This trip report is in response to doubts and questions I had regarding the Colonel Bunker book excerpts that were posted by Phantom. Do we know for sure which tunnel was his C1 Tunnel? How many tunnels did Bunker have?

Here is a link to the original thread:
http://corregidor.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=talk&action=display&thread=403

Because of our doubts, Phantom and I spent a couple days in the area earlier this year and I followed up with another visit two weeks ago.

The area on Corregidor that we are exploring is at the southern end of a ridge not far from Battery Wheeler.

The double circle with a ‘C’ in it is the Fort Mills Commander’s Station or Command Post. C1 refers to it being the primary command post. The circle with G2 in it is a secondary Gun Group Command Post. These two structures are physically attached but on two different levels. C1 is the upper level. (Map courtesy of Mapmaster).

Overall tunnel sketch.

Here are some recent photos of the tunnel in question:

Looking into the East entrance.



The view back out the East entrance.



The rock pile barrier close to the entrance.



Looking back towards the east entrance from this point you can see the start of a lateral on each side of the main tunnel.

All the laterals look quite similar when viewed from the main tunnel so I will just show you this one.

Looking directly into one of the short laterals.

Recent digging is certainly going on in this tunnel. Candles have been placed around dig holes. Small pieces of metal are neatly piled in a few places. Since the metal is still there, it must not be of much value to them.

Candles and pieces of metal stacked up.



Candles burnt to the ground above some recently dug holes.

There is a very fine layer of dust over all the tunnel floors, especially the laterals. My hiking boots leave footprints that remind me of similar ones left by astronauts on the moon. There is no moisture or wind to disturb them so they would last a long time. Around the holes I don’t see any footprints at all until I look closely. In places I see the outline of a sole but no tread. Sandals/slippers are being worn by the diggers.

One to three feet of small rocks and fine dusty rubble sits on top of the concrete floor today. I can see this floor in three places. One thing that is very evident throughout the tunnel is charcoal and burnt pieces of wood. Lots of it can be seen in the sides of the holes that have been dug. Perhaps that is what remains of the tunnel wall lining that Bunker had installed, it was burnt instead of being scrapped. I still see no holes or metal brackets so the lining must have been just braced to the tunnel walls if at all.

A hole that has been dug down to the concrete floor and continues under it. Maybe the digger was following the piece of wire sticking out from under the concrete. Note black chunks of burnt wood lying all around.

At the end of the wide main tunnel, there is a slight turn and a transition into a narrower tunnel. It continues out to the western entrance which can be seen in the distance.

Approaching the destroyed western entrance you can see a piece of fallen concrete ahead of you.

Inside view of the Western entrance.

To exit the tunnel, climb up over the fallen concrete and rocks to come out on the western slope of this hill.

The view when looking back down into the western entrance of the tunnel.

Holding onto a few trees as you climb up the hillside, keep slightly to the left. In one minute you will be at Col. Bunker’s Dugout.

Looking towards the entrance to Col. Bunker’s Dugout. Some rocks and soil have fallen down.



It is not very deep but carved from solid rock with precision. Perhaps the construction crew had a Colonel looking over their shoulders.



Inside the dugout looking toward the entrance.

Now lets head back inside the tunnel.

There is a side tunnel heading south at an angle away from the main tunnel. At first it is fairly wide but tapers where there is a slight turn to the right. At this turn, a steep slope of rubble is visible and you have to crouch under the low ceiling when starting to climb the slope. I estimate the upward angle to be approximately 40 degrees.

In the side tunnel approaching the rubble slope.



A closer view of the rubble slope.

I have mentioned in earlier posts how hot it is in the Philippines now but within a few steps it feels like I walked into a furnace. The air is dead and it is so humid that my glasses and camera lens start to fog up.

Within feet of the start of the slope I can see a big chamber with a high ceiling. Chambers similar to this that I have seen in the past were the result of large explosions. Making my way up the right-hand side is not difficult.

Looking up as I get close to the top part of the chamber. The right side seems open.

At the highest part of the chamber there is a large crack in the rock. If I moved a rock or two, the crack is possibly large enough to slide through. I would love to know what is past this point but self-preservation kicks in. From here I see an open space between the rocks going about 20 feet further.

Looking towards the crack in the rocks. Note that there are tree roots here. Although there is no breeze from the crack, the surface cannot be too far away.

I turn around to leave and this is the view looking down the chamber towards the entrance. The rubble slope at the bottom is the same one you saw in earlier photos looking up. That is broken wood that you see towards the right. See that white line about 2/3 of the way down the chamber? Note the next photo.

The photo above is going to be a little difficult to describe. From a distance this looks like a concrete slab with a dark horizontal piece of something to the left. On a closer look, the dark object is a piece of wood similar in size to a railway tie.

The dust covered concrete slab is quite large. I cannot determine exactly how big it is as the bottom is buried in the rubble. Between the upper right corner of the slab and the left end of the wood, is a small area where you can look into.

