We lived in The Philippines from 1979-1982. I joined the Boy Scouts in ’82 and the first big trip I went on was a reenactment of the Bataan Death March. The real march occured in 1942 when Japanese soldiers marched 10,000 American and Philippino prisoners of war to their deaths in one of the uglier events of the war.
We spent most of spring break with American scouts from all over the Far East Council as well as scouts from The Philippines and other Asian nations. We camped on the beach each night and each morning we were bused to where we had left off the previous day. The picture above is of a carabao, a kind of Philippine water buffalo, along with a few of the guys from the troop taking a break.
We saw a lot of the Phillipine countryside and one day walked through a village where heavily armed men – I’m talking ammo belts around their shoulders like Mexican revolutionaries – stood cradling their machine guns and smoking cigarettes while we hiked past. Our scoutmaster told us to just keep walking and “don’t stare.”
It was one of those experiences that has stayed with me, that made history come alive and through sore feet and tired legs, we all got a small taste of what those brave soldiers endured during World War II.
Update: I have now correctly spelled carabao. Thanks to Heather for reminding me of the difference in spelling between caribou and carabao. It would be odd to actually see caribou in The Philippines. But who knows, there is at least one tropical island that has polar bears.
James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.
As soon as I loaded your blog, I was excited to see another picture of your life in the Philippines. I did want to point out that you meant carabao, since caribou are reindeer-like creatures. Regardless, it brought back memories of the carabao and her calf that lived behind our house when we were in a different part of the same country for ’81-’84. It’s very interesting how similar and different our experiences were, though. And, I’ll have to let you know the next time I make lumpia. I do make tasty lumpia.
cool
Mmmmm, lumpia. And thanks for the correction. I’ve now fixed the spelling :).
Well, I finally made lumpia. There’s enough left for two more meals — want some?
Sounds tempting, but I think I need to pass right now. Thanks.
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