We sailed up the East side of the Philippine Islands on our way to Da Nang with our turning point at the top of Luzon.  I recognized the names of many of the Islands as we went by from hearing exPOWs from WWII talk about their experiences as POWs of the Japanese.  My dad was a POW of the Japanese for 3 1/2 years so this part of the trip was significant to me as I compared the weather we sailed through with the stories I had heard about the Philippines and the “Hellships” voyages to Japan! Continue reading →