We enjoyed the Memorial Day weekend in Manila. The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Fort Bonifacio, a subsection of Metro Manila. There were a couple of special events held there for Memorial Day. This remembrance is produced by the Embassy of the United States and the American Association of the Philippines.
The cemetery site, 152 acres of gently rising ground contains the largest number of graves for U.S. military dead of Word War II. The grave area is divided into 11 curved plots forming concentric bands around the high ground where the memorial stands. There are more than 17,000 graves. Going out in a semicircle from the memorial building there are 25 tall rectangular piers. On these huge slabs of marble are inscribed the names of 36,282 soldiers (someone told us) who are missing and who rest in unknown graves. Seventeen thousand graves and 36,000 missing.
On Saturday, we got up early and drove down there — about 10 kilometers. We had volunteered to help place flags at the cross of each grave. There is a system worked out. One person uses a jig that measures the exact position of the flags (an American flag and a Philippines flag at each grave), and when you step on it, it punches two holes in the ground. Another person (sometimes two others) place the flag stick into the holes. Then on to the next. We didn’t count the number we did, but it was easily 300 to 400.
Sister Roundy is running the machinery. (The camera case was in the way, so she soon turned the jigging over to Elder Roundy.) Sister Alexander is going to put the flags in the holes that the jig punches.
This is Sister Roundy using the hole-punching jig, Sister Alexander (in red) and Sister Dayes are waiting to plant the flags. Sister Alexander is the medical adviser's wife and Sister Dayes is the nurse at the Missionary Training Center.
Someone earlier had placed two flags on the top of the cross, so the system was easy and efficient. Some 150 acres of flag draped crosses. As he went along punching the holes, Elder Roundy would read aloud the name of each soldier and where he was from. We saw some from all over the United States, however, in our section we did not see a grave for anyone from Nevada.
This was an enjoyable experience. Probably 12 senior missionary couples came (so this picture is not of all who were there.) And there were many others — military men, other volunteers, even a troop of Boy Scouts of America (for American boys living in the Philippines). Here you see the flags in front of the crosses.
