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American Battle Monuments Commission
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American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) Seal
American Battle Monuments Commission

CLAC participated in and hosted Freedom March 2025

Published March 6, 2025

Clark Veterans Cemetery participated and hosted one of the stops for Freedom March 2025 which aims to commemorate and honor the bravery of Filipino and American World War II heroes and survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March of the Second World War.

The Philippines Veterans Bank organized this event in collaboration with other local government agencies. The aim was to retrace the actual route of the Bataan Death March, which occurred the week of April 9, 1942, spanning from Mariveles, Bataan, to San Fernando, Pampanga, and up to Capas, Tarlac.

One of the relay stops for commemoration was Clark Veterans Cemetery, where a short military honor, taps, and ceremonial wreath laying took place. Col. Dante S. Aquino of the Philippine Air Force and Ralph Liebhaber, a retired American colonel representing Veterans of Foreign Wars, led the ceremony to commemorate those who are buried and remembered here at Clark Veterans Cemetery while also honoring retired U.S. servicemembers in the Philippines.

Bataan Death March Marker nearby the main gate of Clark Veterans Cemetery
Ralph Liebhaber, a retired American colonel representing VFW, and Philippine Air Force Col. Aquino led the wreath-laying ceremony.
Servicemembers from the different branches of Philippine Armed Forces participated in this ceremony.
Clark Superintendent Timothy Pratt, Ralph Liebhaber, Philippine Veterans Bank representative Mike Villareal, Philippine Veterans Affairs Office Deputy Director Restituto Aguilar, and members of VFW and VFW Auxiliary commemorate this year’s Freedom March 2025.
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About ABMC

The American Battle Monuments Commission operates and maintains 26 cemeteries and 31 federal memorials, monuments and commemorative plaques in 17 countries throughout the world, including the United States. 

Since March 4, 1923, the ABMC’s sacred mission remains to honor the service, achievements, and sacrifice of more than 200,000 U.S. service members buried and memorialized at our sites. 

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