Military Wiki
Military Wiki
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
American Battle Monuments Commission
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
Manila American Cemetery headstones with memorial building behind.
Used for those deceased 1941 - 1945
Established 1948
Location 14°32′28″N 121°03′00″E / 14.541°N 121.050°E / 14.541; 121.050Coordinates: 14°32′28″N 121°03′00″E / 14.541°N 121.050°E / 14.541; 121.050
near Makati City, Philippines
Designed by Gardener A. Dailey
Total burials 17,206
Unknown
burials
3,744
Burials by nation
Burials by war
Statistics source: American Battle Monuments Commission

The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Fort Bonifacio, Metro Manila, Philippines.

The cemetery, 152 acres (62 ha) or 615,000 square metres in area, is located on a prominent plateau, visible at a distance from the east, south and west.[1] With a total of 17,206 graves, it has the largest number of graves of any cemetery for U.S. personnel killed during World War II and holds war dead from the Philippines and other allied nations.[1] Many of the personnel whose remains are interred or represented were killed in New Guinea, or during the Battle of the Philippines (1941-42) or the Allied recapture of the islands.[1] The headstones are made of marble which are aligned in eleven plots forming a generally circular pattern, set among a wide variety of tropical trees and shrubbery.[1]

The Memorial is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. It is the largest site administered by the Commission in the number of graves and of those missing whose names are recorded on the walls of the memorial.

The cemetery is open daily to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except December 25 and January 1.[1]

General layout[]

The entrance to the cemetery is at the far (north) side of the large grassed circle just beyond the military sentinel's post which is at the junction of McKinley Road and Lawton Avenue (formerly Nichols Field Road). Immediately beyond the gate is the plaza with its circular fountain; at the right is the Visitors' Building. Stretching from the plaza to the memorial is the central mall, which is lined with mahogany trees (Swietenia Macrophylla). Circular roads leading eastward and westward through the graves area join the straight roads along the edges of the mall. To the east of, and lower than, the graves area are the service area, deep wells and reservoirs. A purification system provides potable water within the cemetery.

The memorial[]

American Cemetery and Memorial Manila

Graves in the cemetery

Twenty-five large mosaic maps in four rooms recall the actions of the United States Armed Forces in the Pacific, China, India and Burma.[1]

Carved in the floors are the seals of the American states and its territories.[1]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "MANILA AMERICAN CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL". The American Battle Monuments Commission. http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/ml.php. Retrieved 18 February 2013. 

Bibliography[]

External links[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial and the edit history here.