Do you have a loved one buried at the Ardennes American Military Cemetery in Belgium?

[Beemerguy53]

Here's the deal, folks...

I will be heading over to Germany in four weeks to visit friends and do some sightseeing. On Monday, May 1, I am going to drive up to the Ardennes American Cemetery outside Liege, Belgium.

A good friend of mine is named for his uncle, a paratrooper who was killed during the Battle of the Bulge, and who is buried there. I am going to pay my respects at that soldier's grave, leave a stone there which my friend has given to me, and take some photos.

If any of our Forum members has a relative or friend who is buried in that cemetery, I will be happy to do the same for you. Just send me a PM and let me know.

Below is the link to the cemetery, where 5321 of our countrymen are buried. On the right side of the page is a link to search all American military cemeteries, if you're not sure exactly where someone is buried.

Page not found | American Battle Monuments Commission

(Don't worry that it says "page not found"...the link will work.)

 

[hoc9sw]

Thank you for the thought.

My cousin is buried in Lorraine American Cemetery.

 

[Old_Cop]

Too few remember or know their great sacrifice. My daughter visited the grave of my grandfather's brother a few years ago. The staff was very accommodating even escorting them to the grave. There are fewer visitors each year.

Giovanni Filice Pvt. 1ID 26Reg 10-4-1918 Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery

 

[olcop]

Ardennes

this is a great thing you are doing---thank you
olcop

 

[eveled]

Thanks for the link. I just looked up a friend's father who died in the battle of the bulge.

 

[vonn]

You are doing a good thing!

 

[AJ]

That is a good thing you are offering to do.

 

[Beemerguy53]

Too few remember or know their great sacrifice. My daughter visited the grave of my grandfather's brother a few years ago. The staff was very accommodating even escorting them to the grave. There are fewer visitors each year.

Giovanni Filice Pvt. 1ID 26Reg 10-4-1918 Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery

It's interesting...when I was born in 1953, most World War I veterans were a lot younger than I am now. At this point, that conflict, which so shaped the world we live in today, has faded from memory...

 

[Beemerguy53]

Thanks for your kind words, folks.

This will be my second trip to that cemetery. The cancer surgeon who saved my life 26 years ago is named for his uncle, a B-24 pilot who was killed over France in 1943 and who is buried there. In 2012 I visited his grave. (Photo below.)

(Most of those buried at Ardennes are in fact airmen. Their bodies were removed from the temporary graves the Germans buried them in when they were killed, and transported to Liege for permanent burial.)

The young man whose grave I will visit next month, PFC James A. Brown, was only about 19 years old when he was killed. His little brother (my friend's father) was about 9 or 10, and hero-worshipped his big brother the paratrooper.

I've visited the American cemetery at Luxembourg too, and it's very sobering to walk among those graves and reflect upon the sacrifice our countrymen made to liberate Europe from the scourge of Nazism...

 

[steveno]

I have been to the Luxembourg Cemetery as well.

one thing I have always wondered about was that WW2 was over the same places of WW1 and the cemeteries for those that died in WW1. were the cemeteries declared "off limits" and no disturbing them in WW2?

 

[pharman]

You are a good man Beemerguy

This is a extremely nice thing you are offering to do...I would like to ask you to visit my Uncle's grave there at Ardennes American Cemetery. His name is William R. Jarrett. I have never been there, but hope to someday. He was a Technical Sergeant in the US Army Air Force 613th Bomber Squadron 401st Bomber Group. His plane was shot down. He gave his parachute to the pilot that could not locate his, as the plane was going down. By the time my Uncle located another parachute, it was too late. He died there February 22, 1944. I will PM you particulars about his cemetery location. Once again...thank you so much for doing this for me...Roger

 

[JayFramer]

I have been there, seen Paton's grave. Very sad.

 

[gtoppcop]

The American Cemetery in Liege is very moving. While you're in the area, be sure to go to Bastogne and visit the Museum.

As a young Marine Security Guard, I traveled with my subsequent "practice wife" from Stockholm to visit a fellow MSG posted at Brussels.

We went to Liege (beautiful city, by the way) and visited the Cemetery. The Belgians, unlike the French have NEVER forgotten the sacrifices of our Greatest Generation.

