Photos from out latest tour

First of all, we send our prayers and deepest sympathy to everyone affected by the terrorist attacks in America.  Such events always serve to remind us of the preciousness of loved ones.  We had just completed our 11-day tour hosted jointly by Valor Tours and the World War II Museum in New Orleans when we heard the news about Boston. 

Because we have so many pictures from the tour, we decided to try something different for this newsletter.  Rather than describing the trip in text, we’ve used captions below each photograph to tell the stories.

You will see several photos featuring Jeanne Rubin, a navy nurse in the Pacific during World War II, along with Elinor Kessel, who served as a navy nurse shortly after the war.  Jeanne turned 95 a couple of days after the tour.  You will also see Fay Hendricks, a “liberator” who was in northern Luzon and Manila while the war was still ongoing in 1945.  Also, Michael Coon, a Native American, was here to honor his father Philip, a Bataan Death March survivor, who is no longer able to travel this far, but is still active in “spreading the word.”  Michael’s mission also included honoring each member of their tribal nation who served here in the Philippines. We look forward to viewing their upcoming documentary which will tell the stories of these men and Michael’s trip.

The reason that we did not get these photos out sooner is that we were busy with visitors who arrived one day after our return to Corregidor.  Author John Lukacs was here with a crew to film scenes for the documentary to go along with his book, “Escape from Davao.”  And Peter Parsons was here with his team for photos and to record Steve narrating pieces to be used in their upcoming documentary tentatively titled, “The Road Back.”  It will include many video clips of WW II veterans, including three men close to us; Steve’s father Walter, and our friends Everett Reamer and Dick Adams.

Note: Tour photos with titles including the letters “OG” were taken by our accompanying photographer, Ojie Santos.  Those of you who have traveled with us on previous Valor Tours will remember him well, and can appreciate the fun he had posing with the local Aeta group outside the Clark Museum.  He said it’s pretty rare for him to feel tall.

Steve and Marcia on the Rock