Didn't you know? According to our President, we are supposed to get over that and move on. No thank you. My dad was in WWII, and there is no way I'm getting over what put him in that horrible war and scarred him for life. Next they'll want us to get over 9/11!

The world has gone mad, I tell you. Mad as a Hatter.

DG : I was only 3 years old,..knew little, except that the adults were freaking out like crazy ! Only amazed now by how fast those 75 years have flown by. God bless your brave dad and all the other dedicated military guys & gals of that era who stood tall !

My father died 30 years ago, but I wish so much that I had understood more about how the war affected him. He was a kind, gentle soul, and he never talked about it, except to tell funny stories, like the one about how they gave him a driver (he was a Major) who couldn't operate a stick shift, and he ended up driving the driver around.

DG : Still LMAO !!!!

Boy, when I get home at 10:00 after working a long hard day at work, it sure takes me a long time to de-stress. But because it does, I scanned the pics I promised. Grandpa served in the Pacific front and when the Japanese surrendered, because he was a police officer prior to serving, he was sent to the Philippines to investigate war crimes. The Japanese attacked the Philippines just 10 hours after Pearl Harbor and held it until their surrender on September 2, 1945. During that time, roughly 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war were forced to march the deadly Bataan Death March through 65 miles of jungle. Many thousands died during the march and many more died from disease and starvation in the camps.

Here are some of the many pics that he took (click on to enlarge). I left out the gruesome ones, and included those of the natives, landscapes and a few others. After the war, Grandpa returned home to Grandma, my Dad and my uncle, had 2 more sons and went on to become the Chief of Police in my hometown of Marion, Ohio. Grandpa and I used to sit for hours while he told me about the war and we looked at the pictures. He knew I was the only grandchild interested in history and photography, so when he passed I got his pictures. They are one of my favorite possessions because every time that I look at them I can see and hear him :)

Good night, time to hit the sack for 4 1/2 hours of shut-eye before getting back up for work. Thanks for letting me share. Rhonda

BTW Deb, I'm with Joe....that is a funny story!

Rhonda, thanks so much for the great photos !
A very special collection ! I have been to the Philippines four times during the 1980's, while I worked in the oil fields of eastern Saudi Arabia, as an electronic engr, ( a rocket scientist then, feel like a caveman now ! lol ), During those 4 visits, I saw so much,..the cave-like headquarters of MacArthur on Bataan,...even took a 4 day sojourn down to Cebu on one trip, staying at the new, huge, circular hotel on top of the highest mountain top there. The views of Negros, Leyte and so many others were breath-taking. ..
One question for you. That pic of yours showing MacArthur's headquarters,..was that before Pearl Harbor or after the war ended ? Reason I ask is on one trip to Manila, my wife and I stayed at The Manila Hotel and while there I heard rumors that General MacArthur's Suite was still there and being kept up, for certain viewers. Being a WW 2 scholar I promptly asked the gal at the front desk if I can see it. " Err,..sorry, it's not currently available for viewing ! " I suspected she was lying, so meandered around for a few minutes, .., asked another worker sweeping floors and he told me " Yes sir, you should have no trouble,..just over there on the 2nd floor." I walked down the hallway and saw the door open and about 3 maids busily cleaning & dusting the large apartment. I asked the closest gal, she smiled and said " Yes sir, this is the generals suite, I would be happy to show you around ! " Wow, what an apartment,..15 ft ceilings and recall the big oil painting of him in a gold painted frame on the living room wall ! But never found out if that was his pre war residence or where he lived after the war. Any idea ? Thanks

Thanks Joe! I have hundreds and they are very special to me :) Boy, you sure have led an interesting life! It's awesome that you were able to sneak in and get a guided tour of his apartment. Such a ballsy move, I'd do the same thing lol

I believe that he was at the Manila Hotel from mid 30's (he was an advisor to the Philippine government) until the attack by the Japanese. I do have a picture of the Manila Hotel in my collection. At that point he took his troops to Luzon then Bataan and he and his family went to Corregidor. The house I have pictured was rumored to be where he stayed upon his return to the Philippines after the Japanese surrender.

Thanks for sharing your journeys with me.

Rhonda

Upon further research, I am now convinced the " tunnel headquarters " of General MacArthur we saw were actually on Corregidor ! Sorry ! One moment my ex-wife and I will never forget, is reading the inscription at the base of the flag pole there,..the very flag pole where General MacArthur raised the stars & stripes upon his return. Both our eyes were wet !

I believe you are correct Joe. I know that in Corregidor he lived underground for his safety. He wasn't in Corregidor long before President Roosevelt ordered him to Australia before Corregidor got too dangerous.

Seeing that plaque and flagpole would definitely be an emotional moment. I cry like a baby at things like that.

Did you ever take pics of the places you visited? I'm a sap for pictures capturing memories. A big sap :) For example, this summer I was at a yard sale and 2 beautiful scrapbooks caught my eye. They were each 3 inches thick and bound in leather. I opened the first one and was shocked. There was an original passport from 1969 with a photo of a beautiful young lady of 25 from Pennsylvania. These books chronicled her travels around the world in 9 months! She travelled by herself and she had lovingly pasted pictures and souvenirs from every country in them. I thought that it was awful that something so personal ended up in a yard sale in Williston, Florida. Of course I bought them. I researched her online and found her obituary from 2013. She never married and her best friend was in Chiefland, Florida...about 20 miles from me. Then I researched her best friend and she had died in 2015. I figure that the friend's family didn't want them. They now hold a place of honor on my book shelf :)

Sorry, but here I went rambling again.

Rhonda

Only have a few that could be compared to yours Rhonda. Trouble is they are pasted in a big scrapbook,..will try to gingerly remove one or two,..not optimistic tho ! lol

Please don't try to remove them from the scrapbook. I don't want them to get damaged. I'll just use my imagination :)

Thanks though!

What an amazing photo. I wonder what's going on in McArthur's mind? Thank God I'm leaving or I want to stay and fight? Did he feel like he was abandoning his troops? Most certainly he would have been the prime target of the Japanese had he remained.

The B-17 is an amazing plane. Such a work horse. I love the WWII era planes, specifically I love the artwork on the fighter's nosecone and sides. I have taken many pics of them over the years. Sexy women, cartoon characters, names of the crew's mom or girl. I have loved visiting Wright-Patterson Air Force base's museum in Dayton, Ohio since I was a kid and took my sons there several times. They have the Wright Brothers planes, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam era planes, missiles, space shuttles, up through top of the line modern stealth jets. They also have the plane (at least when I was there last) that flew Kennedy's body back from Dallas. They also had, I believe, Roosevelt's, Truman's and Eisenhower's presidential planes.

Thanks for taking the time to find this picture and for posting it. :)