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American Cemetery

Memorials	:	2
Location	:	Davao City, Davao del Sur Province, Philippines
Description	:	DAVAO’S MASONIC CEMETERY Established in 1915, the Davao Masonic Cemetery at Wireless, now known as Davao American Veterans and Masonic Cemetery (DAVMC), was originally opened as an exclusive burial site for American Masons who were residents of Davao region. Later, the necropolis expanded its coverage to American war veterans Filipino Masons who were refused burial in the Catholic cemetery, and direct descendants of those who had found their final resting place there. The cemetery was one of two areas designated by the American administration in Manila as burial grounds, namely the municipal burial ground, also known as the Catholic Cemetery,... Read More	DAVAO’S MASONIC CEMETERY Established in 1915, the Davao Masonic Cemetery at Wireless, now known as Davao American Veterans and Masonic Cemetery (DAVMC), was originally opened as an exclusive burial site for American Masons who were residents of Davao region. Later, the necropolis expanded its coverage to American war veterans Filipino Masons who were refused burial in the Catholic cemetery, and direct descendants of those who had found their final resting place there. The cemetery was one of two areas designated by the American administration in Manila as burial grounds, namely the municipal burial ground, also known as the Catholic Cemetery, and the Masonic graveyard, which was maintained by the American Cemetery Association (ACA). In the late fifties Alfred W. Roberts, an American veteran and Mason, negotiated with ACA for the transfer of rights of the cemetery to the Davao Masonic Association, Inc. (DMAI), a group organized by local Masons who wanted a resting place for their departed loved ones. Maurice E. Cowan, president of ACA, signed the transfer of rights with Roberts representing the DMAI. There is no documentation that exactly counts how many individuals have been buried at the Masonic cemetery. Estimates place the number of interred in the memorial park at over two hundred fifty, including the thirty-two unnamed American and Allied soldiers who died during war in the final leg to liberate Davao from enemy hands. Among the Americans buried in DAVMC are: David Jacobson (born 1876; died March 31, 1970), a war veteran and plantation owner who donated the land where the Brokenshire Mission Hospital now stands; Henry C. Stanton Sr. (born may 16, 1884; died January 3, 1933), a veteran and teacher who was justice of the peace of Jolo on October 21, 1912, installed acting Davao superintendent of schools in 1916 and later promoted as full-pledged superintendent before resigning from the post on June 23, 1919); Colonel George Thompson, a special envoy of US President Calvin Coolidge (1923-29) who help bringing capital investment in Davao; veteran turned plantation owner Edward E. Christensen (born November 25, 1875; died in Manila on April 30, 1959); U.S. veterans A.P. Bradley (died January 3, 1939); J. Lindsley (1940); Hinrick Calhun (1935); Adam Weison (1922); George Thomas (1947); Rufus Scott (1937); and Harry Bloomfield Hughes, Sr. (born September 18, 1882; died July 12, 1957); plantation owners Henry, the father, and son Jerry Nicholas Roscom of Slater, Missouri, U.S.A. (born October 4, 1888; died in Manila on March 21, 1909); and Henry W. Pahl (born October 20, 1876; died October 14, 1950); Leslie Stevens of Weston Massachusetts, U.S.A. (born June 4, 1888; died March 21, 1956); George K. Pahl (born November 16, 1885; died December 9, 1963); Remedios A. Pahl (born July 20, 1920; died March 21, 2003); James v. Pahl (born November 5, 1975; died September 26, 1999); William Lutz and Rowland Balcom, U.S. veterans of Spanish and Philippine-American War; Nicolas Lutz, World War II veteran; and former British journalist and plantation owner Frank A. Crowhurst (died in 1919). There are also Filipinos interred in this hallowed graveyard. They include former city mayor Pantaleon Pelayo, Sr. (1940-41), protestant pastor Reverend Crispin Fajardo Faune, city councilors Federico Opada (1938-41), Tiburcio Cervantes (1948-51) and Desiderio Dalisay, Sr. (1950-54), and former city assessor Telesforo Oca (1953-60). In 2004, DAVMC nearly succumbed to greed. A group of local Masons came up with a proposal to exhume the American tombs and sell their burial ground to a private developer. But the move was rebuffed after the city cancelled the development permit it issued. Even today, there are efforts to title the memorial site in the name of scrupulous individuals but initiatives are underway to have the area declared as historical site. written by: Philippine Industrial Archaeology Society (PIAS)

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American Cemetery is located at Davao City, Davao del Sur Province, Philippines.
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2 memorials

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American Cemetery

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