Pacific war cemeteries

[Peter H]

Feel free to add.

To start things off:

US National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/nmcp.asp

Eventually, over 13,000 soldiers and sailors who died during World War II would be laid to rest in the Punchbowl.

[Dan W.]

Punchbowl is perched high atop an extinct volcano, literally in a "bowl", shortly before the peak of this volcano, which after I got on the wrong bus drove to the very top of.

It has a number of Medal of Honor winners and is meticulously maintained, making it a beautiful place to visit as well as being surrounded by so many veterans and memorials.

There are also the campaign' stops and illustrations carved into granite of WWII and it's advance towards Japan.











Honolulu from atop Punchbowl.











Flagpole at entrance

[Peter H]

Great photos Dan.

Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore

http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-con ... kranji.htm

There are now 4,458 Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War buried or commemorated at KRANJI WAR CEMETERY. More than 850 of the burials are unidentified.

Lae War Cemetery

http://www.pngbd.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5925

The cemetery contains 2,818 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 444 of them unidentified.

[Peter H]

Some old notes I found.I cannot trace back the web sources.

Bomana(Port Moresby)

"Those who died fighting in Papua and Bougainville are buried in the Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery. Among the 3,280 burials are the remains of 700 unidentified servicemen including those of 438 British Royal Artillerymen, prisoners of the Japanese from Singapore who died in captivity in the Solomon Islands."


Bita Paka(Rabaul)

"Contains 1,139 burials, including 500 unknown.

An avenue of bronze panelled stone pylons forms the Rabaul Memorial to the Missing with 1,1224 names of those who died in New Britain and New Ireland,missing and who have no known grave. This includes 1,216 Australians.

A large number of Indian prisoners of war from Malaya and Hong Kong were liberated from the Japanese by the Australian Army during the 1945 campaign in New Britain, New Ireland, and Bougainville. A total of 619 casualties of the old Indian Army are buried at Bita Paka."


Labuan(North Borneo)

"The war cemetery, about three kilometres from Victoria, is on high ground overlooking the harbour. It is the only war cemetery in North Borneo and contains 2,904 burials including those relocated from Sandakan and about 500 from the prisoner of war camp in Kuching.

A large number of the graves are 'unidentified'. This is due, in large part, to the actions of Colonel Suga, the Japanese Commandant at Kuching, who destroyed all records of the prisoner of war camps before the liberating Australian forces could reach his headquarters.

The Labuan Memorial stands immediately inside the main entrance gate; it commemorates 2,327 officers and men of the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the local forces of North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei who died while prisoners of war in Borneo and the Philippines from 1942 to 1945, and in operations for the recapture of Borneo, and who have no known grave."


Ambon

"The war cemetery lies on rising ground five kilometres north-east of Ambon on the main road to Galala overlooking Ambon Bay. It was constructed on the site of a former camp for Australian, British, and Dutch prisoners of war, some of whom had been transferred from Java in 1943, and many of those buried there died in captivity. Other burials were of Australian soldiers who died during the Japanese invasion of Ambon and Timor.

Soon after the war the remains of prisoners of war from Haruku and other camps on the island were removed to Ambon. At the request of the Indonesian Government, in 1961 the remains from 503 graves in Macassar War Cemetery in the Celebes were also relocated to this cemetery.

Approach to the cemetery is by a centrally located short flight of steps. Of the 2,137 graves in the cemetery, more than half are Australian. The Ambon Memorial, in the form of a shelter, stands on the first of several terraces.

It commemorates 460 Australian soldiers and airmen who died in the region of Celebes and the Molucca Islands and who have no known grave. The Cross of Sacrifice stands on the highest terrace in a wide expanse of lawn; the terrace below it contains most of the burials from Macassar."


Jakarta

"The Jakarta War Cemetery contains the graves of many who died in the defence of Java and Sumatra during the swift Japanese advance in 1942, and of many others who perished afterwards as prisoners of war.

Among the dead are sailors who fought in the Battle of the Java Sea and soldiers of Blackforce (an Allied striking force, commanded by an Australian officer, Brigadier A. S. Blackburn VC, who delayed the enemy for four days, enabling the garrison at Batavia to be withdrawn).

