Manila-American Cemetery and Memorial | Serenity Behind The City

It's More Fun With Juan | Manila-American Cemetery and Memorial, Taguig City

Despite of the booming, fast-rising and busy Bonifacio Global City now, I found peace and a serene place in Taguig.

Manila-American Cemetery and Memorial is owned and maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission of the USA.

The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines occupies 152 acres on a prominent plateau, visible at a distance from the east, south and west.

It contains the largest number of graves of our military dead of World War II, a total of 17,201, most of whom lost their lives in operations in New Guinea and the Philippines.

The headstones are aligned in 11 plots forming a generally circular pattern, set among masses of a wide variety of tropical trees and shrubbery.

The chapel, a white masonry building enriched with sculpture and mosaic, stands near the center of the cemetery.

The exterior of the chapel.

Then, inside the chapel is this tall mosaic of Virgin Mary.

In front of it on a wide terrace are two large hemicycles.

Spotted: an airplane landing to the nearby main airport of Manila.

Twenty-five mosaic maps recall the achievements of the American armed forces in the Pacific, China, India and Burma.

Me, photo-op.

On rectangular Trani limestone piers within the hemicycles, are inscribed the Tablets of the Missing containing 36,285 names.

My gf trying to play hide-and-seek.

Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.

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

From the memorial and other points within the cemetery there are impressive views over the lowlands to Laguna de Bay and towards the distant mountains.

However, due to uprising economy of Taguig City, buildings and skyscrapers are already standing and surrounding the place.

The view of structures in Bonifacio Global City.

So it was really a perfect serene experience that day.

All photos taken via 8mp rear camera of my mobile phone, Samsung Galaxy Grand. I guess, the afternoon sunlight was perfect to take photos.

HOW TO GO THERE
Manila-American Cemetery and Memorial is located at the heart of Fort Bonifacio, a base camp to our armies, navies and policemen. However, the main gate is only accessible via small elliptical road in South BGC (Bonifacio Global City connecting the three short roads naming Old Lawton Ave., Bonifacio Ave, and 21st Drive.

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RECOMMENDED
The cemetery is open daily to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except December 25 and January 1. It is open on host country holidays. When the cemetery is open to the public, a staff member is on duty in the visitor building to answer questions and escort relatives to grave and memorial sites.