Caballo Island/ Fort Hughes

Philippines / Central Luzon / Alas-asin /
 island, military

Brgy. 8 (Manuel S. Rojas), Cavite City

Fort Hughes, part of US Army's harbor defense of Manila Bay.

Established 31 January 1913. Designated in honor of Brig. Gen. Royal T. Frank, US Army, who served with distinction during the Civil War and the Spanish-American War.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   14°22'2"N   120°37'5"E

Comments

  • I had the rare and distinct pleasure of spending a few days vacation on this island during the mid 80s thanks to a classmate whose father was an Admiral in the Philippine Navy. Unlike the highly commercialized tourist destination of Corregidor, Caballo Island's World War 2 structures were left largely intact and pretty much the way they were since the end of the Second World War. Aside from the derelict and rusting Mortar Batteries and Disappearing Rifle there is also the rusted remains of a Sherman Tank along the beach. Probably knocked out by mines or an anti-tank gun when the Americans were retaking the island in 1945.
  • While a Seabee, I (and 4 other Seabee surveyors)spent 5 days on the island in the fall of 1958 doing a topographical survey. Classified Secret at the time. The magazines and corridors of the tunnels were chock full of 14" Naval Gun ammunition, many of which had split and the RDX explosive was mushrooming out on the tunnel and magazine floors. Rusted and rotting small arms, uniforms and bones were left as they fell when the island was recaptured. I had a lot of pictures (sneaked) but the few remaining are buried somewhere in my granddaughter's archives.
This article was last modified 13 years ago