Manila American Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing In addition to the 17,201 graves at the cemetery, are engraved the names of 36,285 missing service members. A tiny percentage have been found, and Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. While reading the names, one can only attempt to imagine the circumstance of their disappearances. Some likely were just burned or blown up and their earthly bodies disappeared. Others may have crashed or bailed out of airplanes far out at sea, or deep in the mountainous jungles of New Guinea. Some may have been POWs never returned, and a few may have been lost in jungles or deserts, or perhaps even a small number of men who went AWOL and then deserted. Others were lost in submarines -- dozens of submarines sank, or were sunk by enemy action, with specific whereabouts unknown. Lost World War II submarines still are being found. Each loss carries its own story, many of which will be completely mysterious. Maybe they died the day they were lost, or months or even years later. In other cases, it was known that they disappeared during a specific event, such as a ship sinking. Every name carries its own story. May they rest in peace, not knowing that every day someone reads their names and wonders where they are. abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/pacific/manila-american-cemetery#.VKhNe8ZVpho
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 20:52:44 +0000
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