Far from American shores, American war heroes who fought and died defeating Nazi Germany found an eternal welcome in the Dutch people.
Located in the town of Margraten, near the famous Cologne-Boulogne road built by the Romans and used by Caesar and other ancient figures, the Dutch American cemetery and monument is the only american army cemetery in the Netherlands.
Spanning approximately 66 acres, the cemetery includes a burial domain divided into 16 parcels, where more than 8,300 U. S. infantrymen, most of whom lost their lives nearby, rest amid a sea of white crosses, decorative cherry trees and blooming rhododendrons.
His tombstones are arranged in long curved rows, many of which are adorned with American and American flags in honor of his service and sacrifice. A wide tree-lined promenade extends to the mast that crowns the crest of the cemetery.
Beyond the burial area, a tall memorial tower casts a shadow over the site. Engraved on the tower are the words “In remembrance of the courage and sacrifices that sanctify this soil. “
At its base, a dark reflective bowl embellishes the main courtyard, where 1,722 names of other people reported missing are recorded on the tombstones of the missing, with rosettes marking the names of the fallen who have since been recovered and identified.
In front of the water mirror, a statue representing all those who have lost a father, husband or son watches over their shoulder, while 3 doves of peace fly away.
The tranquility of this position contrasts sharply with its history, when it was liberated on September 13, 1944 through the American 30th Infantry Division, forcing the withdrawal of German troops after four years of occupation.
In December 1944, American forces suffered heavy losses in the Ardennes when the Germans launched a counterattack near Bastogne. The following March, Operation Varsity led the U. S. military to the U. S. Army. More to Germany, as to Berlin.
Months later, Germany would go unconditionally, ending the global war moment of the 20th century.
Ton Hermes of the Foundation for the Adoption of Graves at margraten American Cemetery told the Christian Post that after U. S. troops crossed the Dutch border on Sept. 12, they stayed in the cemetery for five months, in schools, barns and personal residences.
“The other local people had a very warm and friendly relationship with their liberators,” Hermès said in an email.
In fact, each and every grave in the Dutch American cemetery has been followed by a local citizen.
From 1945, citizens brought flowers to the cemetery and partnered with the foundation, which created a program like The Faces of Margraten.
When a resident learned that “his soldier,” the soldier they had housed in his home, those who ate and drank with them, had been killed, Hermes said they had followed his grave as if it were part of his family.
The Faces of Margraten collects images of fallen infantrymen and sponsors a semi-annual occasion at the cemetery on Memorial Day weekend in Holland, on display more than 3,000 images next to the tombstones and walls of the missing, “which puts visitors face to face with: in front of their liberators,” Hermes said.
He said that at the time, it’s not unusual to see other people in World War II army cars or place a state flag on the graves of all U. S. infantrymen. U. S. in that specific state.
Decades after the end of the war, Hermes claims that the population still has an unbreakable connection to the dead.
“One day, the NATO commander in Brussels visited the American cemetery in December, during the Christmas period. It was snowing and it was freezing cold. I expected to find a deserted cemetery,” he said.
But instead, Hermes says, he saw other people wandering among the graves and asked them what they were doing in those weather conditions.
“Everyone replied that they were visiting their soldier at Christmas to bring flowers and pray, years after World War II,” Hermes said.
In 1948, when the American Cemetery marked the only cemetery in the U. S. Army. In the U. S. in the Netherlands, all U. S. relatives won a letter asking if they were seeking to repatriate their son or husband.
Many American families left their husbands or children in Margraten: 8,301 were reburied in the cemetery, while 10,000 remains were repatriated to the United States.
Since then, Hermes has stated that many tombs have been followed through families and passed down from one generation to the next.
“So they show their respect and gratitude for the sacrifice of those boys,” he added.
He says that even today, Americans are when they hear about the adoption program.
Many of them hope to get in touch with the adoptive circle of relatives and families feel comforted that someone is worried about their father’s or grandfather’s grave, Hermes said.
Claudia Welzen-Holsgens can see the Dutch American cemetery from the farm where she works in Margraten, but her connection to it is much deeper than that.
