44th for the Rock

With an eye to the technical advances of the military art as well as to the fortunes of war, Corregidor can observe another anniversary this week. Forty-four years ago, on May Day, Commodore George Dewey slipped in past The Rock on a starlit night. A signal light from The Rock flashed the warning of his fleet's approach, but only a gun on El Fraile (now Fort Drum) spat futilely at the Olympia and her following ships. Next morning the Spanish fleet, cornered like huddled rabbits off Cavite, was bashed to bits.

The Japanese fleet cannot sail in that easily. Corregidor's guns still rule Manila Bay after five months of pounding, and no sizable enemy ship has yet slipped past The Rock. But it will be a sad anniversary, nonetheless, with the U.S. taking it instead of handing it out in Manila Bay.

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