A visit to the American Memorial finally happened yesterday. 

This was built on land donated by the Philippine government to the United States. I learned that America actually has a commission that is in charge of building monuments around the world for their fallen soldiers. This the second largest one, next to Normandy. 

On the walls they have etched the names of all of the fallen soldiers during both world wars. There is a special marker next to the names of soldiers whose bodies have been found. An overwhelming majority of them are still missing in action. 

There is something eerily beautiful about this place, but I feel like a cloud of sadness still hovers over the entire monument. 

Still, I wouldn’t mind being laid to rest in a place like this.