by the Japanese, and General MacArthur left his famous quote 'I Shall Return' here, vowing to come back. Later in 1945, US forces attacked Corregidor again, nearly annihilating the 6,700 Japanese soldiers on the island and retaking it. This shows how fierce the fighting was here back then. From the port in Manila (Esplanade Seaside Terminal), it takes about 2 hours by speedboat to reach the island. The war ruins on the island still faintly show the intensity of the battles. Looking at the abandoned ammunition depots, barracks, tunnels, and gun batteries, time suddenly transports you back to World War II, a world full of turmoil and uncertainty about the future. For later generations, the traces of history can only be remembered and imagined, commemorated and cautioned, contemplated and learned from. And what c…
