American War Cemeteries in the Ardennes

[Garp]

Following another thread. Over the years I have visited quite a few historical locations in the Southern part of Belgium. Here is an overview. Enjoy.

The approach drive at Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium leads to the memorial, a stone structure bearing on its façade a massive American eagle and other sculptures. Within are the chapel, three large wall maps composed of inlaid marbles, marble panels depicting combat and supply activities and other ornamental features. Along the outside of the memorial, 462 names are inscribed on the granite Tablets of the Missing. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. The façade on the far (north) end that overlooks the burial area bears the insignia, in mosaic, of the major U.S. units that operated in northwest Europe in World War II.

The 90-acre cemetery contains the graves of 5,329 of our military dead, many of whom died in the 1944 Ardennes winter offensive (Battle of the Bulge). The headstones are aligned in straight rows that form a Greek cross on the lawns and are framed by tree masses. The cemetery served as the location of the Central Identification Point for the American Graves Registration Service of the War Department during much of the life of the Service.

Once this cemetery was located in a remote area but now there are all kinds of shops, garages etc in the immediate surroundings. A bit unfortunate but the site itself remains very peaceful.

[Garp]

The Malmedy Massacre.

The Malmedy massacre was a war crime in which 84 American prisoners of war were murdered by their German captors during World War II. The massacre was committed on December 17, 1944, by members of Kampfgruppe Peiper (part of the 1st SS Panzer Division), a German combat unit, during the Battle of the Bulge.

The massacre, as well as others committed by the same unit on the same day and following days, was the subject of the Malmedy massacre trial, part of the Dachau Trials of 1946. The trials were the focus of some controversy.

Here again the area around the site itself is now littered with garages etc. There's a very nice, small museum just around the corner though.
The below pictures are taken a few miles from Baugnez and give an idea what the area is like in the winter.

[Garp]

At the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium, covering 57 acres, rest 7,992 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives during the advance of the U.S. armed forces into Germany. Their headstones are arranged in gentle arcs sweeping across a broad green lawn that slopes gently downhill. A highway passes through the reservation. West of the highway an overlook affords an excellent view of the rolling Belgian countryside, once a battlefield.

To the east is the long colonnade that, with the chapel and map room, forms the memorial overlooking the burial area. The chapel is simple but richly ornamented. In the map room are two maps of military operations, carved in black granite, with inscriptions recalling the achievements of our forces. On the rectangular piers of the colonnade are inscribed the names of 450 missing. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. The seals of the states and territories are also carved on these piers.

The cemetery possesses great military historic significance as it holds fallen Americans of two major efforts, one covering the U.S. First Army's drive in September 1944 through northern France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg into Germany, the second covering the Battle of the Bulge. It was from the temporary cemetery at Henri-Chapelle that the first shipments of remains of American war dead were returned to the U.S. for permanent burial. The repatriation program began on July 27, 1947 at a special ceremony at the cemetery when the disinterment began. The first shipment of 5,600 American war dead from Henri-Chapelle left Antwerp, Belgium the first week of October 1947. An impressive ceremony was held, with over 30,000 Belgium citizens attending along with representatives of the Belgium government and senior Americans.

Beautiful surroundings and location here. We were there after a night of heavy snow, first visitors.

[Garp]

The Mardasson Memorial in Bastogne

The building of the Memorial

Some architects were approached for the building of the memorial and presented a scale model. In March 1947, the project of the architect Dedoyard is adopted.

The monument has the shape of a five-pointed star, each of the five branch measuring 31m in length and 12m in height. A circular gallery with columns, being 10m in diameter, surrounds the central part. The initial project planned the presence of a statue of a GI at each point of the star. The chosen materials are sandstone (stone of the area) and small granite.

The names of the American states are inscribed on the two sides of the ring and the badges of the units having fought during the Battle of the Bulge appear on the paving stones made of dressed stone.

The story of this battle is inscribed in golden letters on ten walls of the gallery, including the sentence which gives all its value to the symbol the Memorial of the Mardasson is: "Seldom has more American blood been split in the course of a single battle".

The crypt, conceived as a place for prayers and meditation about the memory of the 76,890 combatants who were killed, injured or reported missing during the Battle of the Bulge, has some mosaics referring to the Catholic, Jewish and Protestant worships. The French artist Fernand Léger created this ornamentation.

As soon as spring 1948, the Calay company of Lavacherie begun the works and finished the fabric in March 1949.
The building site was regularly visited by members of the A.B.A. and a lot of citizens of Bastogne liked to go for a walk till there.

Worried about the lack of access to the upper promenade, the mayor Renquin wrote to a manager of the A.B.A.: "In Bastogne, we are actually unanimous in believing that it is extremely important to allow the many visitors who are bound to come and admire the monument to go to the upper platform from where they can have a magnificent sight on the surrounding area". He also suggests to place an orientation table to "remember easily and almost on the field the very stages of the battle".

