After we finished working on my visa and realized we still had two days before leaving, I knew there was one place I had to see. My great-uncle, Laverne Smart, fought and died during World War II in the Philippines. His story is extraordinary, yet he was never honored as he deserved.

As a child, all I really knew was that I had been named after him—and I couldn’t stand my middle name, Laverne. It felt old-fashioned and awkward to me then. Only later did I begin to understand the weight and meaning behind it.

We visited the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, where his name is listed among the American casualties of WWII. Standing there was both humbling and deeply personal.

On my next trip to Luzon, I hope to travel to the city of Cabanatuan and visit the site of the Cabanatuan POW Camp. The attached PDF we received explains the efforts to locate and identify his remains.

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