A Soldier"s Impression of the Philippines: 1940
As the ship gently sailed through the South China Sea to Manila Bay and past the island fortress of Corregidor and the peninsula of Cavite, Buddy could see, in the distance, expansive Manila and Nichols Field.
As his ship finished docking, he walked down the gang-plank and stepped down onto the dock at Pier 7, Luzon, largest of the Philippine islands.
Buddy looked around, and realized that this was a paradise even greater than Hawaii.
The spacious streets were lined with well-trimmed trees and shrubs.
Beautiful orchid-like orange, white, and deep purple blossoms were everywhere.
The cogon grass was ablaze with white plumes reaching out of the tall, reddish, sharp-pointed leaves.
Towering bamboo and palm trees were everywhere in abundance.
There in his vision were pink, blue, and lovely lavender hydrangeas, and short-trimmed bamboo hedges lining buildings and streets.
Prevalent throughout the city and the base were aromatic lauan trees, known as Philippine mahogany and used for decorative red plywood.
There were banana, guava, and the aromatic mango trees.
Among the coconut tree husks grew delicate, white butterfly orchids.
The sweet fragrance of kamias trees was all-pervasive.
Also known as cucumber trees, they produced an oblong fruit popularly eaten raw or in jams and relishes.
The Filipinos recognized the fruit as healthy to the endocrine system.
These trees had long, pinnate, hairy leaves and small, sweet-smelling purple flowers that looked like orchids.
And the enormous acacia trees were also present, with their expansive trunks and healthy purple berries.
Friendly people, shorter in stature than typical Americans, were everywhere.
Many of the Filipinos hadn't been so friendly a decade earlier, but in 1933 the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act provided for an extent of independence for the Philippines, but with complete U.
S.
control of bases and U.
S.
tariffs on the archipelago's exports.
The situation was further improved the following year by the provisions of the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934; 36 years after U.
S.
occupation of the island nation, the U.
S.
government had promised complete freedom and self-government for the islands by 1946.
That was something the ancestors of these Malay and aboriginal Negrito people had never experienced following Spanish colonization in the 1500s.
Those happy streets were crowded with people, tables, and carts filled with fruits, vegetables, poultry, and dried fish, and carretelas, small coaches that were pulled by ponies or carabao, a small water buffalo.
Smiling children begged for pennies in the streets.
Occasionally, a taxicab or car drove through the boulevards.
Filled with a positive sensation, Buddy felt that this assignment would be bright, relaxing, and joyful.
Little did he know of the events that would devastate this world within the year.
As his ship finished docking, he walked down the gang-plank and stepped down onto the dock at Pier 7, Luzon, largest of the Philippine islands.
Buddy looked around, and realized that this was a paradise even greater than Hawaii.
The spacious streets were lined with well-trimmed trees and shrubs.
Beautiful orchid-like orange, white, and deep purple blossoms were everywhere.
The cogon grass was ablaze with white plumes reaching out of the tall, reddish, sharp-pointed leaves.
Towering bamboo and palm trees were everywhere in abundance.
There in his vision were pink, blue, and lovely lavender hydrangeas, and short-trimmed bamboo hedges lining buildings and streets.
Prevalent throughout the city and the base were aromatic lauan trees, known as Philippine mahogany and used for decorative red plywood.
There were banana, guava, and the aromatic mango trees.
Among the coconut tree husks grew delicate, white butterfly orchids.
The sweet fragrance of kamias trees was all-pervasive.
Also known as cucumber trees, they produced an oblong fruit popularly eaten raw or in jams and relishes.
The Filipinos recognized the fruit as healthy to the endocrine system.
These trees had long, pinnate, hairy leaves and small, sweet-smelling purple flowers that looked like orchids.
And the enormous acacia trees were also present, with their expansive trunks and healthy purple berries.
Friendly people, shorter in stature than typical Americans, were everywhere.
Many of the Filipinos hadn't been so friendly a decade earlier, but in 1933 the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act provided for an extent of independence for the Philippines, but with complete U.
S.
control of bases and U.
S.
tariffs on the archipelago's exports.
The situation was further improved the following year by the provisions of the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934; 36 years after U.
S.
occupation of the island nation, the U.
S.
government had promised complete freedom and self-government for the islands by 1946.
That was something the ancestors of these Malay and aboriginal Negrito people had never experienced following Spanish colonization in the 1500s.
Those happy streets were crowded with people, tables, and carts filled with fruits, vegetables, poultry, and dried fish, and carretelas, small coaches that were pulled by ponies or carabao, a small water buffalo.
Smiling children begged for pennies in the streets.
Occasionally, a taxicab or car drove through the boulevards.
Filled with a positive sensation, Buddy felt that this assignment would be bright, relaxing, and joyful.
Little did he know of the events that would devastate this world within the year.
