Ayotte Requests Plan to Restore American Veterans Cemetery in Philippines

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) is requesting a detailed plan regarding U.S. efforts to restore, operate and maintain the Clark Veterans Cemetery in the Philippines, as required by legislation she authored that was signed into law by the President last year. Ayotte has led efforts to restore the abandoned cemetery, which is the final resting place for more than 8,300 U.S. service members and their dependents.

"Clark Veterans Cemetery is sacred ground, and I know you agree that we have a solemn duty as a nation to ensure that the brave Americans buried there have the dignified and well-maintained resting place that they deserve," Ayotte wrote in a letter to the American Battle Monuments Commission, which is responsible for restoring the cemetery.

The U.S. and Philippine governments recently signed a long-awaited memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will govern cooperation between the two nations in the restoration, operation, and maintenance of the cemetery. Now that the MOU has been signed, Senator Ayotte is asking the ABMC to provide a "detailed plan to restore, operate, and maintain Clark Veterans Cemetery."

Following a volcanic eruption in 1991, the U.S. abandoned Clark Air Force Base, leaving the cemetery covered in ash and overgrown by weeds. Since 1994, volunteers in the Philippines have attempted to maintain the cemetery without assistance from the U.S. government.

The ABMC is an independent agency of the U.S. government responsible for managing overseas cemeteries and monuments. In addition to cemeteries and monuments in Europe, the ABMC also maintains Mexico City National Cemetery in Mexico and Corozal American Cemetery in Panama.

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