USAFFE HEADQUARTERS
IN MALINTA TUNNEL.
General MacArthur with General Sutherland, March 1942. |
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Shortcomings in the design and location of various installations had
become apparent by this time and these were corrected when the intensity
of the enemy fire declined. Early plans had not taken into consideration
the possibility of artillery fire from the Cavite shore and some of the
tunnel entrances now faced the oncoming shells. After one attack Colonel
Bunker checked his firing data and concluded that the main entrance to
the Seaward Defenses command post "now points exactly along the Jap
trajectory." Where possible, other openings were constructed, but in
most cases protection was provided by baffle walls.
With the technical advice of the engineers practically all the batteries
began to build their own tunnels. Some dug tunnels where there was no
apparent reason for one. "We have to be at our gun practically all the
time," observed one battery commander, whose men were hard at work on a
tunnel, "so we may not be able to spend too much time, if any at all, in
a tunnel." Even the troops on beach defense caught the fever and, with
whatever materials they could beg or borrow, dug tunnels and constructed
overhead protection. "It is safe to venture a guess," wrote the engineer
cautiously, "that if all the tunnels constructed on Corregidor after
hostilities commenced were connected end to end the resultant summation
would not be less than two miles."
Life on the four fortified islands in Manila Bay settled into a dreary
routine. When the men were not building fortifications or going about
their daily chores, they had little to do. Complaints were frequent and
often dealt with the subject of food. The ration had been cut in half on
5 January, at the same time it had been cut on Bataan. The more
enterprising of the men found ways of their own to increase the amount
and vary the monotony of the ration, but the opportunities were fewer
than on Bataan. Sunken or damaged barges washed close to shore offered a
profitable field for exploitation during the early days of the campaign.
One unit filled its trucks with a cargo of dried fruits salvaged from
one such barge and stored it away for future use. "Now," wrote Colonel
Bunker, "if they'll only drink a lot of water, they'll be fixed fine."
Some even managed to procure liquor in this way. One of the barges sent
out from Manila just before the Japanese occupation had been loaded with
whiskey from the Army and Navy Club. It was sunk in shallow water and
many of the men spent their off-duty hours diving in the oil-coated
waters in the hope of bringing up a bottle. Before the military police
took over to relieve the lucky divers of their catch as they reached the
shore, a large number of soldiers had laid in a stock of the precious
commodity.32
President Quezon's yacht is also said to have supplied at least one unit
with a store of fine wine. When it was being unloaded one dark night, it
is reported that an officer directed the dock hands to load two trucks
simultaneously. When the job was finished, one of the trucks silently
disappeared into the night with its valuable cargo, never to be seen
again.
Life everywhere on the islands went underground and the symbol of the
new mole-like existence was Malinta Tunnel. "Everyone who doesn't need
to be elsewhere," observed Captain Ames, "was in a tunnel-chiefly
Malinta." During the bombings it was always jammed with Americans and
Filipinos who huddled back against the boxes of food and ammunition
stacked along the sides to a height of six feet. Crowded into the tunnel
were the highest headquarters in the Philippines, the lawful government
of the Commonwealth, the 1,000-bed hospital, vast quantities of
supplies, power plants, machinery, and other vital installations. One
lateral alone was taken over by USAFFE. Here General MacArthur had a
desk, before which were lined up his staff officers' desks. To the rear
were the double-decker beds where the staff slept. Malinta also housed
those dignitaries who had been evacuated from Manila. The civilians
followed the routine of the military garrison, but an exception was made
for the women, who were assigned special facilities in an area known as
the "ladies' lateral."
For the men outside, a trip through the tunnel was an interesting
experience and never failed to rouse wonder. Milling about were
Philippine and American government officials, officers of all services
and all ranks, nurses in white starched uniforms, war correspondents,
laborers, repair and construction crews, barbers, convalescents, and
frightened soldiers in search of safety. "It is a revelation to walk
through these tunnels," wrote Captain Ames to his wife. "At one time you
are rubbing elbows with the daughter of some P.I. [Philippine] official,
dodging a lady war correspondent, talking to a naval officer, being
jostled by a plumber, . . . and having your shoes mopped by some
Filipino janitor."
Life on the islands had its seamier side. Not all men were brave and
each garrison had its share of "tunnel rats," the taunt reserved for
those who never left the safety of Malinta Tunnel. Such men were said to
have "tunnelitis," a disease characterized by a furtive manner and the
sallow complexion associated with those who live underground. For these
men, those outside the tunnel had only contempt, tinged perhaps with
envy. "We say of them," wrote one of those on the outside, "that they
will lose tunnel-credit if they are seen outside the tunnel. And we josh
them about the DTS medal (Distinguished Tunnel Service) ... if they
gather plenty of tunnel credits. As opposed to shell-shocked, we say of
confirmed 'tunneleers' that they are shelter-shocked."
Such unfair judgments were perhaps inevitable where some men were
exposed to danger and others, by reason of their assignment, enjoyed the
safety-and discomfort- of Malinta Tunnel. Nerves wore thin during the
enforced intimacy of the prolonged siege, and there were few
opportunities for recreation. During their idle moments men discussed
the most fantastic rumors, deplored the lack of support from the United
States, and commented smugly about the invariably misinformed "brass
hats in Malinta Tunnel." And always the men exercised the immemorial
right of the soldier to "gripe." The days passed thus with monotonous
and dreary regularity, filled with work, idle conversation, and
speculation about the future.