Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is a Second World War American military war grave cemetery, located in

Hamm Hamm (, Latin: ''Hammona'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of 2016 its population was 179,397. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railwa ...

, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The cemetery, containing 5,074 American war dead, covers and was dedicated in 1960. It is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

History

The cemetery was established on 29 December 1944 by the 609th Quartermaster Company of the U.S. Third Army while Allied Forces were containing the German Ardennes offensive in the winter of 1944/1945. General

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

used the city of Luxembourg as headquarters.

Layout

The new headstones were cemented onto concrete beams that run for more than six miles under the lawn of the grave plots. The 5,076 headstones are set in nine plots of fine grass, lettered A to I. Separating the plots are two malls radiating from the memorial and two transverse paths. Two flagpoles overlook the graves area. Situated between the two flagpoles lies the grave of General

. Twenty-two sets of brothers rest side-by-side in adjacent graves. During the 1950s, the original wooden grave markers were replaced with headstones made of white

Lasa marble Laas (; it, Lasa ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about west of the city of Bolzano. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 3,983 and an area of .All demographics and o ...

. Not far from the cemetery entrance stands the white stone chapel, set on a wide circular platform surrounded by woods. It is embellished with sculpture in bronze and stone, a stained-glass window with the insignia of the five major U.S. commands that operated in the region, and a mosaic ceiling. Under a U.S.–Luxembourg treaty signed in 1951 the U.S. government was granted free use in perpetuity of the land covered by the cemetery.

Notable burials

* Private

William D. McGee William D. McGee (1923 – March 19, 1945) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Biography McGee joined the Army from his bi ...

(1923–1945), Medal of Honor recipient *

(1885–1945), US general * Sergeant

Day G. Turner Day G. Turner (September 2, 1921 – February 8, 1945) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Career Turner joined the Army fro ...

(1921–1945), Medal of Honor recipient

Gallery

Image:Patton_grave.JPG, General Patton's grave File:Day Turner Grave.jpg, Grave of

, Medal of Honor recipient Image:American_Cemetery_Luxembourg_Rear.JPG, View from the rear of the cemetery

References

External links

American Battle Monuments Commission Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial

Website with photos of the Luxembourg American Cemetery and information on some of the soldiers buried there
* {{Authority control American Cemetery and Memorial American Cemetery and Memorial American Cemetery and Memorial World War II memorials American Battle Monuments Commission American Cemetery and Memorial World War II cemeteries