Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial

Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial
American Battle Monuments Commission
Tombstones and the reflecting pool
Used for those deceased 1918
Established	October 14, 1918
Location	near Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, France
Designed by	Louis Ayres, York and Sawyer of New York City, New York
Total burials	14,246 plus 954 commemorated
Unknown burials	486
Burials by nation
United States of America
Burials by war
World War I
Statistics source: ABMC Meuse-Argonne web page

The Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial is a 130.5-acre (52.8 ha) World War I cemetery in France. It is located east of the village of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon in Meuse. The cemetery contains the largest number of American military dead in Europe (14,246),^[1] most of whom lost their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and were buried there.^[2] The cemetery consists of eight sections behind a large central reflection pool. Beyond the grave sections is a chapel which is decorated with stained glass windows depicting American units' insignias. Along the walls of the chapel area are the tablets of the missing which include the names of those soldiers who fought in the region and in northern Russia, but have no known grave. It also includes the Montfaucon American Monument. This cemetery is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. It is open daily to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The cemetery is closed January 1 and December 25, but is open on all other holidays.

Notable burials

• Medal of Honor recipients
  • 2 Lieut Erwin Russell Bleckley (1894–1918), for service near Binarville, France
  • Capt. Marcellus H. Chiles (1895–1918), for action near Le Champy Bas, France
  • Sergt. Matej Kocak (1882–1918), two-time recipient (Army and Navy medals)
  • 2 Lieut. Frank Luke Jr. (1897–1918), the "Arizona Balloon Buster" and first airman to receive the medal;^[3] Luke Air Force Base is named in his honor.
  • Major Oscar F. Miller (1882–1918), for his leadership in the Argonne
  • Corpl. Harold W. Roberts (1895–1918), for action in the Montrebeau Woods
  • Sup. Sgt. William Sawelson (1895–1918), for action at Grandpré, Ardennes
  • Lieut. Col. Fred E. Smith (1873–1918), for action near Binarville, France
  • Corpl. Freddie Stowers (1896–1918), for action in the Ardennes (medal awarded in 1991)
• Other notables
  • Sergt. Victor E. Chapman (1890–1916), first American aviator to die in battle in the war^[4]
  • Capt. Edward L. Grant (1883–1918), pre-war professional baseball player

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  Aerial view of cemetery.

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  Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery.

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  Grave of Corporal Ivy Courtney at the cemetery.

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  Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery Chapel.

See also

• World War I memorials

References

1. American Battle Monuments Commission
   Edward G. Lengel (8 January 2008). To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918 The Epic Battle That Ended the First World War. Henry Holt and Company. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-0-8050-7931-9.
2. Chris Dickon (31 August 2011). The Foreign Burial of American War Dead: A History. McFarland. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-7864-8501-7.
3. http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2009/August%202009/0809luke.aspx
4. Also has a cenotaph erected in St. Matthew's Episcopal Churchyard, Bedford, New York: Victor Emmanuel Chapman at Find a Grave

• Sledge, Michael (2005). Soldier Dead: How We Recover, Identify, Bury, and Honor Our Military Fallen. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 204–6, 217. ISBN 9780231509374. OCLC 60527603.
• American Battle Monuments Commission

External links

• Meuse-Argonne.wmv – Windows Media Video
• Cemetery booklet (no pictures)
• Cemetery booklet (with pictures)
• Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial at Find a Grave

Coordinates: 49°20′3″N 5°5′36″E / 49.33417°N 5.09333°E