Tags: Historical Places, Hotels and Resorts, Museums
By Anna Valmero
TACLOBAN CITY, LEYTE— On your next visit to Tacloban city, make it a point to stay or drop by an ancestral house-turned-hotel to learn tales about World War II, while viewing old memorabilia from the era, including toy figures of ships and fighter planes used 60 years ago.
Hotel Alejandro is one of a handful pre-war era houses in Leyte. It was built by original owners Dr. Alejandro and Teresa Montejo in 1931. Later, their heirs renovated the house into a hotel and named it after Don Alejandro.
Don Alejandro was former director of the Tacloban Puericulture Center and Maternity Hospital, the local Rotary Club and the Knights of Columbus.
Even before the early days of WWII, the Montejo residence was already a popular venue for luncheons and dinner parties attended by military officers of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), according to historical document about the house.
Col. Juan Causing and his family were regular house guests of the Montejos in the 1940s. Later on, he brought along other USAFFE officers such as Capt. Sergio Nuque, a certain Capt. San Agustin and a medical army officer from Rizal province, Dr. Lara, as daily guests during meals at the house.
When the war broke out in 1942 during the Japanese invasion, the house served as quarters to displaced families from nearby provinces.
The surrender of USAFFE forces in May 1942 ushered the Japanese occupation in the area. The Montejos took care of displaced families, including Mrs. Enriquetta Haynes and her five children as Schools Superintendent Albert Haynes was interned in a Japanese concentration camp. Amador and Estela Daguio, a well-known writer, and Philippine Air Force Col. Ramon Zosa and his family also lived here throughout the Japanese regime.
In early 1943, the Japanese Imperial Army occupied the entire second floor and relegated the owners to two rooms in the first floor. When the Imperial Army moved out about three months later, two Japanese Nippongo teachers, known by the names Suzuki and Hayasi occupied a room in the house. They bid the family goodbye in October 1944 at about the time the US Army’s first Cavalry (Calvray) Division were ready to storm White Beach, one of Leyte’s landing beaches.
The two Japanese civilians fled with the Imperial Army to a nearby hill north of Tacloban where all of them are believed to have perished.
The early days of liberation is October 1944 saw well known American war correspondents billeted in the house, namely Royal Arch Gunnison and Gordon Walker of Colliers magazine, George Thomas Folster and Pat Flaherty of NBC, Henry Keys of BBC, William Dunn and Arthur Feldman of CBS.
When the liberation drive shifted to Luzon, the correspondents transferred their war coverage to the north. Up until today, the rooms where they stayed contain old memorabilia such as CDs and old editions of the “Samar-Leyte Free Philippines” whom they have left at the ancestral home, according to the caretaker.
Meanwhile, evacuees from the non-liberation areas flocked to Tacloban. With the town faced by a housing shortage, many Tacloban homes have opened their doors to evacuees. The Montejo house became home to Simplicio Lazares and his family from Negros Occidental, the Reyes and Villacastin families of Cebu, the Roskas of Bantayan and others.
It was one family per room affair and the Montejos transformed their garage into their own living quarters. With no electricity and water, the occupants managed to live through and survive unscathed.
Little did they know that in context, this opened a path towards a hotel business that Hotel Alejandro is famous for today.
Department of Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo, who grew up in the ancestral home, said he learned more about WWII events through the 450 photos found on the house than what can be found on school history books. Thus, he makes it a point to visit the house and his relatives whenever he travels back to his hometown.
As a first-timer to the hotel, I found a weaving story of WWII in black-and-white photos and noted the stories of faceless soldiers and casualties often left behind in history books. The photos were from the collection of Oscar Montilla, who donated them for exhibit at Hotel Alejandro.
One photo was of a wounded infantry man being carried across a stream to an evacuation hospital and a GI who views a landing area which was plastered by fierce bombardment. The photos also pay tribute to Gen. Douglas MacArthur, showing his signature fashion of RayBan glasses, pipe and military cap.
There were also stories of innovation such as a photo of a purification unit set up to assure troops of safe water in Leyte. Hundreds of water containers belonging to numerous units can be seen in foreground.
More than learning the weapons and fighter jets used in WWII, the most important take-away from the exhibit is the enduring lesson of how a Filipino held a helping hand and showed hospitality to those who need help in those challenging times. It reminds present generations how we are lucky to cherish the freedom we have and put it to good use.
Get more information about Hotel Alejandro
Related stories:
The story behind the famous sunken cemetery in Camiguin
Zipping through history in Corregidor
Revisiting the Aguinaldo Shrine in Cavite
Ancestral homes in Carcar preserve local Cebuano culture
A doll-inspired wonderland in Aklan
Attractions Beaches and Water Activities Churches and place of worship Churches and Places of Worship Environment Festivals and Fiestas Historical Places Hotels and Resorts Indigenous Culture Malls Museums Natural Wonders Parks and Recreations Travel Concerns and Advisories Travel Tales and Tips Vacation Zoos and Animal Sanctuaries
WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck and Luke Morton requires Flash Player 9 or better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
