U.S., PH Honor WWII Heroes on Memorial Day

TAGUIG CITY, Philippines — U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson led a solemn Memorial Day ceremony on Sunday, May 25, at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and honoring over 17,000 fallen service members.

“This year marks a moment of historic significance,” Carlson said, addressing U.S. and Philippine service members, veterans, diplomats, and guests gathered among the white marble graves that stretch across the 152-acre cemetery in Fort Bonifacio.

“Eight decades ago, Americans and Filipinos fought side-by-side across this country… though they prevailed, many never returned home,” she said. “Many rest here, and today, we honor them.”

The Manila American Cemetery holds the largest number of American World War II graves outside the United States, along with 36,000 names inscribed on the Walls of the Missing—many of whom fought and died in the Pacific campaign.

Carlson emphasized the shared sacrifice of U.S. and Philippine forces, who endured hunger, captivity, and brutal combat in Bataan, Leyte, Luzon, and Manila during Japan’s occupation from 1942 to 1945.

Their united resistance, she said, remains the cornerstone of the enduring U.S.-Philippine Alliance.

“Together, they resisted. Together, they liberated. Together, they gave hope by defeating tyranny,” Carlson said.

She shared the story of First Lt. Albert “Jack” Ellison, a 24-year-old paratrooper with the 11th Airborne Division, who was killed in action in February 1945 while leading a rescue mission near Nichols Airfield, now part of the U.S. Embassy’s Seafront Compound in Manila.

“For his bravery, Jack Ellison was posthumously awarded the Silver Star,” Carlson said, reading from a letter by Ellison’s chaplain: “He was extremely cool under fire… a gentleman in every sense of the word… his courage and bravery were beyond compare.”

Carlson used Ellison’s sacrifice as a reminder of the cost of freedom, urging attendees to not only remember the fallen in ceremony, but also in how they live and uphold democratic values.

“Freedom is never free,” she said. “Let us remember them… by upholding the values they died for: liberty, democracy, and peace.”

The Memorial Day ceremony included wreath-laying, a rifle volley, and the playing of Taps, observed by Philippine and American service members.

The U.S.-Philippine Alliance, formalized in the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, continues to be a cornerstone of regional security cooperation and shared democratic values.

As strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific, both nations conduct regular joint military exercises, including this year’s Balikatan and Cope Thunder drills, part of a broader effort to enhance defense readiness amid regional tensions.

The cemetery, maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission, is visited by thousands each year and remains a powerful symbol of wartime sacrifice and reconciliation.