Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial is a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

American military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

war grave A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

cemetery in eastern

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It is northwest of

Henri-Chapelle Henri-Chapelle ( wa, Hinri-Tchapele, nl, Hendrik-Kapelle, german: Heinrichskapelle, li, Kapäl) is a village of Wallonia and a section de commune, district of the Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Welkenraedt, located in the Liège Prov ...

, about east of

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

. Dedicated in 1960, the cemetery contains 7,992 American war dead and covers . One of three American war cemeteries in Belgium (along with the Ardennes American Cemetery and Flanders Field) it is administered by the

American Battle Monuments Commission The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is an independent agency of the United States government that administers, operates, and maintains permanent U.S. military cemeteries, memorials and monuments primarily outside the United States. ...

(ABMC).

History

The majority of the fallen buried at Henri-Chapelle were killed during the Allied push in Germany during late 1944 and early 1945. The fallen from two key military engagements fill the cemetery; the

First United States Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korea ...

's drive through northern France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg into Germany in September 1944; and the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

(including the

Battle of Hurtgen Forest A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and later taking of

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

). Following the war, the American

Graves Registration Service Mortuary Affairs is a service within the United States Army Quartermaster Corps tasked with the recovery, identification, transportation, and preparation for burial of deceased American and American-allied military personnel. The human remains o ...

began to repatriate the bodies to the United States. Disinterments began on 27 July 1947, and the first shipment of bodies left the Belgian port of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

in October 1947. The moment was marked by a large commemoration attended by over 30,000 Belgian citizens.

Layout

The cemetery placed graves in arcs across gently sloping lawns, and a central road passes through the cemetery. There is a chapel and visitor's center containing carved granite maps showing the advance of U.S. forces across Belgium and into Germany. A colonnade features the names of 450 missing U.S. service personnel (a bronze rosette next to a name identifies a person who has since been located or identified). The statue ''Angel of Peace'', created by

Donal Hord Donal Hord (February 26, 1902 – June 29, 1966), an American sculptor, was born Donald Horr in Prentice, Wisconsin. Early life In 1914, Hord and his mother moved west, to Seattle, Washington. Shortly thereafter he contracted rheumatic fever, a ...

, was unveiled at the cemetery in 1956.

Notable burials

Several

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipients are buried in the cemetery: *

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Frederick W. Castle Frederick Walker Castle (October 14, 1908–December 24, 1944) was a general officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. He was killed in action leading the bombing mission for which he w ...

(1908–1944), for action as an

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

pilot, the highest in rank buried at Henri-Chapelle; namesake of

Castle Air Force Base Castle Air Force Base (Castle AFB, 1941–1995) is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base in California, located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced, and about south of Sacramento. The Central Valley base in uni ...

* T/4 Truman C. Kimbro (1919–1944), for action against enemy forces in Belgium * PFC Francis X. McGraw (1918–1944), for action against enemy forces in Germany Other notables: * Lt. William Nellis (1916–1944), USAAF

P-47 The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomber ...

pilot and namesake of

Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...

References

External links

*
ABMC official Henri-Chapelle video .wmv

ABMC official Henri-Chapelle booklet .pdf
* {{Authority control World War II memorials in Belgium World War II cemeteries in Belgium American Battle Monuments Commission Buildings and structures in Liège Province Conflicts in 1944 Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine