Thursday, February 07, 2008

battle for manila

a monument in memoriam to those innocent victims of war, located at Plaza Sampalucan in Intramuros, Manila.

In just a single month, Manila's face was changed forever by the carpet bombing of the Americans trying to "liberate" Manila from the unspeakable atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese Imperial Forces.

Before the Second World War, Manila was considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Overlooking a tranquil bay, the so-called "Pearl of the Orient" was home to a unique culture drawn from four continents. No stranger to conflict, the city had been seized by the Spanish in the 16th century, attacked by the Chinese in the 17th, occupied by the British in the 18th, and taken by the Americans at the end of the 19th. But even this tumultuous history could not have prepared the Filipinos for what happened in 1945, when Manila was utterly destroyed in a single month. - PBS

Related links: Rape of Manila , Liberation of Manila, and Remembering the Battle for Manila


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

War, invasion, occupation, tyranny, and lots of other words used to describe war and people and the times they occupied. I remember seeing the news reels showing the house to house fighting with the Japanese and the many pictures of your native people, hands tied behind their backs laying there in pools of blood, shot by the Japanese. It was a desperate time and should not be forgotten.

Joy said...

Meron din kami ni Thom niyan! We took photos in December. Naku ang daming batang makulit.

joy
A Pinay In England
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Norwich Daily Photo

Olivier said...

c'est un beau monument pour un bel hommage

It is a beautiful monument to a fine tribute

GingGoy said...

pusa, check out also my post last year about that battle of manila event...there's also a monument, called freedom park, near malacanang that commemorates this

Pat said...

What a lovely tribute! Thank you for sharing with us.


Pat

Guelph Daily Photo, My Photos.

pusa said...

@oldmanlincoln - very true and i dunno why people seem to love war :(

@Joy - hahaha oo marami nga mga tambay na bata dun, magnet pa naman ng attention si thom :)

@Olivier - thanks, yes it is

@tutubi philippines - checked it and updated my link, nice post!

@Pat - thank you, i guess as what abraham said, these things shouldn't be forgotten and hopefully we learn from that past

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