In June 1950, Mrs Roosevelt appreciated her visit of the place.

On 16th July 1950, the inauguration of the Memorial took place in the presence of the highest Belgian and American authorities and of general McAuliffe (who, the previous day, had unveiled his bust on the square that wears his name).

Rainy day when we were there, museum itself is so-so but the site is impressive.

[Jim Bremner]

Thank you brave men!

[pwd72s]

Thank you for this...hallowed ground.

An account of the massacre you mentioned:

MALMEDY MASSACRE SURVIVOR
THEODORE PALUCH

SECRET STATEMENT by T/5 Theodore J. Paluch made on December 20, 1944 to the US Army . . .

"Battery B, 285th FA Observation Bn in convoy going south three miles from Malmedy stopped the convoy at 1330 when motor fire and machine gun fire was heard. We got out of the truck and jumped in a ditch beside the vehicles. Some men took off when they saw we were being captured. They took watches, gloves and cigarettes from the prisoners then put us inside a barbed wire fence. Tanks passed for 15 minutes.

Everything was alright until a command car turned the corner. At that time an officer in the command car fired a shot with his pistol at a Medical Officer who was one yard away to my left; then he fired another shot to my right. At that time a tank following the command car opened fire on the 175 men inside the fence. We all fell and lay as still as we could.

Every tank that passed from them on would fire into the group laying there. At one time they came around with a pistol and fired at every officer that had bars showing. (One officer put mud on his helmet to cover the bars). The tanks stopped passing about 1445.

At 1500 someone said lets go. At that time 15 men got up and started to run north from where we were laying on the other side of the road. Twelve of the men ran into a house (northwestern part of the cross road) and three of us kept going. There was a machine gun at the cross roads plus 4 Germans. When we got in back of the house they could not fire the machine gun at us.

They burnt the house down into which the 12 men ran. When the three of us were in the back of the house we played dead again because a German in a black uniform came around with a pistol looking us over.

We lay there until dark, when we rolled to a hedgerow where we weren’t under observation. Laying there was a S/Sgt from the 2d Division shot in the arm. We started to walk but stayed 200 to 300 yards from the main road. In about a quarter of a mile we met a medic who was shot in the foot and a fellow from my outfit. The four of us came into Malmedy. All I got was a scratch on the fingers from a machine gun."

We all owe those who fought...

[A930Rocket]

I love reading about WWII. Thanks for sharing,

[Joeaksa]

I toured this area after spending a lot of time on Normandy beach about 15 years ago. Really moving and beautiful place. Sad at the same time but a great memorial to these soldiers who gave their lives during the war.

[fintstone]

Beautiful and stirring photography. Thank you for sharing.

[pwd72s]

Bump...just to let you know that I appreciate your work in posting this. I'm sorry it didn't get more responses.

[azasadny]

Thank you so much for posting these pictures and descriptions!

[gsmith660]

My uncle was in the unit slaughtered at Malmedy he got pulled out and sent to an instructor unit after Anzio and would have been at Malmedy if that hadn't happened. This is a wonderful write up and I hope to visit some of these places sometime in the future. Thank you so much for telling the story.

[Rick Lee]

Also a good read on Malmedy.

The History Place - World War II in Europe Timeline: Dec. 17, 1944 - Massacre at Malmedy

I swear, there is no justice in this world.

[mossguy]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Bump...just to let you know that I appreciate your work in posting this. I'm sorry it didn't get more responses.

Agreed. However, I think that there were very many responses "within" the readers that didn't get posted.

[Garp]

Originally Posted by mossguy

Agreed. However, I think that there were very many responses "within" the readers that didn't get posted.

That's exactly what I'm thinking too. All is well.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Garp

That's exactly what I'm thinking too. All is well.

Better than well, Garp...I spent and hour this morning, early, finding where your pictures were taken on Google maps, then putting them into context.
All my close relatives were either Marines or Navy fighting in the Pacific.

Thank you.

[lm6y]

Thank You Garp, from those of us that will probably never get to see these monuments.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by lm6y

Thank You Garp, from those of us that will probably never get to see these monuments.

That too...

[kevin993]

Kris - Thanks (again) for this. Appreciate the thoughtfulness and the quality of the photos. We spent a few hours on Saturday at a museum dedicated to the US Marine aviators. Different era than the Belgian campaigns, but we just shook our heads at the amazing stories of the people who flew the choppers and jets in harms way.

Hope all is well with you and your world.

Kevin

[typ550]

My dad, who died at age 90 last fall, spent some grim weeks near Malmedy in the Huertgen Forest, which the GIs fondly called "the Death Factory." When I feel I am having a tough time of things, I think of guys like him (and those who didn't come back) and it puts things in some perspective.