Luxembourg American Cemetery

The cemetery consists of 17 acres of manicured lawn surrounded by 33.5 acres of woods. Entering through the gates, the visitor will see the impressive memorial chapel encompassed by a stone terrace directly in front of them. The chapel includes massive bronze doors embellished with gold leaf cartouches depicting military “virtues”, a sparkling mosaic ceiling and a colorful stained glass window showcasing the Army insignias representing the men and woman that rest in the cemetery. On the lower level of the terrace, two pylons face each other across a quote by Eisenhower about the sacrifice of military members.

The pylons display the battle movements in the western European Operations (on the right) and those related to the Battle of the Bulge (on the left). On the reverse of the maps, 371 names of those missing in action are inscribed. Nineteen bronze rosettes identify men who have been recovered since the inscriptions were made and now rest in known graves. The visitor center, where information and brochures are attainable, is to the left as the visitor enters the front gates.

Sloping away from the terrace is the cemetery where 5,073 service members lie, many of whom lost their lives in the Battle of the Bulge and in the advance to the Rhine River. The design is a softly curving fan shape consisting of nine sections interspersed with four fountains, majestic trees, and expansive rose and rhododendron beds. It is a befittingly tranquil final resting place for these Americans who gave their all.

The cemetery was established on December 29, 1944 by the 609th Quartermaster Company of the U.S. Third Army while Allied Forces were stemming the enemy’s desperate Ardennes Offensive, one of the critical battles of World War II. The city of Luxembourg served as headquarters for Gen. George S. Patton’s U.S. Third Army. Gen. Patton is buried here.

World War II Overview

More than 16 million Americans served in World War II, considered the largest and most violent armed conflict in the history of mankind. The United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. And just days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. From then until the war’s end in 1945, U.S. service members fought primarily in Europe and the Pacific, battling the enemy to protect the free world. More than 400,000 Americans died during the war, forever changing the course of American history. 

•  Duration: 1939-1945
•  American Involvement: 1941-1945
•  American Deaths: 405,399
•  Overseas American Burials: 92,958
• MIA/Lost or Buried at Sea: 78,985
•  American WWII Cemeteries Overseas: 14
•  American ABMC WWII Monuments: 14

Normandy American Cemetery

Overview

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France is located in Colleville-sur-Mer, on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. The cemetery site, at the north end of its half mile access road, covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of more than 9,380 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.

The memorial consists of a semicircular colonnade with a loggia at each end containing large maps and narratives of the military operations; at the center is the bronze statue, “Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves.” An orientation table overlooking the beach depicts the landings in Normandy. Facing west at the memorial, one sees in the foreground the reflecting pool; beyond is the burial area with a circular chapel and, at the far end, granite statues representing the United States and France.

In 2007, the Normandy Visitors Center opened. The $30 million visitor center was dedicated by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) on June 6, 2007 during the commemoration of the 63rd Anniversary of D-Day. The center is sited in a wooded area of the cemetery approximately 100 meters east of the Garden of the Missing. 

Normandy is ABMC’s most visited cemetery, receiving approximately one million visitors each year.

Belleau Wood

Belleau Wood is located on the high ground to the rear of Aisne-Marne American Cemetery south of the village of Belleau (Aisne), France. In the center of the road leading through the woods is a flagpole and a monument commemorating the valor of the U.S. Marines who captured this area in 1918.

It commemorates the actions of the 4th Marine Brigade of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Division. The 2nd Division attacked German positions beginning on June 6, 1918. The 4th Marine Brigade liberated Bouresches that day. Its 5th and 6th Marine Regiments fought in Belleau Wood through most of June 1918.

Their gallant actions resulted in the Battle of Belleau Wood ending on June 26. On June 30, 1918, the Commanding General, French 6th Army, officially renamed Belleau Wood as “Wood of the Marine Brigade.”

The 2nd Division sustained casualties of 8,100 officers and men during the intense fighting in this vicinity during June 1918. Vestiges of trenches, shell holes, and relics of the war to include weapons found in the vicinity, may be seen near the Marine monument, which was erected by the U.S. Marine Corps. Location France