The Forgotten US Veterans of Clark

Now a thriving economic area at the edge of the Philippines’ booming Angeles City, there are few visual reminders that Clark Freeport is deeply steeped in American military history.

The truth is that Clark, and indeed much of Angeles City itself owe their very existence to close on a century of American military patronage. For more than 90 years, U.S. servicemen lived and worked in the area, first at the U.S. military base of Fort Stotsenberg, then at the later Clark Field, and after WWII and the station’s amalgamation, U.S. Clark Air Base. Throughout the years, servicemen from the military stations lived in the local area, bought property, started families - and many of those who died while in service or after retiring to the local community were buried at the base cemeteries.

Nowadays, few of the visitors that flock to Clark for its ever expanding international airport, host of duty free shops or its many high-end resorts and golf courses give a thought to the areas past. They know little, if anything, about the hundreds of thousands of US servicemen who served at Stotsenberg and Clark; the thousands that fought and died in the area during WWII, or the thousands more that deployed from Clark to serve in Korea during the 1950s, or the dense jungles of Vietnam and South-East Asia during the 1960s and 1970s. Few visitors that is, apart from the many retired service veterans that have settled in and around the Philippines. They remember how things were at Clark Air Base; the many servicemen who lived their lives at the base, and those veterans that now lie buried and forgotten at Clark by the seemingly cash-strapped U.S. Military.

Clark holds poignant memories for the many local-based U.S. (and Filipino Scout and Australian) veterans that either served at or deployed from Clark Air Base ‘back in the day.’ Their memories are made more poignant during return visits to the Clark Veteran Cemetery set back into the roadside just inside the new Clark Freeport gate.

Clark Veterans Cemetery

Following the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, Clark Veterans Cemetery was all but forgotten. At that time, the ash and lahar strewn Clark Air Base was quickly abandoned by the U.S. Air Force and handed over to the cash-strapped Filipino government. On leaving, the U.S. military appeared to wash their hands of the cemetery - and the many U.S. veterans buried there.

Fronted by the 100 km marker for the infamous WWII Bataan death march, commemorating the thousands of American and Filipino servicemen who passed close to the cemetery on the way to imprisonment, and for many, death at the infamous Japanese POW camp placed at Camp O’Donnell, to many veterans the cemetery’s virtual abandonment by the U.S. military shows a singular lack of respect. Not only does the graveyard site and Clark commemorate so much American military history, but for over 100-years American veterans have, and still are being buried within this hallowed ground. This sad state of affairs has many veterans asking why such an important U.S. military graveyard is still being ignored by the U.S. government a full 20 years after the carnage of Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption forced Clark Air Base to be abandoned.

Slow Rise from Beneath the Ash

Neglected and buried under ash after Clark Air Base abandonment, the all but forgotten veteran’s graves lay forlorn and unattended by both the U.S. military and Philippine government. This sad state continued until 1994 when, after three years of neglect, the aging local U.S. veterans of Angeles City VFW Post 2485 decided they could no longer accept the situation.

Led by VFW member Ned Tighe, these local U.S. veterans began doing what they could to cut down the local ‘elephant’ grass and remove at least the top few inches of lahar - so that the grave markers of their old friends and comrades-in-arms could be seen. But, working without any support or funding from the U.S. military or Philippine government, and with the lahar ash hard-set and weighing as much as concrete, their efforts, (amounting to 18 full truck loads of lahar ash!) could only scratch the surface around the 8,500 individual grave markers and monuments of Clark Veterans Cemetery.

Following many years of sterling volunteer work by the veterans at VFW 2485, their efforts, both in physical labor and fund raising, have meant that, from a distance at least, Clark Veterans Cemetery now looks clean and presentable.

Unfortunately, much more work is still required. Closer inspection of the cemetery reveals erosion and cracking of many of the headstones; a soft, weedy and spongy surface from vegetation growth on top of the volcanic ash, and a rolling and undulating ground surface created when the lahar ash was removed to show the horizontal grave markers. Unfortunately, mud and debris accumulates on the markers after every one of the areas many heavy typhoon rainstorms.

Even though much work is still needed to perform repairs and generally keep Clark Veterans Cemetery in good repair, the hard pressed volunteer, ‘Grave Diggers’ ensure that this U.S. veteran’s cemetery remains operational.

Every year, the Angeles City VFW Post provides full military honors to an average of 40 burials conducted for American Veterans (and Filipino Scouts with documented U.S. military service). These include many WW II and Vietnam era warriors and, in keeping with the U.S. military’s current tasks, a young soldier tragically killed by an IED while serving in Iraq.

Should retired veterans have to dig graves for their old comrades?

Clark Veterans Cemetery is currently administered and managed solely by the Angeles City VFW Post 2485 volunteers, most of whom are part of the Clark Veterans Cemetery Restoration Association (CVCRA). Although the local U.S. veterans are proud to honor other veterans, and the CVCRA is adamant that, “No Vet be Forgotten,” as the Clark Veterans Cemetery receives no U.S. or Philippine government funding, these volunteers must not only perform full military honors at burials, but also constantly scrabble to find sufficient funds to keep the cemetery open and in good repair. Their constant and ongoing efforts permit the hiring of a full time work force of five Filipino laborers and provision of landscaping supplies and equipment - all through fundraising and donations. Costs currently run around $2,000 a month – money that could otherwise be utilized to directly help the VFW post veterans and dependants themselves.

What Can You Do

If you would like to do something to honor the final resting place for some 2030 veterans from the USA, USN, USMC, USCG, USAF, Philippine Scouts (PS) and thousands of veteran  dependents and civilian employees, you can become a member of the ‘Grave Diggers’ association.

By becoming a member of Grave Diggers, you honor all of the veterans interred in the Clark Veterans Cemetery. All contributions are used to directly defray the operating cost associated with the care and administration of the cemetery by members of VFW Post 2485. To find out more about becoming a Grave Digger, please visit VFW Post 2485 Grave Diggers.

If you are an American Citizen, you can also help by e-mailing, calling or writing to your elected officials and asking for their support in correcting an oversight by passing legislation and supporting the transition of the Clark Veterans Cemetery, Pampanga, Philippines from voluntary administration by the local VFW Post 2485, to its proper management and administration by an Agency of the U.S. Government. You can also visit www.cvcra.org and sign in as a champion to help the cause.

If you wish to make a direct contribution, please do so by sending a check made out to "VFW Post 2485, Cemetery Maintenance Fund” and sent to: VFW Post 2485, PSC 517, Box RCV, FPO AP 96517-1000.

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