United States Armed Forces Military CemeteryPrint Page

The simple white monument in the centre of the park was once the base of a flag pole which flew the American flag in the United States Armed Forces Military Cemetery. A plaque was placed there in 1971 by Major J. Watson of the United States Air Force honouring the the American Servicemen who paid the supreme sacrifice during World War Two. 

During World War Two, many American servicemen died or were killed in action in Australia or the surrounding areas. It was not possible to return their bodies to America for burial so a war cemetery was set up in Ipswich. This location was probably chosen because of the large number of Americans based at Amberley and Redbank. In November 1947, the United States ship "Gauchec Victory" arrived in Australia to return the dead to their native country. The graves were exhumed and in Brisbane, 30,000 people lined the streets as the body of an unknown soldier was carried solemnly through the city to Newstead Wharf. The Manson Park name pays tribute to the work of a local resident Mrs Rose Manson who cared for the graves during the war and wrote to the families in America.

The wife of an Ipswich mechanic and the mother of eight children, has accepted the offer United States, made by the mothers of the American service men buried at the U.S. Armed Forces cemetery at Ipswich. She is Mrs. Rose Manson, who for the last five years, since the establishment of the cemetery, has written to many of the next of kin of the 1450 dead Americans. Before regulations were changed, she placed flowers on every grave in the cemetery. Now she is permitted to put wreaths on the central flagpole. Mrs. Manson will leave from Sydney on August 4 in the Marine Phoenix. The American mothers were so grateful for her unsolicited kindness that they clubbed together to bring her to their country to enable them to meet her. The tour arrangements were made in conjunction with an American servicemen's organisation.
The Courier-Mail (Brisbane), 30 May 1947.​

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