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War veteran recalls what war-torn Corregidor was like in 1945
He would always remember the wind.
On February 15, 1945, paratrooper Richard Adams jumped off a plane five hundred feet above sea level into the island of Corregidor, located southwest of Luzon, and straight into battle.
As the anniversary of his landing approaches, the war veteran was asked what he remembers when he thinks of February 15, 1945, the day before the Battle for the Recapture of Corregidor officially commenced.
“I guess the wind. It was a beautiful day,” he told GMA News. “What I remember, not much. It was over real quick.”
“I got over the cliff a little ways, luckily I landed on a tree that kept me from going further. I got back up into the golf course and spent most of my time...kind of helping the other guys that came after us,” he added.
The Second World War had been on its last leg. American forces crashed into Corregidor to unite with Filipino fighters to drive out the Japanese and end their three-year occupation of the Philippines. This battle, which coincided with the battle to liberate Manila, devastated the tiny island, and killed a hundred thousand civilians.
Adams would also remember the flies.
“You couldn't open a can of beans, you couldn't put anything in your mouth. The flies were really terrible. Of course the battlefield was kind of a mess, and that encouraged the flies,” he recalled. “They were very busy flies, very busy flies.”
At some point, Adams had lost the medallion that his mother had given him; he noticed it was no longer hanging from his neck on his second day on the island.
“About a week after, we were up on Malinta Hill, and again it was the flies! I went back down into the jumpfield to get a hunk of parachute both to protect us from the flies and to use as camouflage,” he narrated.
He got a big piece of parachute and bundled it up into his arms. But as he made the trek back up to Malinta Hill, for some reason, he dropped it.
"It just fell out of my hands. And I bent down and I picked up my parachute, and there was my medal. In the middle of a field. So that was kind of a miraculous medal. Yeah, the flies were really tough..." he trailed off, lost in thought.
The 98-year-old veteran is the oldest living paratrooper who participated in the Battle of Corregidor, the island where Douglas Macarthur famously said, “I shall return.”
In fact, when Macarthur first arrived at Corregidor, Adams was there to welcome him. A photo of him behind the American general is even memorialized in the town’s museum.
For this year’s anniversary, Adams is making a return to the island, which played a pivotal point in history because of its strategic location in Manila Bay.
He made a stop at the equally historic Manila Hotel. He spent a morning at the Macarthur Suite, where the general resided with his family for six years, from 1935 to 1941.
The walls were adorned with picture frames immortalizing bits of history, and one room depicted what Macarthur’s study looked like back in the day.
Adams entered this study and sat on the chair behind the big wooden table. However, he completely refused to wear the replica of Macarthur’s military cap.
In fact, despite the role he played in history, Adams doesn’t really believe he deserves all the pomp and circumstance.
Sitting in the large suite, he seemed uncomfortable with all the attention.
“It certainly is an honor to be here and it's a little embarrassing with all you people standing around and taking pictures of me. The people you shöuld be taking pictures of are not here. Some are still on Corregidor,” he told the press following him around.
Surrounded by decades worth of history, Adams couldn’t help but remember the past, and reflect on how much the Philippines meant to him. He only spent a few weeks in the country, before living a full life in America, so coming back again is bound to be an experience for him.
“Where I noticed the change more than anything else was coming from the airport last night. It's a real city! Because in our time, I was in Manila during that time, and we spent most of our time in some field or up in some mountain, so we didn't see the city part of Manila. So it's become a really beautiful place now,” he mused.
He has visited Manila only a few times before, and returned to Corregidor only once, in 2012.
His visit today will be to honor both Filipinos and Americans who were part of the big, bloody battle.
“On the 16th of February, we are doing this to honor all those people, the Filipinos and the Americans that defended the island in the first place,” Adams said.
“My only claim to fame is that I was there and I'm still here. It's an honor to be the person who can speak for them. There's not a lot of us left. And the Philippines is very dear to me,” he added. — LA, GMA News
