MANILA, Philippines - War does not determine who is right — only who is left. — Bertrand Russell
“The Japs are coming! Evacuate immediately!” someone shouted. I took my eyes off from my camera, and looked at my companions. And as we “evacuated” the premise, the Japs indeed came, alighting from their bus, fixing their sombreros and sunglasses. I waved at one Japanese woman; she waved back and gave me a sweet smile. Then she turned her attention to another woman who spoke loudly, and though I couldn’t understand Japanese, I was quite sure she was describing the place, telling them of its history. She was their tour guide, and we were at the Japanese Garden of Peace in Corregidor Island.
Fifty years ago, things would have happened differently. Fifty years ago, if you said the Japs are coming, people on this island would either be running for their lives or readying to fight. Fifty years ago, smiling to a Japanese would be unthinkable. That’s because 50 years ago, Corregidor Island saw many lives torn apart as it became one of the battlefields in the deadly Pacific War.
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There is no better way to understand history than to stand on the same floor where it happened. So it was a stroke of genius that HBO Asia decided to hold its press conference for its miniseries The Pacific at Corregidor Island. Scattered throughout the island are the remains of old barracks, guns and artillery and other relics from World War II. The highlight of our visit to Corregidor was the Malinta Experience, a Light and Sound show that re-enacted events during World War II. It was the perfect way to pump up one’s patriotic blood, as well as setting the perfect atmosphere to view The Pacific.
From the creators of the highly acclaimed Band of Brothers, The Pacific is a 10-part miniseries based on true stories of Marines who fought in the Pacific Ocean area during World War II. The series follows the lives of three men — Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale), Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello) and John Basilone (Jon Seda) — and their comrades at the 1st Marine Division, an infantry division that was at the forefront of many of the hardest-fought campaigns of the Pacific War, combats like those in haunted jungles of Guadalcanal, up the bloody sand terraces of Iwo Jima, through the killing fields of Okinawa, up until the triumphant, yet uneasy home after V-J Day.
The Pacific, however, is not just about the gun blasts, and the bloody battlefield. The series touches upon not only on what happened during the war, but also the before and after scenarios. War affects not only the soldiers themselves, but more so the people they’ve left behind. My personal favorite character between the three is that of John Basilone. Nicknamed Manila John, Basilone served three years in the Philippines where he also enjoyed being a champion boxer. He was sent to Guadalcanal where he held off 3,000 Japanese troops, earning him the US military’s highest award for bravery, the Medal of Honor. Basilone was welcomed with accolades when he returned to the US. However, Basilone knew he belonged to the battlefields. After several refusals from the Marine Corps, he finally got permission to be sent back to the war. While at training camp, he met his future wife Lena Mae Riggi. And a year after their marriage, he kissed his wife goodbye and flew back to the Pacific. That was the last time John Basilone saw his wife. His wife received his posthumous Navy Cross award, and remained a widow for the rest of her life.
It is this sad reality of life that encompasses every episode of The Pacific. But more than the casualties, the lives and the properties destroyed, war gives us heroes.
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I was born almost 40 years after the end of World War II. The closest thing I can get to anything war-related is paintball war. Though we may be living far from the situations depicted in The Pacific, our lives today are the direct result of them. People like John Basilone, Robert Leckie and Eugene Sledge have battled, died and endured pain like no other so that people like us can enjoy the simple pleasures of life. They even made it possible for one like me to smile to a Japanese –– and for her to smile back.
(Catch new episodes of The Pacific every Saturday at 9 p.m. at HBO Asia, and encores on Sundays at 8 p.m. and Mondays at 10 p.m. Viewers can also catch up on missing episodes of The Pacific with HBO Signature’s extensive back-to-back encores: every Tuesday to Friday at 8 p.m. Log on to www. hboasia.com for more play times.)
(For more information about Corregidor, visit www.corregidorisland.com)