Tuesday, November 21, 2017

History on the beaches of Tacloban

The venue for a workshop we attended in Tacloban last week was Patio Victoria near the airport. Upon arriving at the venue, one couldn't help but notice the historical marker on what appeared at first as a big piece of rock on the property. The 'rock' turned out to be a pillbox constructed by the Japanese forces along what was part of the beaches of Tacloban as part of the defense against the impending landings of the American forces who were to commence the liberation of the Philippines in World War II.

Pillbox at the Patio Victoria parking lot
Another pillbox at the beach
These are what remain of the defenses constructed during the Second World War. You can just imagine how the place looked like back then and perhaps think about how many people died in the area from all the fighting that took place there. My friends and I were joking that perhaps there were ghosts in the area and its not a place where you would want to take a stroll after dark. Further along the same coast is the place where Gen. Douglas McArthur landed on the beaches of Leyte to declare hist return to the Philippines.
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