MANILA: Lone surviving member of the late President John F. Kennedy’s immediate family and former US Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy in 1st Philippines visit
Former US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy
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THE lone surviving member of the late President John F. Kennedy’s immediate family visited the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig on Tuesday to honor American and Filipino World War II heroes.
Former US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy stopped by the chapel and walked through the “Wall of Missing,” where the names of American and Filipino heroes who lost their lives and those who went missing in action during the war are engraved.
“This is my first trip to the Philippines and I very much wanted to visit this country, which has played such an important role in American history and so many wonderful memories of all the Filipinos who served with my father in the White House,” Caroline said.
“I know that there are some crew members memorialized here so I wanted to come and pay my respects. I am very excited to be here and I look forward to a great couple of days.”
Caroline’s father served as navy lieutenant and gunboat pilot during the war and was honored for his heroic rescue of his shipmates when their boat was rammed by a Japanese destroyer near the Solomon Islands.
Kennedy paused to look at some notable names etched on the wall, including that of Torpedoman’s Mate 2C Andrew Kirksey who served with Kennedy and died during the ramming.
“It is an honor to be here. We all owe so much,” she wrote on the guest book at the Chapel.
She cited the Philippines’ role in US history and remembered the Filipinos who served at the White House during her father’s stint.
The daughter of the late US president is also set to attend a student exchange poetry program organized by a US non-government organization that she supports.
She is meeting the Aquino sisters for tea.
COURTESY:
The Manila Standard
February 07, 2018 at 12:01 am
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Manila American Cemetery
| Manila American Cemetery and Memorial | |
|---|---|
| American Battle Monuments Commission | |
Manila American Cemetery headstones with memorial building behind.
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| Used for those deceased 1941–1945 | |
| Established | 1948 |
| Location | 14.541°N 121.050°ECoordinates: 14.541°N 121.050°E near Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines |
| Designed by | Gardener A. Dailey |
| Total burials | 17,206 |
| Unknown burials | 3,744 |
| Burials by nation | |
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| Burials by war | |
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| Statistics source: American Battle Monuments Commission | |
The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Metro Manila, within the boundaries of the former Fort William McKinley. It can be reached most easily from the city via Epifano de los Santos Ave. (EDSA) to McKinley Road, then to McKinley Parkway inside the Bonifacio Global City. The Nichols Field Road is the easiest access from Manila International Airport to the cemetery.[1]
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.
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]
Otherwise, this cemetery has only one Commonwealth War Dead burial in World War I.[2]
COURTESY:
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