European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 7, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily a Magazine l  topside Barracks was the subject of Many bombing raids by the japanese in 1941-42 and by the . Forces in 194s while taking Corregidor Back. Insert William Graves 14, plays for the camera in 1941 with his Stepfather Francis b. Sayre . High commissioner to the Philippines cent Erand adm. Thomas c. Hart return to Corregidor 43 years after siege National geographic i a w Corregidor Lor the first time on Christma seve of 794 / in notable company Gen Douglas Macarthur and his Wile and son president Manuel Quezon of the Philippines with his family my Mother and my Stepfather. Francis b Sayre. Then  High commissioner to the Philippines " William Graves was 14 on thai memorable Christmas eve but his first sight of Corregidor was no Holiday Jaunt he and his notable company were All refugees together from the lightning japanese invasion of the Philippines that had followed the attack on Pearl Harbor far to the East of  17 Days earlier Graves now is a senior assistant editor of National geographic and in a recent Issue he wrote of his two months on Corregidor. A time of constant japanese bombardment of the tadpole shaped Island anal guards Manila Bay. The Christmas eve it boat ride from Manila to Corregidor came just in time. In two weeks japanese invaders had seized much of the main philippine Island of Luzon threatened Manila with imminent capture. And were driving american and filipino troops toward a last ditch defense on the Peninsula of Bataan Corregidor was an Island fortress and. Though Graves says the contemporary image of an Island honeycombed by tunnels was exaggerated to and his Stepfather and the Macarthur lived in an Island Tunnel not the houses assigned to them it was a Bleak time and yet for a Sharp eyed and energetic 14-year-old boy a rare Chance to see history in the making Young Graves look advantage of it. He kept a diary that. While it suffers from All the Sims of a teenage  still gives a sense of everyday horror of Corregidor in Early 1942 the diary tells of anti aircraft shells blowing japanese bombers out of the air. Of magical Days without casualties and of other less magical Days when casualties were numerous and artillery and bomb attacks seemed endless shr King continued this morning until 12 10 and is Likely to continue until the batteries Are wiped out. Which we Hope will not be Long the teen Ager wrote shells have an eerie scream or whistle. But if you hear the whistle it Means the Shell has gone by and it won i hit you " and there were the More mundane aspects of life too. Soon alter we arrived on Corregidor the Garrison went on reduced rations substituting two meals a Day in place of three Graves writes by then nearly All meals came out of a can. The islands prewar Supply officer must have loved Vienna sausage and sauerkraut for i can recall the odious taste of both nearly every  by comparison a meal featuring the cooked remains of a mule a bombing victim was a unique occasion. The meat was Tough but unmistakably fresh. Toward the end of february it became obvious that Corregidor was no place for civilians president Roosevelt ordered High commissioner Sayre and his family to leave by whatever Means possible. They slipped away at night on a submarine the swordfish another exciting if unnerving experience for the teen age diarist we were in the Ward room cruising on surface when suddenly the general alarm went off All water fight doors were closed and we Dove  he wrote we went Way Down and All fans motors everything was shut off and we had to sit still saying nothing the reason for All this was that a Jap destroyer had been sighted cutting across the Moon s path coming full on toward us " the submarine reached Freemantle. Australia on March 11,1942, alter a voyage of 16 Days and some sunday september 1986 3.000 Miles the same Day Macarthur and his family began their escape from Corregidor by it boat. On april 9, american and filipino forces surrendered on Bataan leading to the infamous death March during which 10.000 of 80,000 prisoners died. Corregidor Hung on grimly for almost another month then fell on May 6. It remained in japanese hands for nearly three years until it was liberated by the american 503rd Parachute regimental combat team in March 1945. In March 1985, Graves revisited Corregidor for the first time since his submarine voyage 43 years earlier. He went with a group of american veterans who had taken part in the Island s defense and its surrender to the japanese. I was prepared for the devastation but not for the air of neglect he writes. Corregidor today is one vast untended Jungle that chokes the Island s shattered defences obliterates paths and roadways and invades the crumbled remains of buildings like tropical growth in a once great Maya  Graves found that the massive gun batteries that had defended Corregidor Are being dismantled by scrap dealers and sold ashore As junk. He also found the site of the House near Malinta Tunnel that had been designated for use by his family As Well As the Macarthur House next door. All that remain of either building Are crumbled Concrete Steps and the reinforced Concrete posts on which the structures  he writes. But Graves was astonished to note several busloads of japanese sightseers Many of them probably descendants of japanese casualties of the Battle for Corregidor. During the 15-Day Campaign to retake the Island. American forces suffered 210 killed and 790 wounded 280 of the latter in Landing mishaps. Japanese losses were far greater. Of the estimated 5.200 japanese defenders fewer than 50 Are believed to have survived. The stars and stripes Page 13