The American flag flies 24/7/365 in the town square at Bastogne. There is an M4 Sherman tank at the base of the flagpole. The Battle of the Bulge Museum is a once-in-lifetime trek. Be sure to get a Nuts! tee-shirt or coffee mug while there.

We also went to Patton's gravesite at the American Cemetery in Luxembourg. Again, VERY moving experience.

Have a good trip. Be careful in Brussels. It's like Detroit.

 

[Targets Guy]

Very nice gesture. What a sacrifice they made for us.

 

[rog8732]

Beemerguy, you seem to be very familiar with that area, but on the off-chance you are unaware, there are many semi-private collectors of WW II artifacts around those battle fields. I think they welcome Americans to "have a look" at their treasures.

Those people show a great deal of reverence for the Americans who gave everything; or were willing to.... Unlike some of the jackasses we have here in the U S who either show ignorance of the WW II sacrifices, or an attitude of disdain for our country, this being the country among all others where such B S would be tolerated.
(( Sorry for the rant Beemerguy, didn't mean to take away from your great gesture))

Anyhow, as I understand it, there is quite a contingent of folks who get out and have "digs" to find things of historical value from that era, much like we do here at the Civil War sites.

Far as I know I don't have anyone buried there. My Pop was in the battle of the bulge, but think God the only thing buried there from him was a small piece of cheek bone,one of his dog tags, and part of his shoulder.

Again; "Tis a fine thing you do".

 

[df06]

A neighbor of mine is buried in the American Cemetery at Normandy, but you are not going there. Actually he was killed before I was born, but I knew his brothers and his niece was in my high school class.
Another one of the "greatest generation"
Thanks for what you are doing.

 

[federali]

A Most Honorable Deed

My son shares your respect for the fallen. We have a neighbor whose uncle, a Canadian soldier, was killed in action in Sicily and is buried in a Small Canadian cemetery in Enna, Sicily. My son made the two-hour drive to the gravesite to be Cpl. Downing's first official visitor since his burial. He also brought flowers and signed the guest book on behalf of the Downing family.

 

[HarpHack]

What a fine gesture and heartwarming replies. Somehow I suspect all this would be a great rarity in most corners of the internet but it is no surprise at all to find here on SWF. Thank God for gun nuts.

 

[diggler1833]

Here's the deal, folks...

I will be heading over to Germany in four weeks to visit friends and do some sightseeing. On Monday, May 1, I am going to drive up to the Ardennes American Cemetery outside Liege, Belgium.

A good friend of mine is named for his uncle, a paratrooper who was killed during the Battle of the Bulge, and who is buried there. I am going to pay my respects at that soldier's grave, leave a stone there which my friend has given to me, and take some photos.

If any of our Forum members has a relative or friend who is buried in that cemetery, I will be happy to do the same for you. Just send me a PM and let me know.

Below is the link to the cemetery, where 5321 of our countrymen are buried. On the right side of the page is a link to search all American military cemeteries, if you're not sure exactly where someone is buried.

Page not found | American Battle Monuments Commission

(Don't worry that it says "page not found"...the link will work.)

I don't know anybody or have any lineage buried there, but I was at the cemetery last year while I was on a quick little 6-month trip to work with an Army unit.

Travelled around Bastogne, and was surprised to realize that the entire area was razed 70 years ago (with the exception of the church if I remember correctly).

I also drove from Bastogne to St. Vith (about an hour via backroads). It is amazing to realize that the "bulge" for which the battle was named extended so far.

I took part in a few cities named Fallujah and Ramadi about a dozen years ago, but those battle zone pale in comparison to the size of the area you travelled to. My hat is off to the veterans who went before me, they were true heroes...

I'll be going back to Luxembourg/Western Germany in about six weeks with my wife for a little vacation. The Moselle river valley, Ardennes, and surrounding countryside are among the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

 

[robvious]

Thanks for this beautiful gesture... gratefully my paternal grandfather returned when he was in the area during WW1 on an Uncle Sam tour. He was Sergeant assigned as an ambulance driver/medic attached to a Sanitation Train... the Centennial this week has him in my mind...