Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial

Coordinates: 49°36′42″N 06°11′08″E / 49.61167°N 6.18556°E

Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial
American Battle Monuments Commission
View of the memorial site.
Used for those deceased 1944–1945
Established	29 December 1944
Location	near Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Designed by	Keally and Patterson Alfred Geiffert Jr. (landscaping)
Total burials	5,076
Unknown burials	101
Statistics source: ABMC Luxembourg website

The Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Hamm, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The cemetery can be found 2.5 kilometers southwest of Findel Airport. It is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission. 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, without taxation.

The cemetery, which is 50.5 acres (20.4 ha) in extent contains the remains of 5,076 American service members. On 22 occasions two brothers rest side-by-side in adjacent graves. Most of the interred died during the Battle of the Bulge which was fought nearby in winter 1944/1945. The 5,076 headstones are set in 9 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 George S. Patton Jr.

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.

German fallen from the same battle are buried in the Sandweiler German war cemetery, about 1.5 kilometres away. The design of the tombstones are dark stone crosses compared to white tombstones of the American cemetery.

Images from the Cemetery

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  General Patton's grave

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  View from the rear of the cemetery

References

• Sledge, Michael (2005). Soldier Dead: How We Recover, Identify, Bury, and Honor Our Military Fallen. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 206–7, 210. ISBN 9780231509374. OCLC 60527603.

External links

• American Battle Monuments Commission Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial
• Website with hundreds of photos of recent events in the Luxembourg American Cemetery and information about soldiers buried there