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| Southeast Asia |
| Embassy grounds riddled with WWII bombs |
| 2009-01-24 |
| EXPLOSIVE experts have removed about 60 World War Two mortar rounds found in the grounds of the US Embassy in Manila by construction workers, officials said today. The embassy was evacuated yesterday afternoon when the ordnance was found by workers digging in the grounds of the mission, said embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson. This morning, experts had carefully removed 60 of the rusted and mud-covered rounds and transported them to a police base. "They got everything that was found there," Ms Thompson said, adding the US embassy grounds facing Manila Bay were used as the main headquarters of Japanese military forces from 1942 to 1945. "It's not surprising to find those old bombs inside the compound, but we appreciate the quick response from Philippine authorities. They quickly and safely removed them." Leopoldo Bataoil, Metro Manila police chief, said the ordnance was potentially lethal. "Those bombs could still kill and create massive destruction," he said. "There are sets of standard operating procedures we follow in properly disposing of these materials. We will examine these and take them to an area north of Manila where these will be properly detonated." Police said reports of unexploded ordnance being found at construction sites in the Philippines capital remained common more than six decades after the end of World War Two. Manila, which was occupied by the Japanese military and then retaken by Allied forces, saw fierce fighting and was heavily bombed during World War Two. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #3 I web-searched (not exhaustively) to find a photo of the flag pole, but to no avail. Did turn up a great web site devoted to the history of Clark Air Base, complete with post-Pinatubo posts. LINK |
| Posted by: mrp 2009-01-24 19:08 |
| #2 Never underestimate the brutality of someone who believes their race is superior. I had the fortune to spend time with some of the survivors of the Japanese rape of the Philippines. A true horror story and of the will of man to survive. The flag pole at the US embassy in Manila is the one that was there during the war. It was never repaired and is riddled with bullet holes. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-01-24 12:12 |
| #1 Manila, which was occupied by the Japanese military and then retaken by Allied forces, saw fierce fighting and was heavily bombed during World War Two. The real story. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-01-24 11:50 |