STUMBLED UPON A REMNANT OF THE WORLD WAR II IN NORTHERN CEBU! A WEEKEND OF ASTONISHING DISCOVERY.🧐

Have you tried discovering something precious and astonishing by chance? out of the road? Bet you have too! Sharing mine today.😎

Hi, lovely people of Hive! Today's weekend experience that I'm gonna share with you was our escapade full of not-so-ordinary discoveries. Who would have thought that our (unwinding) road trip has a finale of an intriguing and exciting surprise, we stumbled upon the recovered World War II tank in Dagusungan River that is just displayed on the roadside of Medellin!

The discovery happened on a weekend when I and my husband hit the road to Northern Cebu, Medellin. The town is famous for its lovely beaches (you can read my previous blog here Our Spontaneous Travel and Random Stops on the Coast of Medellin, it was only later I know that the town has gained popularity since 2020 because of its newly discovered war tank (tanke de Gierra) of the World War II, THE M5A1 STUART TANK!

_{Look at that big guy sitting under the bright sky!}

New on the roadside

We were driving slowly, enjoying the moment while I also look around every place we passed by. This town has a big part of my heart since this is where I graduated with my college degree. As a student living in this town once, I almost memorized all the town's features. I've witnessed its growth and development from establishments to parks, and even the repainting of some of the buildings, and recognizing what's new on the roadside would never be a challenge!

So imagine how wide my eyes went when we suddenly passed by this old, rusty tank on the roadside!

What is this thing?
How and When did it get here?
This must be special because it is kept with a chain!

Questions were firing like a bullet at the back of my mind one by one, and though I didn't have a precise answer to any of them I know very well that this tank before my eyes is a war tank! ( Thanks to the movies about war I watched.) But hey? where did this come from? I was overreacting at that time (my husband even made fun of me!), but who would not? Since I was a kid, I only heard about the war in our province, its tragic story, and this and that, but never have I seen such proof in front of my eyes!

Dumbfounded and astonished I looked around and carefully examined the old tank!

Look at those metal wheels surrounded by a caterpillar-like belt linked to other wheels. It's amazing how these big wheels worked compared to other vehicles. Sometimes I wondered why tanks run slower than cars. Is it because it's too heavy? Or because of its unique wheels? Mhm.🤔 Maybe the latter.

I was wondering how old the tank is, the rubber belt and some parts of the wheels were consumed by the rust, and the tragic experience maybe tell me it's too old. But the more I looked at it, the more it gets beautiful and interesting.

The back part of the armor tank is already damaged so it's very easy to check what's inside the tank. The hull or the body of the tank is still in great shape, though there are a few parts of the hull that is rusted. The wires are still there and some parts of the steering wheel are still there too. I honestly wonder where is the driver's seat.😁 I was like a kid full of curiosity!

_{The back part of the armor.}

We spent a couple of minutes staring at and keenly observing the armor before we left. When I got home, I searched on the internet about this armored tank on the roadside right away. And this is what I learned.

A recovered World War II tank submerged in Dagusungan River!

This WWII tank was said buried in the mud of the Dagusungan River (under the bridge) for over 75 years. There was an attempt to excavate the tank in 2018 but only a little part of the tank was retrieved. The 2020 retrieval operation was spearheaded by the 53rd Engineering Brigade of the Philippine Army last March 7, 2020, with the cooperation of the Local Government Units. Finally, WWII was unearthed and is identified as the M5A1 Stuart Armor thank. The armies work overnight until daybreak to take advantage of the tide. You can read the full details here.

Stuarts M5A1 were the first American-crewed tanks in World War II to engage the enemy in tank versus tank combat when used in the Philippines in December 1941 against the Japanese. Source

If I have not stumbled upon the historic tank on the road, I wouldn't have read and learned that it is a remnant of World War II.

_{Image Source: Medellin Official Facebook Page, Uploaded last March 2020.}

The bridge and the Dagusungan River

The picture you see below is the place where the WWII tank was excavated. The bridge is under ongoing construction. The local government did its best to replace the old bridge. The WWII Tank is displayed just a few meters from this place.

_{The heavy equipment with a beautiful background.}

_{The view of the beautiful river connected to the open sea. Underneath this bridge was where the tank was excavated.}

Originally the bridge has bright colors, orange, yellow, green, and sky blue. These colors are the signature of the town and are evident in many establishments like schools, markets, parks, and many more! The bridge was once colorful too but now it needs to be changed.

Way back when I was a student, I used to stay at the bridge together with my friends to watch the sunset. After watching the sunset, we then ate at our favorite restaurants serving delicious barbeque in town which is a few steps away from this bridge.

Oops, you might wonder, where is the turret of the armor tank?

The turret of the tank was recovered years ago by the Bogo-Medellin Milling Company Inc (BOMEDCO) and is now displayed at their plaza.Source: Medellin Facebook Page.

_{The entrance of BOMEDCO, where the tank's turret is displayed.}

After our moment of astonishment about the old tank, hubby and I found ourselves in the popular Aisle of Medellin. This aisle is famous to all bike riders in the North.

Meanwhile, I set aside my questions about the tank and enjoy our rides.

What a great weekend I had, A weekend full of relaxation, adventure, and surprises. How about you?