a monument in memoriam to those innocent victims of war, located at Plaza Sampalucan in Intramuros, Manila.In just a single month, Manila's face was changed forever by the carpet bombing of the Americans trying to "liberate" Manila from the unspeakable atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese Imperial Forces.
Before the Second World War, Manila was considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Overlooking a tranquil bay, the so-called "Pearl of the Orient" was home to a unique culture drawn from four continents. No stranger to conflict, the city had been seized by the Spanish in the 16th century, attacked by the Chinese in the 17th, occupied by the British in the 18th, and taken by the Americans at the end of the 19th. But even this tumultuous history could not have prepared the Filipinos for what happened in 1945, when Manila was utterly destroyed in a single month. - PBS
Related links: Rape of Manila , Liberation of Manila, and Remembering the Battle for Manila