You can see that the bottom of the slab is the finished side and there is a bend where two pieces of concrete come together. It reminds me of the ceiling above the top of a staircase where it is angled going up the stairs but goes horizontal at the top of the stairs. What was this?

Now here is the fun part. Where is the C1 tunnel actually located with respect to other structures and the hillside? Here is an overlay of the tunnel sketch onto the same map as above. Look where the end of the southern tunnel appears.

The tunnel is placed on the map using GPS co-ordinates to get accurate positioning.

No wonder we cannot find another tunnel along both sides of this hill/ridge. When Bunker talks about his tunnel(s) in plural, he is actually talking about a side tunnel in his ONE and ONLY C1 tunnel.

It is time to re-examine Bunker’s text with the assumption that he is talking about a single C1 tunnel with three entrances. In the past I was trying to understand how the tunnel that we see today matched up with Bunker’s text. Lets look at it from the opposite direction. Take Bunker’s text and make it fit the tunnel. With a few exceptions, it actually does fit.

Chronology of C1 Tunnel construction events:
 

Phantom told me that Col. Bunker mentions having the engineers construct a concrete barrier (diversion dams) at the west entrance to stop water from a small stream from getting into the tunnel when the rainy season comes. Well, there is a small dry stream down the north side of that entrance. What appears to be a concrete barrier does lie across the western entrance.

This may be the concrete barrier that even today lies across the mouth of the western entrance.

Now that we know that the southern tunnel goes very close to the C1 Command Post, where is the entrance that was blasted open on 14 FEB, 1942? It should be in the area between B11/11 and C1 itself. That particular area contains samples of every thorny plant that God ever created so Phantom and I had skirted it earlier this year. It was not where we were expecting to find other tunnels anyway.

If there is a single good reason for the El Nino dry climate this year, it is that ground visibility is the best in years. In many places the thorny plants are still there but their green leaves are gone so you can see further.

The hiking trail to C1 keeps well to the west to avoid this vegetation so I will start at B11/11 and head south. Within spitting distance of B11/11, the hillside drops off quickly but I can see a level bottom and what appears to be a rock-filled crater. Holding onto some branches and vines, I go down the slope.

B11/11 Command Post.

When I look around I see a concave depression in the hillside and a horizontal flat area below it. Everywhere else along this ridge is sloping south. There appears to be a rock filled bomb or shell crater to one side of the depression.

Normally I would not think any more about this area and move on. However, knowing that the south tunnel is almost under me, I think that the chance I am standing at or near the destroyed South Entrance is quite good.

View from the bottom of the rock filled crater looking back up to the top of the depression. It is difficult to get a photo that looks anything like actually being there. The level area is beside and behind me.

The depression in the hillside is only 40 feet or so from the rear door of C1. Since this was the command post of the “Fort Commander” perhaps having access to a nearby bomb-proof tunnel was the incentive for building such a tunnel at this location. I wish someone knew for sure.



The rear door of the C1 Command Post. Note the dense vegetation.

C1 has been cleared recently as part of a trail feature from here back towards Battery Wheeler.

Another thing to consider is: has this south tunnel entrance been covered up after a wartime explosion destroyed it? Remember the post war photo of a bulldozer leveling the Battery Boston area. Well, this is the same ridge, just a few hundred feet further south. As usual, I expect we will never know.

So what about the steep slope inside the semi-collapsed area of the southern tunnel? Doesn’t make any sense. Well actually it does. Look at the map again. This map has 5 foot contour intervals which makes it easy to determine the elevation within 5 feet at any location.

The main east-west tunnel has a little downward slope towards the west. Note the contour lines at the south and the two east/west entrances. The south entrance is quite a bit higher so steps or a ramp inside this tunnel would be necessary to get from this entrance down to the level of the main tunnel.

Unfortunately, few things in life can be determined with 100% accuracy. A few comments by Col. Bunker do not agree with what we see today.

Even with the above comments, I now think that what we call the C1 Tunnel actually ‘is’ the C1 Tunnel. Too much evidence to think otherwise.

Mr. Phantom, when you return next year, lets have a detailed look around here again. Now we can concentrate is this small area and not try another steep death march down and up any adjacent ravines. Perhaps there are still remnants of his kitchen etc to be seen. Also, another tunnel nearby is mentioned in Bunker’s text.

Thanks for creating one of the longest threads in the Corregidor.org forum’s history. It has been an interesting trip.

A big thanks to Mapmaster because without his maps this trip report would be only three sentences long. A visual representation of where you are in relation to what is around you makes a world of difference.

If anyone has anything additional to add, please do so. In the end, accurate history will be the winner.

Finally, I’ll give you a couple shots of nearby Battery Wheeler. You pass within sight of Battery Wheeler when you take the new walking path to C1.

Battery Wheeler Gun #2 position. The barrel lying off to the side is from the dismantled Gun #1.



Another view of the Gun #2 position.