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On our way to San Agustin Church, we passed this monument, Memorare — Manila 1945. It was a stunning and tragic memorial to the innocent people who lost their lives during the Battle of Manila’s Liberation in 1945.

Image description: the stone statue with the following engraving in gold on its marble base, written by Nick Joaquin, a Filipino writer. *Note: he is not listed as the author on the memorial itself so this may be inaccurate.

“Memorare — Manila 1945

This memorial is dedicated to all those innocent victims of war, many of whom went nameless and unknown to a common grave or never even knew a grave at all. Their bodies having been consumed by fire or crushed to dust beneath the rubble of ruins.

Let this monument be the gravestone for each and every one of the over 100,000 men, women, children and infants killed in Manila during its Battle of Liberation, February 3 – March 3, 1945. We have not forgotten them, nor shall we ever forget.

May they rest in peace as part now of the sacred ground of this city: the Manila of our affections.

— February 18, 1995″

Image description: marble sign between two black posts, reading, “Memorial by Peter De Guzman

The central figure is a woman, quite large, dominant in size and proportion. She is the motherland–she weeps as she holds an infant, the symbol of hope. But the infant is dead. It represents lost hope.

The female figure on the right side is a victim of rape. There is an infant clinging to her. On the left side is a man, still alive, looking confused and disoriented, despair on his face. The young boys are dead–representing the youth the country lost. The dead man laying in front portrays the elderly, who were caught in the battle.”

Image description: marble sign between two black posts, reading, “Some of the many sites of the massacres committed by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in Manila in February 1945” and a list of locations in Ermita, Intramuros, Malate, Paco, Santa Ana, Mandaluyong, Tondo, and Pasay. Many were/are colleges, churches, and a few residences.

Image description: black National Historical Institute sign, reading:

“Memorare — Manila 1945

This monument is erected in memory of the more than 100,000 defenseless civilians who were killed during the Battle for the Liberation of Manila between February 3 and March 3, 1945. They were mainly victims of the heinous acts perpetrated by the Japanese Imperial Forces and the casualties of the heavy artillery barrage by the American forces.

The battle for Manila at the end of World War II was one of the most brutal episode in the history of Asia and the Pacific.

The non-combatant victims of that tragic battle will remain forever in the hearts and mind of the Filipino people.”