Brothers In Arms

This is a culmination of a month-long series of Memorials and Monuments, and I think an appropriate one as well..

BROTHERS IN ARMS a 10-foot-high bronze sculpture by Filipino artist Manuel Casas, depicting an American soldier supporting a badly wounded Filipino soldier. It is located in the Island of Corregidor, which you'll see and learn more about in tomorrow's blip..

Here you see The Filipino soldier is badly wounded, with a bandage around his head and with his arm bandaged and in a sling. He is leaning on the taller American soldier. The monumental sculpture, standing 10 feet high, was created to capture the sense of comradeship that grew between the Filipinos and the Americans who were fighting side by side in the war. A large plaque may be seen in the park in front of this statue expressing the following sentiment:

"In these hallowed surroundings where heroes sleep may their ashes scatter with the wind and live in the hearts of those who were left behind. They died for freedom's right and in heaven's sight. Theirs was a noble cause."

This sculpture may specifically be depicting an American and a Filipino, but I think generally speaking, any soldier of any race would indeed be represented by these two men -- they are all brothers in arms. And my series, be it a war memorial or a monument, is a tribute to all the men and women, soldiers or not soldiers, who gave us their lives in order for us to be the way we are now.. In order for us to live the way we live now.. And we salute all of them!

This is a backblip as unfortunately, there was no available wifi or internet connections within the island. As you will find out tomorrow, Corregidor Island is protected, a massive "memorial of sorts" and a trip there is a must for every Filipino to rediscover our roots. We have been here twice, but this time, me and Mr M brought my mum, my dad's sister, my brother and our helper. Upon arrival at the island, we were taken on a tour, first part of which was Middleside Barracks, a large military barracks built in 1912 to house both American and Filipino soldiers. There is still quite a lot more to see in this island, and wll leave some of the stories to be told tomorrow..

The tour only lasted til 2:30pm, but there was an option to stay longer in the island so we did and had a bit of rest and then went swimming.. More stories to follow tomorrow as I'm bone-tired, haha!!

Goodnight and hugs and kisses to everyone!