The cemetery, located in the suburb of Menteng Poeloe, 11 kilometres from Jakarta, contains 1,181 burials, of which 96 are Australian. The graves are marked by bronze plaques set on concrete pedestals. A number of Australian graves lie together in Plot 6.

At the entrance building is a memorial to 130 officers and men who are believed to have been the victims of mass executions in early 1942.

Commemorative bronze panels on the inside walls record the names of 58 servicemen, including five Australians. The remaining 72 are commemorated anonymously."


Yokohama(Japan)

"Yokohama War Cemetery is situated about 5 kilometers west of central Yokohama and about 30 kilometers from the centre of Tokyo. The Australian War Graves group constructed the cemetery in 1945. It is the only war cemetery in Japan administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The cemetery comprises four main parts; the United Kingdom section, The Australian section, the Canadian and New Zealand section and the Indian Forces 1939-45 section. There is also a post-war section. A Cross of Sacrifice stands in each of the first three sections. Instead of a cross, a specifically designed monument in the form of a pylon dominates plot in the fourth section. In the north wall of this section is also the Yokohama Memorial commemorating those who died while serving with the occupation forces in Japan and for whom no burial or cremation information exists.

In the Australian section of the cemetery there are graves of 277 known and 3 unknown Australians. There are 10 navy, 250 army, 8 air force and 9 merchant navy named graves. Of the 3 unknown Australians, 2 were re-buried at Yokohama from their unmarked resting place on Hainan Island in June 1992.

In the post-war section, 57 Australian servicemen are laid to rest. These include those who gave their lives in the Korean War, some from the occupation forces in Japan and those who died more recently. The grave of Warrant Officer Ray Simpson who won a Victoria Cross in Vietnam, and who subsequently lived in Japan, is in this section."

[Peter H]

Cowra

http://www.cowra.nsw.gov.au/about/1011/8568.html

..comprises all the Japanese Military Personnel who died in Cowra either from the Cowra Breakout or other causes during their period of captivity. It also includes all other Japanese who died at other locations in Australia during World War II.

The remains of these civilian internees from Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia and the New Hebrides as well as Japanese aircrew who crashed or were shot down over northern Australia were relocated to Cowra in 1963 in an historic agreement between the Australian and Japanese Governments.

[faf_476]

Here's Philippine-American cemetery:
http://www.philippines-travel-guide.com ... hotos.html
http://www.philippines-travel-guide.com ... orial.html

They are just the same, but the image taken from different angle.


Some Americans, who did not found by thier relatives was difinitely died at the famous "Death March", when a soldier dies, they were just left along the way and let thier co POW's burried them, some were burried by the people who saw them.

But in Manila was different, some soldiers esp. Officials or NCO's died was buried at the "Libingan ng mga Bayani(Cemetery of the Heroes)", also unknown soldiers were burrid here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libingan_ng_mga_Bayani
http://corregidorisland.com/bayani/libingan.html

[RJcccc]

Is Sino-Japan War defined as a part of the Pacific War? If yes, there are some photos about the Nanjing Aviators Cemetery.
There are 870 Chinese, over 2000 Americans and over 200 Soviet-Unioners buried in this place.

The photos is cited from this website.
http://blog.daqi.com/article/74166.html

[RJcccc]

Some American veterans visited the cemetery.
http://help.berberber.com/chinese-loung ... ument.html
http://www.china.org.cn/english/2005/May/129436.htm

[hoot72]

Hi

Just to add a bit of a correction to the Labuan Cemetary information above.

The war cemetary is indeed 3 kilometers from downtown Labuan (it has not been called Victoria for over 100 years) and does sit up on high ground. The cemetary or memorial park is in the Membidai area though all taxi drivers and local residents know the location as the War Cemetary.

The site is maintained by the Australian government and is very well looked after.

[Shane6969]

Kanchanaburi (Don Rak) War Cemetery in Kanchanaburi, Thailand has the remains of 6,982 Allied POWs (including my Grandfather), all of whom died on the Thai-Burma Railway.

https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/ce ... -cemetery/