She and her sister, Lucinda, and her brother, Patrick, are the third generation of their circle of relatives to care for the grave of an American soldier.
His grandfather fought against the Germans and his grandmother was a nurse in a Maastricht hospital. The two met after their grandfather stepped on a German landmine and lost his leg.
“At the end of the war, the Netherlands asked if it would agree to adopt the grave of an American soldier,” Welzen said.
In 1945, they followed the grave of Sergeant T. John H. Barnhart of Kansas, who was serving in the 354th Infantry when he killed in Germany.
Since then, Barnhart’s last resting position has been entrusted to the circle of relatives of Welzen-Holsgens’ grandparents, then to her parents and now to her, her siblings and her children.
“We stop at the grave almost every week and on special days, such as Memorial Day, each and every one who has followed a grave receives an invitation for this special day to come to margraten American Cemetery,” he said. “Planes fly over the cemetery that day and the cemetery is covered in flowers. “
After the deaths of his grandmother and grandfather in 2002, Barnhart’s grave passed into the hands of his mother, Ria Holsgens-Coeymans (and her husband, Al Holsgens). She, in turn, began a search to locate Barnhart’s family, and even wrote to the U. S. Embassy. for help
After years of research, Welzen-Holsgens’ mother got in touch through Melissa Barnhart, editor-in-chief of The Christian Post, in 2015 after learning about the adoption program and trying to figure out who had followed her grandfather’s grave. She sought to thank the circle of relatives for taking care of a boy they had never met, an American soldier they affectionately call “their boy. “Sadly, after only a few years of correspondence, Holsgens-Coeyguys died of cancer.
Since then, Welzen-Holsgens has followed a momentary soldier, John P. Mullen from Pennsylvania, and said he is still looking for Mullen’s family.
Some families never had the chance to make love to Europe, which led to stories like those of David Marshall, a U. S. Army veteran of World War II and friend of Benedict G. Schmitt (“Smitty”), who is buried in Margraten. .
Marshall was a member of the 84th Infantry Division and met Schmitt when he was assigned to the 334th Infantry Regiment. The two trained in combination in the heavy weapons battalion and eventually sailed for the United Kingdom.
When they arrived, they trained for two months, then landed in Omaha Beach, before moving to nearby Gulpen in the Netherlands.
This is where the 84th Infantry entered combat, joining Marshall and Schmitt. The first day of fighting was referring to a joint American-British operation to clear a narrow path for the 334th to advance.
As they advanced, a bombardment of German heavy artillery ensued. Within 15 minutes of his first action, Marshall said Schmitt pierced an enemy shell.
“He came here in front of me, we had six groups in our group, his team came before mine,” Marshall said in the 2018 documentary “Remember. “”When I came out, that’s where I discovered it. “
Marshall says his circle of relatives didn’t need Schmitt’s frame to be sent back to the United States, so he buried it in the Dutch American cemetery.
Decades later, Marshall says he continues with his friend and comrade “Schmitty” and salutes the Dutch for honoring the American infantrymen who paid the highest price.
“I think it’s wonderful,” he said. When I first heard about this, caring for American graves is beyond the realm of what you want to do. “
According to Hermes, popular Dutch sentiment towards the United States remains high, with a waiting list of more than a thousand adopters.
“Today, adoption is greater than ever,” Hermès said.
Hermes attributed the Dutch connection to a long-standing one with the United States, with many Americans having family roots in Europe or the Netherlands, adding former U. S. Ambassador to The Hague Pete Hoekstra.
In 2018, adoption Foundation board members were invited through the American Network of World War II Orphans to come to Washington for a celebration, with a choir of margraten men.
Hermes said the choir had performed at various venues, including Arlington National Cemetery, and, along the way, “thanked other people who never met their father because they were in Europe and never came home. “
Free CP Newsletters
Join over 250,000 people for daily curated stories as well as special offers!
Do you have journalism awarded with a Christian worldview, delivered in your inbox?
Join over 250,000 people for daily curated stories as well as special offers!
The Christian Post Office