US vets seek repair of abandoned Philippine cemetery

The Clark Veterans Cemetery, which was blanketed by ashfall from the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, at the sprawling Clark Economic Zone, in Dau, Pampanga. American war veterans in the Philippines are urging the US Congress to pass a bill that would require Washington to repair and maintain the cemetery. AP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—American war veterans in the Philippines are urging the US Congress to pass a bill that would require Washington to repair and maintain a cemetery north of Manila where the graves of thousands of American servicemen and dependents have been covered in ash since a gigantic 1991 volcanic eruption.

The head of an American veterans’ group, Retired Army 1st Sergeant John Gilbert, said Wednesday that the neglect of Clark Veterans Cemetery north of Manila is a disgrace to the memory of more than 8,000 US servicemen and their dependents who are buried there.

The cemetery has been covered in ash and weeds since the eruption of Mount Pinatubo forced the US Air Force to abandon Clark Air Force Base. US veterans have struggled to maintain the cemetery through donations.