Fort William McKinley

This article is about the US military base in the Philippines. For other locations, see Fort McKinley (disambiguation).

See also: Fort Bonifacio

Philippine Scouts at Fort McKinley firing a 37-mm. antitank gun in training

Fort William McKinley (current name: Fort Bonifacio), was established in the Philippines during the Philippine–American War in 1901. The land is situated south of Pasig River down to the creek of Alabang, Manila, Philippines and was declared as U.S. military reservation by the Secretary of War, Elihu Root, expropriating the land owned by Capitan Juan Gonzales without compensation. This expropriation was later challenged by then President Ferdinand E. Marcos and the US agreed to compensate, through him, in trust deposits.

In 1916, the 3rd Battalion of the 31st Infantry Regiment was formed here. Until December 1920, this was the home of the 31st INF. During World War II, the USAFFE headquarters for the Philippine Department and the Philippine Division were at the fort. The bulk of the Philippine Division was stationed there and this was where, under the National Defense Act of 1935, specialized artillery training was conducted.

After Philippine independence, on July 4, 1946, the US surrendered to the Republic of the Philippines all rights of possession, jurisdiction, supervision and control over the Philippine territory except the use of their military bases. On May 14, 1949, Fort McKinley was turned over to the Philippine government. The facility became the home of the Philippine Army and later the Philippine Navy and renamed Fort Bonifacio. It lies in the cities of Pasay, Pasig, Parañaque, Makati and Taguig. The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial was established here. Later, it was turned into a real estate development area called Bonifacio Global City.

See also

• Geography of the Philippines
• Military History of the Philippines
• Military History of the United States