Seventy-five years after the end of the Second World War, five American Jewish soldiers who were buried under a cross have been given new Star of David headstones.

The ceremony in Manila, Philippines was part of the ongoing work of Operation Benjamin, a non-profit organisation, to identify soldiers buried with the wrong religious markers. It was coordinated with the American Battle Monuments Commission.

The Star of David headstones were placed on the five graves and the Kaddish was recited. One of those commemorated, Private Allan C. Franken, had been just 20 when he was killed in May 1945.

Others to be commemorated were Private Louis Wolf, 25, and Private Arthur Waldman, 27, who died of starvation in a Japanese prison camp, as well as Lietenant Robert S. Fink, who died of typhus on his 25th birthday and Seargeant Jack Gilbert, 37, who was hit by a shell Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.

Both Sgt. Gibert and Pvt. Franken were awarded the Purple Heart, a military decoration given to those wounded or killed in action.

Operation Benjamin founder Shalom Lamm told Fox News: “Amid a time of rising antisemitism, it is important that when someone visits the cemetery that they see the physical manifestation of the Jewish men who bled and fought and died for the United States.

“The symbolism is important; these were people who were born as Jews, lived as Jews, and died as Jews.”

US ambassador to the Philippines, Sung Kim, attended the ceremony and tweeted that he had been honoured to commemorate the soldiers “who committed the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we all enjoy today.”