American cemetery Manila The Philippine Islands

Posted on by Sandy Adams in cemetery, International, Military

I was five years old the first time I stepped into a military cemetery.

We were in the Philippine Islands, Dec 1973—me, my mom, my aunt, and my cousin—on a two-week trip with the Christian Children’s Fund. My mom and aunt were sponsoring two teenage girls, and we were there to spend some time with them.

The missionaries were taking us all over the islands and the American Cemetery in Manila was one of the places we wanted to visit.

I still remember how it felt walking into the cemetery.

Standing there—this little girl—surrounded by thousands of white crosses…

Every direction I looked, they lined up perfectly.
Row after row.
It was beautiful. And honestly, overwhelming.

We had a relative buried there whose name we found on the wall. One name among over 17,000.
Most died during the Battle of the Philippines or in the fight to take back the islands during WWII.

I didn’t know the history yet—but I knew it was sacred ground. That moment never left me or the memory of what I saw that day.

The weight of sacrifice I didn’t understand then—but I felt something.

Grateful doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Today, that moment feels even louder. Memorial Day isn’t about sales or long weekends.
It’s about remembering.


The kind of remembering that slows you down. That reminds you sacrifice isn’t just a word—it’s someone’s son, daughter, dad, sister, brother, uncle, best friend.

To those who gave everything: we see you.
We remember you. We honor you.

And to their families: thank you will never be enough.

The cemetery, 152 acres or 620,000 square meters in area, is located on a prominent plateau, visible at a distance from the east, south and west.

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.

Many of the personnel whose remains are interred or represented were killed in New Guinea, or during the 1941–42 Battle of the Philippines or the Allied recapture of the islands. [citation]