Author's Note

 

When I arrived in Manila on April 29, 1942, by plane from Taihoku, I had no idea of the experience that I was to have within the next few days. On an official assignment, I was due to stay in Manila only a few days and then proceed to Bangkok. However, the final assault on Corregidor was launched on May 1 and I was given the opportunity of accompanying the Japanese Army Propaganda Corps of the front lines.

This book, if it can be classed as such, was never intended. On returning to Shanghai, I was requested by many Shanghailanders to give an account of my experiences on Corregidor. The articles, which appeared in the Shanghai Evening Post, were written at random. Floods of letters, however, urged me to give a more complete account in a permanent form. This book is, therefore, the answer to those requests.

I have titled the book "Corregidor, Isle of Delusion" because in my opinion Corregidor is truly a symbol of delusion to the American people and to the peoples of the so-called United Nations. Corregidor was considered America's Gibraltar of the Orient and second only to Singapore as an important military and naval base. The faith and confidence of the American people in their government was calculated by the resistance of the American forces on beleaguered Corregidor. The island fortress was a criterion of modern defense, highly-touted as impregnable against any enemy attack. The American people were forced to waken from their delusion of false pride and security with the early fall of Corregidor (unreadable).,

During my visit, my observations were purely of a personal rather than of a military nature. Consequently, many readers may be disappointed because I have failed to note the armament of the fortress, and other "military secrets" which were supposed to have been so closely guarded by the American authorities

Far be it from me to claim, that this is a literary project. On the contrary, I have only attempted to set down the truth as I recalled it following my return to Shanghai.

 

 Kazumaro Uno
 

 

 

 

READ ON

 

 

Introduction | Author's Note | On to the Front | Gen. Wainwright Surrenders | Prisoners of War | Fort Mills Hospital | Racial Discrimination | Goodbye Corregidor | Lieut.-Comm. F. H. Callahan | Gen. Wainwright's Appeal | Official Communiqués | Santo Tomas Internment Camp |

 
Return to Corregidor Under Siege Page

© 2006 Corregidor Historic Society