US Finally Looking For Dead

From Yahoo News:
US to search for war dead in Philippines

MANILA (AFP) – The United States won permission Friday to search for the remains of American troops who were killed or went missing while fighting Japanese World War II occupation forces in the Philippines. Under the agreement, Joint Prisoner-of-War and Missing-in-Action Accounting Command teams from Hawaii would make short, periodic trips to try, with local help, to find the remains of the fallen, ambassador Harry Thomas said. "Sadly, for over 65 years, many of those Americans who fought alongside Filipinos and gave their lives to liberate the Philippines in World War II have never been accounted for, as their remains have never been found," Thomas said. "Thanks to this new undertaking... we now have an opportunity to address this. We are grateful for this cooperation which will eventually bring closure to so many families," Thomas said in a statement. Neither side explained why it had taken so long to reach an agreement. "The (agreement) honours the shared sacrifices made by the armed forces of both countries that stood together side by side to defend freedom during World War II," the Philippine foreign department said in a statement. The two governments did not say how many US soldiers went missing in the Philippines during the war. The remains of 17,202 other American servicemen, most of whom lost their lives in operations in New Guinea and the Philippines, are interred at a 152-acre (62-hectare) gated cemetery in Manila.

^ There is absolutely no excuse why it has taken 60 + years for this to happen (except for the lack of concern on the part of the two governments.)The US should have done more to find and identify their dead so they could honor them correctly since they died serving their country. The Filipino's should have done more to help since the soldiers died defending them from the Japanese. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110603/pl_afp/philippinesuswwiimia