Subic Bay Road Trip

May 27, 2018; It's the annual summer outing in my wife's company and for this year it was in one of the beaches just outside the Subic Bay port.  On our way home, we dropped by SMBA as side trip for the short vacation.  First stop was the Spanish Gate. Built in 1885, this is the time when Subic bay was declared as naval port by the Spaniards.  This was the main entrance of the naval port and was used as a jail during the American occupation.

Just a block away is the Hell Ship memorial.  This memorial was erected to commemorate the inhumane sufferings of the prisoners of war when they were transported via these hell ships to do forced labor.  Thousands of POWs did not survive the journey and those who survived did not make it after the war due to the slave labor.

A few steps away is the Inang Laya Monument where "The hands that freed the nation", the 12 senators in 1991 who bravely ended almost 4 centuries of foreign military presence in our beloved nation by voting "NO" to the extension of the US military treaty.

Another monument which honors the men and women volunteers was erected and called the Children of the Sun Returning.

Before heading home we dropped by San Roque chapel and prayed for guidance for a safe drive home.

It was another historic tour for the kids.