US Ignores Vet Graves in Philippines

[Feuer Frei!]

Quiete sad really:



CLARK, Philippines -- Walking along the rows of tombstones here offers a glimpse of the wars America has fought and the men and women who waged them. But most of the grave markers have been half-buried for 20 years, and there is little hope that the volcanic ash obscuring names, dates and epitaphs will be cleared any time soon.
Clark Veterans Cemetery was consigned to oblivion in 1991, when Mount Pinatubo's gigantic eruption forced the U.S. to abandon the sprawling air base surrounding it. Retired U.S. soldiers, Marines and sailors volunteer to keep watch, relying on donations to try to maintain the grounds, but they lament that they're helplessly short on funds to fix things, and that Washington is unwilling to help.
"It's the veterans' cemetery that America forgot," Vietnam War veteran and ex-Navy officer Robert Chesko said.
As America marks Independence Day, the U.S. veterans who collect funds to care for the cemetery renewed their calls for Washington to fund and take charge of the work.
Workers at the cemetery north of Manila recently dug to fully expose a gravestone for an Army sergeant who died in World War II in the Philippines. They discovered his wife's name engraved under his and a long-hidden tribute: "Daughter, sister, wife and mother of veterans."
It's impossible to say what else remains hidden at the 17-acre (seven-hectare) cemetery. It holds the remains of 8,600 people, including 2,200 American veterans and nearly 700 allied Philippine Scouts who saw battle in conflicts from the early 1900s to the resistance against brutal Japanese occupation troops in WWII.
Clark's dead also include military dependents, civilians who worked for the U.S. wartime government and at least 2,139 mostly unidentified soldiers whose marble tombstones are labeled "Unknown."


"People celebrate on the Fourth of July but they forgot the 8,600 who helped make that freedom happen," said former Navy Capt. Dennis Wright, who saw action in Vietnam and is now a business executive.
"We're trying to get the U.S. government to assume responsibility for maintaining the cemetery so we can get it up to standards ... not on nickels and dimes and donations and gifts," said retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Larry Heilhecker, who served as cemetery caretaker for five years until last month.
Clark was a U.S. base for nearly a century and was once the largest American Air Force installation off the U.S. mainland. It served as a key staging area for U.S. forces during the Korean and Vietnam wars.
The Clark cemetery, which can accommodate at least 12,000 remains, was developed between 1947 and 1950, when it was used to collect the remains and tombstones from four U.S. military cemeteries as American officials sorted out their dead from WWII and previous wars.


The new cemetery caretaker, John Gilbert, said the veterans were not trying to pass the responsibility.
"We're proud to do it, don't get me wrong, but we do not have the resources to do it," said Gilbert. They would have no choice if Washington ignores their pleas, he said.
"We are not ready to let this cemetery be taken back by the jungle," he said. "If we have to do it ourselves, we will do it."
"We don't leave our brothers behind."





SOURCE

Not a great story for the 4th.
A sad example of where interdepartmental arguements can end up.

[FIREWALL]

Again. Another disgraceful act and insult by my Goverment to our Vets.

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by Tribesman

Not a great story for the 4th.
A sad example of where interdepartmental arguements can end up.

I have to also make things clear here, in no way did i post the article to disrespect anyone, or to incite a feeling of bad taste, being the 4th etc.
I'm sure you aren't directly saying this however i thought i'd get the message out.

I'm sure you aren't directly saying this however i thought i'd get the message out.

I only said what I said.

[papa_smurf]

Sounds like you need an equivalent of our Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

[Jimbuna]

I'm wondering if the UK has any similar situations abroad

[Platapus]

It sounds like this is more a problem with the government of the Philippines than the US government.

Prior to 1991, the USAF had responsibility for maintaining the Clark cemetery. When the USAF left Clark, a memorandum of agreement was signed between the US government and the government of the Philippines stating that the government of the Philippines would be responsible for the upkeep of this cemetery as the cemetery rests on land owned by the Philippine government.

The Philippines have not maintained the cemetery and even after contracting with the Clark Development Corporation, the CDC has not maintained it. Recently the VFW has volunteered to maintain this cemetery, which is a laudable act, but does not detract that this is a failure of the Philippine government not ours.

The question is not should the US government maintain this cemetery, but can the US government maintain it as it does not belong to us. It is not our land.

The CDC and the Philippines have profited from the Clark Freeport Zone. Perhaps it is time for the Philippines to uphold their agreements in maintaining this cemetery.

[Jimbuna]

If what you have posted is correct (and I have no reason to doubt it is) then the Philippene government should be upholding their part of the agreement.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

If what you have posted is correct (and I have no reason to doubt it is)

Always doubt what anyone posts on the Internets Tubes.

I have been unsuccessful in locating an online citation for this MOA and that bugs me.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Platapus

Always doubt what anyone posts on the Internets Tubes.

I have been unsuccessful in locating an online citation for this MOA and that bugs me.

No problem matey....it is plausible to say the least.

[FIREWALL]

Still, The US Government stays MUM about it instead of, assuring the Vets and American public they will resolve it.

[Falkirion]

As an Aussie looking from the outside in.

I doubt the US govt will do jack about it for many years. The focus is elsewhere on issues that congress and govt consider more important than a vets cemetary.

And the Phillipine govt aren't innocent in all this either, they signed the deal. They should uphold it. Though given how corrupt the area is, I dont think you'll see em move on it anytime soon.

The soldiers buried there from all the branches of the services that've served in the wars deserve our respect. Without their sacrifice the would be a very different place.

Sorry if I've said anything that offends above, its not my intent. You'll hear nothing but praise from me for the US armed forces, and the services you render to the world at large. Despite the condemnation by other countries.

[Anthony W.]

Sickening.

If I had the ability, I'd go over there and do it.